Leadership by Example: The Frightening Example

We know that leadership makes the difference between an organization’s success and failure, and there are many types of leadership. There are leadership from the heart, leadership by KPI (Key Performance Indicators), leadership by command, coercion and control the opposite, leadership by consultation.

Among all types almost everyone say that the best leadership is leadership by example. Unfortunately most people don’t understand what leadership by example is.

To many people ‘leadership by example’ means that the leader must set an example. For example, if the leader ask people to work hard, he himself must work hard not just now but forever. Some say that to lead by example, a leader must be flawless and posses all the attributes that he advocates.  The leader by example must do what he says and says what he does. Otherwise he is just a hypocrite and will lose credibility as a leader.

Is this true?  It seems that this is the common understanding of leadership by example. That’s why I see many bosses go all the way down to the ground, and many even go below the ground.  They work, suffer and toil as hard as the workers.  Some think that leadership by example means the boss accepts the same pay as the staff.  When times are hard, people expect the leader to take a bigger pay cut ‘so as to have moral authority’ and can lead by example. Others say that the leader has to arrive at the office earlier than everyone and leave later than everyone. There are some who assert that a leader is leading by example when he is there to solve all the team's problems and assumes all blames.

If the above principles of leadership by example are true, who wants to be a leader?  The leader is the worst of all, he suffers the most and enjoys the least.  No wonder many people in Singapore are afraid of stepping up to become a leader for they fear leadership by example. 

Truth be told, leadership by example is none of the above.  If you follow great leaders like Alexander The Great, Genghis Khan, Steve Jobs and Sun Tzu, you'll realize that leadership by example is about one and only thing: are you willing to do what you ask your people to do?  But that does not mean that you must do what you've told them.  Because leadership is about delegation: if you do the same things as your team, you're not a leader but just a team’s worker!  A leader's job is more than doing work, he has so many things to do that's why he must delegate.  

From consulting with many clients since 1991, and having attained a MBA that includes a course on leadership, and having been a leader myself since 1993, I think Leadership by example is about the following 7 things:

1.   Stand in front of the people, not behind. This means that you must be seen to be the leader at all times.  If people are uncertain, the leader cannot stand behind the followers, he must step up and be at the front to show people that despite of uncertainty, he is there to lead.

Standing in front of the people also means that the leader must not run away or shy away from problems. He is there to shoulder all blame and responsibilities. This links to our next point below.

2.   Being Responsible for all the results, regardless of whether you have delegated them or not.  This means taking the blame, but credit would most of the time goes to the team so as to motivate the team. The reason is that you can only delegate the task but responsibility remains with the leader.

3.   Taking Risks (chance that things may go wrong). Most people like to live in their own comfort zones and would avoid risks at all cost. That’s why organizations that have poor leaders would go into decline because they dare not do anything different from the past, even when what they do is not working. You’ve seen this in companies like Blackberry, Nokia and Motorola. They dare not take risk and now are gone in the mobile phone business.

4.   Make Service to Others as the Highest Purpose.  This means the leader is a servant, but he serves his team by adding value as a leader.  Note that the leaders does not serve people literally, a leader’s best service is to add value as a leader. The best way a leader can add value to his team is to enrich the team’s lives. In short, give the team a better life.

5.   Innovate and Create New Ways of Doing Things that ADDS VALUE.  If the leader is always doing the same way as before, why does the team need him?  

6.   Make People Better than Themselves.  This is obvious, that's why people need a leader for they want to become better.

7.   Be a Role Model.  Think, act, speak and behave like a leader and do the right things.  

By Andy Ng, Chief Trainer Coach at www.asiatrainers.com, contact him at WeChat 8201-4347 or www.andyngcoach.blogspot.sg