Performing Leadership through Examples

As leaders, we are supposed to be able to lead other people by our own example. If our people find their leader doing something but saying something else, they might obey and undergo what is uttered but without really having the spirit behind what the leader tries to achieve. When our people have no the spirit behind a rule we all can end up in a very massive efficiency loss.

The point of leading through example means more to lead through intention not through direction. This could be more clearly to comprehend when our people hear us saying something we want them to do, they might follow what we say; however, it is much less efficient than they follow what we mean. By following our intent, they will surely be a lot more effective and productive; they will align more with our vision than when they only follow what word them to do.

There is a situation of a principle of a big university which has a large enough parking space near the building where he works. He announced his students to park their vehicles at the low area of the valley and to ride a bus to get to the campus. Once in a while, students found that they were on the same bus with the university principle. He wanted to park at the same area as his students were parking their vehicles in order that he could make sure himself how they had to park and get to the campus.

His students respected him a great deal because he was trying to follow his own words and rules although he did not have to do so. They felt that he valued them and as a result they gave a massive deal of effort to help the university get success.

The situation above shows us that leading through examples is much better than just telling them. When we tell our people, they will understand a very small percentage of what we are trying to say. On the other hand, when we give them example by showing them what we want them to do, they will understand not only what we mean but also the intention behind our example of what we actually want them to do.