Walk the Talk - Lead by Example

By Priya Kaushal


A manager asks his team members to arrive office daily at sharp 9 a.m. but reaches the office leisurely at 11 a.m.

A boss criticizes everyone spending time on Internet during office hours but is discovered playing online games at the workplace.

A director instructs everyone to stay late in office but leaves at 5 p.m.

Can any of these executives turn into an effective leader? The answer is certainly "no" because they would be unable to inspire the folks through their actions.

As a leader, you need to inspire the people and push them toward a goal. To accomplish this, you have to first show them the way by doing it yourself. Once you show them the way, they will follow you from anywhere.
 

How do you lead by example? Below are the key points to lead:
  • Actions speak louder than words. Have a "do what I do" attitude, not "do what I say" attitude.
  • Get your hands dirty. If you have sound knowledge of your line of work and you understand business well, you will enjoy trust from your team members.
  • Practice limited micromanagement. Do not try to control all the small parts of the work. Let the team do their thing.
  • Drive Innovation. Encourage the team to think and act creatively.
  • Nothing is persistent than change. Welcome the change, adapt it and then teach your team to do the same.
  • Teach people the "how" aspect of the job.
  • Hear them. Get regular feedback from them and act constructively on the feedback.
  • Take responsibility of the team. You are accountable for your own actions as well as actions of the team. Do not pin down any specific person for the mistake but identify why the mistake was made and communicate how it can be avoided in future.
  • Believe in yourself. If you will not have confidence on yourself, you will not be able to persuade others for making efforts towards attainment of goals.
To lead by example is one of the central quality for being a successful leader. Only articulating the organizational vision in not enough, you need to ensure that vision is followed properly. And a powerful way to make the vision followed is leading by example. Inspiring the team with your actions, keeping knowledge of your trade, working in sync with the team, giving space to your team members, encouraging innovation,  managing change,  teaching the team the ways to accomplish a task, listening to them, discussing on solutions rather than pinpointing defaulters and having sufficient confidence on yourself are some of the ways to lead by example and become a successful leader.

Priya Kaushal works with Infosys.

Community Banking Recruiters, launched in 1967 by BankNews Media, is an executive search and recruitment service with a proven track record in both areas: helping banks recruit experienced, successful, quality senior and mid-level executives, and assisting banking professionals to obtain new employment opportunities that provide career advancement. 

Community Banking Recruiters is dedicated exclusively to helping banks and bankers. Our mission, in simple terms, is to bring banks together with bankers. Our strength lies in our exclusive focus in the search and placement of bank professionals. This experience gives our team a tremendous advantage as we draw on first-hand knowledge while partnering with our clients, understanding their business needs, and effectively matching client and candidate together.