The Impressive Leader--Do as I Do

At a recent weekend leadership training camp for High School Sophomores conducted by the Hugh O'Brien Youth organization, I was quizzed on my professional experience. One of the queries really cut to the heart of anyone in a managerial position, or anyone who must deal with subordinates.

The student asked, "what is your work philosophy?"

A simple enough question on the surface, but as I pondered an answer I hoped would resonate with an auditorium full of 15-year olds, I was struck with two fundamental truths:
These were the leaders of tomorrow. (With my luck, a possible, future employer of mine was in that very room!)
And, this was an opportunity to prove a maxim I have always believed and followed: Actions speak louder than words.

I've worked for plenty of managers that operated on the "do as I say, not as I do" plane of existance. No matter how effective they may have been as managers in all other areas of performance, they eroded their ability to truly lead by displaying such behavior.

I find such operatives somewhat hypocritical, and feel a bit distrustful of them on all other levels as a result. That's not the way I roll, as the kiddo's say.

So I answered the question from the gut: Never ask anyone to do anything you wouldn't do yourself. Now, there's a fine nuance between that position, and the philosophy of finding talented people to do that which you cannot or should not. But when you're leading people--orchestrating personalities and blending talents into a team of professionals--you lead best by example.

I once oversaw a Sales Manager who could have sold ice to an Eskimo. In January. But this guy thought himself to be above the menial task of filling in order forms to get his work processed. He'd close great deals, but leave it up to others to decipher his hastily scribbled notes and input the work order. Of course the other AE's he "managed" were expected to do their own paperwork, but he, (sniff) was above all that.

Guess what happened?
Rarely were his customers 100% happy because rarely did the orders go through accurately.
Consequently his production suffered...and his effectiveness as a manager of other account executives was diminished. Eventually, he was demoted from sales manager, and dispatched to work in an offsite "gulag" location because of his crummy people skills and crummier work habits. He could still sell, but he had no credibility with the rest of the staff.

Regardless of your company structure, when you're asking people to follow your lead, make sure the pattern you're laying down is one that anyone can follow to success.

Brent Clanton is a Broadcast Media professional, Radio talk show host, prolific blogger and creative mentor.
He's also managed a few folks himself over the years.
You can find out more about Brent here.