Lead by example. Those may be among the most urgent words we need to hear.
Someone is judging you right now.
Even if they can't see you right now, they can still think about something you said to them earlier. They remember how you acted, or reacted. They noticed what you wore for clothes on your body and what you wore for an expression on your face.
You left an impression, and someone formed an opinion. Then they rendered a judgement.
5 Opportunities to Lead By Example
There are countless ways, but here are 5 to get us started.
1) Don't ask others to do what you can't, or won't.
- This is a big one. It mattered 2,000 years ago when kings led soldiers into battle at the front of their armies, and it still matters today. We're human, and this one won't ever go out of style.
- If you're leading a martial arts class, you better bring the same intensity you demand from your students and classmates.
"Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means."
-- Albert Einstein
2) To be a great leader, you have to be a great follower.
- How can you expect people to do what you ask them if you bristle when others ask you to do things? People notice this. No one follows a poor follower just because they’ve been promoted into a “management” or “leadership” role.
- Leaders and followers sometimes need to switch roles. An adaptable person needs to have all bases covered. Follow as if your turn to lead is just around the corner. Lead like your turn to follow is coming soon.
"He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander."
-- Aristotle
3) Eat last. Rest Last. Rise first.
- Feed your family, your students, or your employees first. “Feeding” them applies to more than just food too. Feed them breaks, vacation, knowledge, and training. Give friendship to get it in return. Give respect first, and watch it boomerang back to you.
- If there’s inconvenience to be found, we take it on ourselves. People more willingly follow someone who voluntarily takes on inconvenience in order to spare others the same.
- Leaders plan for their followers’ physical, mental, and emotional needs after dark and before sunrise. Leaders get there first and go home last.
"Officers eat last."
-- Unknown, but it is the foundation of every Officer Corps in history
4) Demonstrate self-command. We must be able to lead ourselves before we can lead others.
- Can’t quit smoking? How can you expect to motivate others to drop their own vices? To lead a fitness class, one must be in excellent shape. To teach martial arts, one must master technique through hours, and years, of practice.
- Don’t expect others to arrive on time if you don’t do it yourself. Be on time, be organized, be ready. Dress like you respect yourself and others.
"What you are speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
5) Deliver value through your actions first; your words, if they are even needed at that point, can follow later.
- Think about this: We don’t need words to lead. People follow behavior. If we consistently project the right behavior, people will notice, form an opinion, make their judgment, and follow our lead.
- Mother Theresa of Calcutta did not lead her life-saving team because she was fluent in the many Indian dialects in the Calcutta slums. She arrived, rolled up her sleeves, put herself in great physical danger through her hands-on care of the sick and contagious, and went to work. Those are actions, and many people followed her example because of those actions.
"Not the cry, but the flight, of a wild duck leads the flock to fly and follow."
-- Chinese proverb
No comments:
Post a Comment