Leading by Example

I was listening to a caller on a talk show this morning and he talked about leading by example.  The caller came from a military background, which is often where I ground my leadership thinking, especially as it relates to chain of command.  It's ironic that yesterday I was writing about work ethic, and today I 'm writing about the importance of leading by example. I consider it one of the most important aspects of leadership.  One of my favorite lines from the book and movie, We Were Soldiers (Once and Young), was the concept that the leader was the first to step onto the field of battle and the last to step off the field.  I have always tried to embrace this concept as a leader.  When my family was producing a television pilot a decade ago, I prided myself on being the first person to open the set in the morning and the last to leave.  Often, this meant I was getting up at 4 am every morning and going to sleep after mid-nite.  While that was leading by example, it was also exhausting, and nearly led me to a nervous breakdown.  A story for another blog.

One of my favorite books of all time is Call of the Wild, where the favorite refrain of the protagonist, Buck, is "I am a leader, and a leader must lead."  Leadership skills can be learned, but for many, they come naturally.  Insofar as that is true, I think that one of the key elements for any leader is to model the behavior that they expect to see from their subordinates.  It's a very similar principle as parenting. You shouldn't expect your children to act any differently than you do.  In fact, that's the best example. Children will tend to imitate their parents actions and behaviors.  It's primal.  We shouldn't expect any less.  It should never be do as I say, not as I do.

While the talk show caller was specifically speaking about politics, and of course, the president, that isn't my main goal for today's blog.  However, since we can't ignore today's political landscape, I will make one comment.  The president regularly makes comments on subjects, and then immediately acts in a fashion different than those he espouses.  I've often wondered what this presidency would have been like if that weren't the case, if the president could control his ego and narcissism long enough to actually live by the principles he occasionally talks about.

We see this in business as well.  I posted an article about the fact that there are wealthy businessmen who give a ton of money to charity, all the while allowing or even fostering poor working conditions for people who can't even earn a living wage.  They might even talk about supporting these very workers, but their actions do not speak nearly as loudly as their words.  While I can understand the strategic nature of philanthropy at times, charity should begin at home.  Leading by example means focusing attention on those at the front line.

I've often said that I never expected more from people who worked for me than I would give myself, and in fact, never expected anyone to work as hard as I did.  Of course, I'm a workaholic, and I didn't think it was fair to expect that from anyone.  I will admit that I've always appreciated the people who worked for me who gave me a run for my money in that regard.  It's easy to lead from the ivory tower, but it's not an effective means in the long run, for many reasons.  As a leader, one needs to hear what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.  It's hard to achieve this if you don't engage the front lines.  It's also hard to achieve if you're not seen as being willing to listen to,  and actually hear suggestions and idea.  That's leading by example.