"I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot
control himself." Robert E. Lee
Being a leader is never easy. In fact, I believe in today’s world it is
becoming more difficult than before to influence and motivate others to follow
because of all the distractions that constantly surround us. There are many impactful leadership methods, strategizes,
and personal traits however one thing continues to be the most important in my
mind and separates “real” leaders for those who are leaders in name or perhaps
position only.
Great leaders set a great personal example. Studies have shown that this is the number
one way to influence and impact those you lead, through your personal example. Too often leaders rely on other methods,
strategies, or perhaps even personality traits to influences others and though
these may help, our personal examples as leaders is what will truly inspire and
earn the trust of our team.
One reason why personal example is so impactful is because
it is hard to do and so few follow through with it. Many leaders fail to live up to their own
standards or at least those standards and expectations they profess to
others. More and more we see leaders who
claim one thing but do another. A leader
who is able to not only talk but also act will inspire others to follow. For this reason, those who may not have the
“title” or the formal position of authority can be, and sometimes are, the best
leaders. Their power and influence of
their examples cannot be denied.
So you want to be a great leader, then set a great
example! A leader leads by example
whether he intends to or not. Our
personal example will have the greatest influence on those we lead and will
permit us to be the kind of leaders we ought to be.
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