Many respected online sources suggest that the best leaders do indeed lead by example. But what exactly do we mean by this and why does it matter?
It is easiest to look how management can fail to lead by example first, as unfortunately, most of us will have encountered this in some form or another during our working lives. There’s the manager who comes and goes as he pleases, but berates his employees for abusing flexi-time policies if they turn up two minutes late. The director who slashes the budgets of all his teams but then splashes out on a new company car for himself. The supervisor who cancels all holidays to fill an important order then disappears to Spain while everyone else puts in the overtime.
It’s; do as I say, not as I do.
So how do you avoid this?
We are not implying that management needs to be on the shop floor and packing boxes whenever the going gets tough – although on rare occasions where it would make sense to have all hands on deck, don’t rule it out – or that they must be close friends with their employees. It’s not about that and employees don’t necessarily want that either.
It’s about conducting yourself in the same manner as those you’re leading.
You expect others to be in at set times and for set hours? Make sure you do the same. Budgets are limited? Adhere to the same financial limits as much as you can for your own office and activities. Everyone is working longer hours to get an important order filled? Put in longer hours too, making sure everything you can do to support them is done promptly and that you aren’t leaving the office early when they still have hours to go.
A good leader abides by the same rules and regulations they set for others and don’t expect their staff to endure something they will not. It’s saying ‘we’re in this together’, and often, that’s all staff need to see to believe in and truly respect management figures as leaders.
leadership by nist6dh licensed under Creative commons 5