I'm guessing that the best leaders that you have ever followed lead by example.
So, in this video, we're going to demystify this a little bit and give you
four practical tips that you can use right away.
Hello again, friends. I'm Alex Lyon.
If we haven't met yet this channel, Communication Coach, is here to
help you increase your impact so you can lead the teams around you to higher
levels of excellence. I love videos for frontline managers,
frontline supervisors, team leaders. These are the people who really poured into my
life early on and so most of the videos on this channel help you move your game
forward if you fall into that category. And today we're talking about how to
lead by example. And if you really boil it down this means being a role model in
your values and in your behaviors. And those things have to match up. Let's
look at four ways that you can do this. The first is that your words have to
match your actions. If you're saying that everybody should do something, you have
to do it too. You have to be the leader. You don't want to be one of those people
who says, "Do as I say not, as I do." That's really hypocritical and no one wants to
follow leaders like that. In fact, years ago I worked in restaurants and there
was a sign on the time clock one day from the manager. It said, "Employees are no
longer allowed to eat bread sticks." We're losing money on bread sticks. And then lo
and behold, later that same shift, there's the general manager eating a bread stick
out of the bin. That sets a really bad example. No one wants to follow a leader
that handles himself that way. You have to be willing to do everything that
you're asking other people to do. Now, you don't have to do it the whole time but
you have to be willing to do it. Years ago, again, I worked at a pizza place. And
Mike, this awesome manager, hired me and he was showing me how to do the dishes.
And he said, "Here. This is how you get the dough off with the trays." And he did a
couple of the trays and I said, "Okay. I can take over now if you want me to." And
he said, "Oh yeah, that's great you can take over but I just want you to know,
Alex, I never asked anybody to do anything that I'm not willing to do
myself." And I've known Mike for years and he leads by example.
That's what we want to do. Our actions and our words have to match. Tip number two. See a need,
take action. Whether the need is really big like a really tough project
that no one's quite sure how to solve. If you see that need, you can move in that
direction, take action to solve that problem. Or you can take initiative on
really small things. Let's say you're at a group meeting and instead of just
worrying about your participation that meeting, maybe you notice that someone
that's there that has something to offer really isn't very talkative. Maybe you
can draw them out in a polite way you might say, "Hey, John. Where we are thoughts
on this? It seems like you had some good ideas." Then you draw John into the
discussion. That's leading by example because you're seeing a need and you're
taking action. These can be large or small. Tip number three. Live by a higher
personal code than the organization is asking you to do. Now, I know a lot of
organizations have corporate value statements and things like that but a
lot of times you'll see there will be certain managers and certain groups of people
who will cut corners and fudge the numbers and mess around to get what
they're trying to get. That's going to hurt their credibility. You want to hold
yourself to a higher standard because if you're a leader, you live in a fishbowl.
People are going to notice every little thing you do and you don't want to be
seen making ethical, moral compromises. People hold leaders to a higher standard
and you have to hold yourself to a higher standard. Tip number four. You want
to bring out the best and the people around you.
This means coaching them up, teaching them, mentoring them, and do it in a
helpful way. You don't want to be bossy or always be someone who's giving advice.
That's going to push people away. You want to do it an inviting, encouraging
way. The best coaches, the best leaders I have ever had look for ways that they
could help develop me and move me forward. So those are my four tips for
how to lead by example. But enough about my ideas. Question of the day. What are
your tips for how to lead by example. I would love to hear your comments in that
section below. So thanks. God bless. I'll see you in the next video