Last week was an absolute whirlwind! Coming back from a “vacation” in preparation for my leader being out of the office while trying to meet deadlines for larger projects was quite the juggling act. We're beginning to feel the workload ramping up as we head into the back half of the year. This makes it the perfect time to delve into the concept of leading by example.
Lead by Example
I've officially been in a leadership role for 5 months, and one of my core principles is leading by example. I make a conscious effort to embody the behaviors, actions, conversations, and initiatives I expect from my employees.
I arrive early. I complete my work on time. I ask thought-provoking questions. I contribute to projects in areas where I excel. These soft skills hold significant value. My current team skews towards the younger side, and while they might not always possess advanced technical skills, I firmly believe that honing these soft skills can open doors that hard skills alone might not.
"Do as I Say AND as I Do"
A pet peeve of mine in previous positions was encountering managers who'd essentially proclaim, "Do as I say, not as I do." This type of rhetoric creates a divide between the leader and the team. It gives the impression that they consider themselves "above the rules" they've set. Frankly, it tainted my perspective on work.
My aspiration is to be the kind of leader who abides by the same standards I establish for my team. If I assign a task, I strive to provide instances of when I've tackled similar challenges. If I request preparation for something, I offer guidance on how to approach it. As a leader, it's my duty to ensure their success. Witnessing someone stumble at a task they could have excelled in brings me no satisfaction.
Conclusion
Leadership revolves around tending to those under your guidance. It's about ensuring your team's triumphs and cultivating their potential. Effective team members often look up to their leader in some capacity, and leading by example serves as a subtle yet impactful reminder of the conduct we wish our team to emulate. There's an age-old saying that holds true in this context: actions speak louder than words.
To all leaders out there, aim to embody the very example you wish your team to follow. Wishing you a fantastic week ahead!
Once again, you have hit the nail on the head! As a leader, the one thing I always strived to do was be able to complete the same task(s) my associates had to do on a daily basis.
I also communicated to them that I would not ask them to ever do anything I would not do myself. Usually, I would handle the situation as to not put them in an awkward position if the actions taken were questioned at a later time.
The only thing I would not do is support a “rogue” decision. If they had a situation, came to me and had a discussion and came to the same conclusion, I would always stand behind them…I could only do that if I had knowledge of what was taking place.
I also strived to keep my associates doing what they did best.
For example, when I was in banking, and the tellers were short-handed, I would get cash and take transactions while my bankers were able to continue having conversations to provide solutions for clients. This allowed for those associates to focus on their every day roles, meet their production goals, which meant the branch would be one step closer to meeting its goal (my goal), our district’s goal, so on and so forth.