Leadership: why leading by example is crucial for success
Leadership is about creating a strong team. Leadership is about showing, not telling. Leadership is about your team, learning from your behaviour, so that they have an understanding of what is expected of them. But, most importantly, leadership is about showing the authentic you.
And being a strong leader is crucial for success in both life and business. Here’s why:
As a leader not only do you demonstrate how to do a job well, but how to handle failures. You establish expectations around processes and communication, which allows others to carry themselves in line with brand expectations, upholds your values, and therefore creates a strong brand. As a great leader, you encourage others to share their ideas and contribute, which in turn builds morale, capabilities and efficiencies. And ultimately, as a great leader, you can be the change that you want to see in your business.
When I had my retail stores, quite often I would find myself in a store nearing closing time. The staff had end of day procedures that needed to be completed, or would be busy doing other things, so I would get the vacuum out and start vacuuming the floors. I would get comments like, “oh stop, you don’t have to do that.” Or, “that’s not your job.” But that’s how leadership works. Sure, maybe it wasn’t my job. But my job as a leader was to support the team, to work as a team for a common goal, and to set an example that no job should be above or below us, if it helps our colleagues.
Here are my top 5 tips on how to lead by example for business success:
1. Always show the right way – showing is 1000% times more effective that telling if you want motivated and efficient staff. Walk your talk.
2. Have hard conversations, constructively and productively – be understanding and listen when handling any form of conflict. Always offer constructive advice and work towards a solution that suits everyone. Remember that your staff will mirror your behaviour, so how you handle conflict is a big one when trying to set an example that upholds your business and personal values.
3. Communicate, communicate, communicate, especially when you feel like it least – if you’re having a bad day, let your staff know. Tell them that you’re having an off day and it’s not because of them. If they see you slacking off (which you shouldn’t be because you’re setting an example but…), they’ll think it’s okay to slack off too. Ask them if they can step up and help you to get everything done that needs to be actioned. People love responsibilities.
4. Explain yourself – just because you’re the boss, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explain yourself. If you’re late, apologise and tell them why. Again, walk your talk so you can trust that your expectations are being upheld.
5. Thank your staff and give rewards – it might just be a thank you in front of the team, but a little thanks goes a long way. And it’s so easy to do. People love praise and telling them they’ve done a great job is the easiest way to keep them motivated and wanting to kick goals.
On a final note… I once had a boss that hated confrontation or, as I would put it now, conversations to encourage growth. When issues arose, he would address the whole team rather than the person directly involved. And we would all feel as though we were getting blamed and shamed for something we didn’t do. And often times, the person at fault was completely ignorant to owning that it was their issue. All that this method achieved was putting a good team offside.
I’d love to hear your examples on how you have successfully lead by example. Send me a message at https://www.traceymathers.com/contact
If you need some help with leadership, find out more about my team empowerment and leadership programs at https://www.traceymathers.com/team-empowerment
Alternatively, if you need some specific help, book in a free 30 minute connection call here: https://www.traceymathers.com/schedule-connection-call