Leading By Example
Leaders have no choice about setting an example.
But they have a great deal of choice in the kind of example they
do set. Putting stakes in the ground about important values -- and
then living by them -- is essential for leadership. It builds credibility.
When a leaders words and deeds are inconsistent, people feel betrayed,
and their belief in and loyalty to that leader is lost.
The word credibility comes from the root word
credo that means I believe. The word credit has the same root. When
people check your credit, they are trying to determine if your promise
to pay is believable. Our friends Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner (authors
of The Leadership Challenge), state that credibility is the foundation
of leadership. People must believe in the leader before they will
follow. Quite simply, leaders who have clear values, clearly communicate
them, and truly live by them are seen by their followers as credible.
By the way, if you wonder how important credibility
is, think about what is happening right now with the revelation
that the FBI has apparently lied about setting off incendiary devices
during their siege at Waco a couple of years ago.
Reflection
How clear are your values, really? Are they rock
solid - or easily compromised? Do you profess certain values because
they are popular or expected - or because you deeply believe in
them? These are important questions. You need to honestly deal with
them and get feedback from others about them. It is easy to believe
that you walk your talk, but do the people you are attempting to
lead agree with you.
Experiential Activity
Read the following case study about golfing legend
and Ryder Cup record-holder, Nick Faldo, and his brush with this
years selection process. Think about role modeling as you answer
the questions. You may want to discuss these as a team. Although
this is a sports related story, you do not have to know much about
golf to draw some lessons from it.
Faldo Being Left Off Team
The Associated Press
Nick Faldo is being left off this year's Ryder
Cup team, ending his streak of 11 straight appearances. Team captain
Mark James told Faldo, whose 11 appearances and 23 match wins are
Ryder Cup records, that he wouldn't be a wild-card selection when
the European side is announced today.
I bumped into Mark in the hotel last night and
asked him. He said I was too far down the ladder," a dejected Faldo
said.
Colin Montgomerie, Europe's top golfer of the
1990s, said Faldo should be on the team that faces the United States
Sept. 24-26 in Brookline, Mass.
"The team that plays in Brookline will be weaker
without Nick," Montgomerie said. "I would pick him - yes."
The two are playing the BMW Open in Munich, where
European players are scrambling to qualify for the 12-man team.
Faldo was angry that James didn't inform him he
had no chance when the two were at the PGA Championship last week.
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer, August
22, 1999
Questions
- How was Faldo treated:
- Honestly and Fairly;
- Honestly and Unfairly
- Dishonestly and Fairly;
- Dishonestly and Unfairly Think through your
answer.
- How might the European Ryder Cup members view
their coach?
- Why did this "revised opinion" of the coach
occur?
- How does a credibility issue like this occur
in the workplace? How is your credibility? What are you doing
to influence your credibility today?
Action Plan
- Ask people you are trying to lead (including
family members) to provide you with their view of your top 3 -
5 values. Do all of them agree? Are their responses consistent
with your view?
- Follow up with them and really understand their
responses. They will provide you a window of enlightenment.
- Select a value that you truly want to demonstrate
more frequently. Write it down and keep it visible. Develop some
actions you can take. (Your people can help you with this.)
- Constantly seek feedback on how you are doing.
Keep at it. If the value is really important, you decisions will
begin to reflect it more easily.
Remember: it is much easier to live your values
when times are good. But people are watching you all the time, and
it is in the difficult times that your credibility will likely be
tested the most.
Let us hear from you about your progress and your
questions (use the message board on this
website). And don't ever underestimate how powerful a message your
actions send.
Click here for last month's lesson: Enabling
and Empowering Others
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