Too many managers and executives forget a key principle of leadership: the rank and file watch everything the bosses do and model their behavior accordingly.

In some places this is called “walking the talk,” and it comes down to whether what a manager says is in sync with that they do. It’s basically leadership by example and it can be a powerful force to either rally the troops to your side, or show them you’re full of it.

Sometimes, the leader can make a big symbolic gesture to break with the past and show the workforce that he means business. Here’s a good example of this from Frank Blake, the new CEO of The Home Depot, that was mentioned this week in The New York Times:

“For six years, it was a perk that Home Depot’s chief executive, Robert L. Nardelli, could not do without: a catered lunch for his top deputies, served daily on the 22nd floor of the company’s headquarters in Atlanta.”But several days into his tenure as Nardelli’s successor, Frank Blake quietly abolished the free meal, telling senior executives to take the elevator down to the first floor and, on their own dime, eat with the company’s rank and file in the cafeteria, according to an employee.

“It is the kind of symbolic gesture that has come to define Mr. Blake’s short time as head of the nation’s largest home improvement retailer, as he tries to distance himself from the tumultuous reign of Nardelli, who was ousted several weeks ago over his sky-high pay package and authoritarian style. Blake’s message, however, could not be any less subtle: the era of the imperial chief executive at Home Depot is over.”

I don’t know if Frank Blake is the guy to right the ship at Home Depot, but getting the top leadership to eat lunch and mingle with the troops is a big step in the right direction. But it also begs a bigger question: how do guys like Nardelli get away with such things?