Leading By Example Works! How To Lead, Follow, and Inspire By Example by Gary Miller |
Many people browsing the title of this post will respond with a hearty, “DUH!” I already know that leading by example works! When most of us see a truth like leading by example we shake our head assuming we already know all about it then proceed to try to find something new and fresh.
Newsflash. New and fresh doesn’t exist. Great foundational truths that help us in business and life have stood the test of time and continue to produce results for a reason. They work. Leading by example is one of those foundational truths.
What A Little Girl In Church and Her Mother Taught Me About Leading By Example Here’s an absolutely awesome example I saw recently that got me thinking about this whole leading by example thing. I was at the early morning Sunday service at our church. I saw a beautiful little girl, probably about seven. She was dressed modestly yet very fashionable. Her hair was neat and she had one of those little girl smiles that can literally light an entire room or in this case sanctuary. Bottom line this little girl looked and was acting like a lady. She had been trained well not only in appearance standards but also in etiquette. She handled herself in way of worship norms better than most of the adults in the room. I was totally impressed. Right before the service began I saw a woman approach this impressive young lady. I had no doubt in my mind, it had to be the girls mother. She also was dressed very fashionably but also conservative. She had all of the basic protocols of our particular faith down perfect. As they found their seat I thought, now that’s leading by example.
Leading By Example Means Everyone Is Watching You As in our example, parents learn quickly the difficulties of leading by example. They learn that if they do it well, their children in most cases will follow in the same direction. Done poorly and bad fruit is almost immediately visible. Leading by example begins with understanding that you’re always being watched. By your co-workers, team, class, friends, and family. Some may say, “I don’t want to be under that kind of microscope.” Sorry, that’s life, you can’t control it.
Put yourself in the shoes of those who are watching you on a daily basis. What do they see? What do your employees see about what time you get to work? Do they see you being the last one in or the first one there? What does your family see about your dedication to them? Do they see you totally engaged or do they see you with your nose in your cell phone every five minutes? What does your internet marketing or MLM team see about how you succeed online? Do they actually see you taking part in training calls, helping other, and hustling? Or do they see someone out for themselves, hoarding information, and motivated by greed? Thinking about how others see you is tough but it’s essential in learning how to master leading by example. Please notice, I didn’t say, be concerned about what people think about you in terms of opinions. Peoples opinions of you mean very little and are influenced by all kinds of factors way outside of your control. I’m asking instead how do people see you in terms of what you are doing? Do they see you leading by example? What kind of tone are you setting?
Leading By Example Means Following By Example Just about any text on leadership and leading by example (there are about a zillion of them) will tell you that most great leaders are great followers. This is another truth we shrug off. Don’t shrug this off! I’ve personally only known a handful of great leaders. They shared many traits in common but
one at the top of that list is that all of them were great followers. They had a magical way of leading by example by following by example. This showed up in two ways. They didn’t need to be in charge all the time and they were constantly learning new things. Is that you? Are you learning all the time? Do you feel like you have to try to exert your authority and control in every situation? Maybe you need to work on your leading by example by focusing in a bit more on being a faithful follower. Ask yourself this today. What story are my actions telling the world around me? The answer you get back will tell you if you are leading by example in a positive way or leading by example in a negative one. If you don’t like the answer, there’s good news. You can change it right now. Leading by example begins with a decision and ends in success.
Do you want to learn how to share your stories and ideas with others and actually get paid for it? Crazy huh? Click Here, enter your email, and I will show you the goods. Also, connect with me on Facebook here. I look forward to meeting you! ~ Gary Miller Jr.