Leading by Example: An Essential Trait of Successful Leaders
Being an effective leader in today’s competitive world is more challenging than ever before. However, a true leader stands out at these times, making all the difference in driving to success his team and the project on which they are working. “Leading by example” is a top-listed trait of successful leaders in the workplace—for good reason.
Its history is deep-rooted across nations and over the years. Mahatma Gandhi and Alexander the Great are excellent examples of people who led by example, whether in a position of authority or not. “Practice what you preach” is an old adage, and the two of them were so influential to their followers because they put it into action.
The strategy of leading by example is often misunderstood as something that can only be done by people in management roles who do big things to guide their teams. However, you can even “lead up” by example by leading your boss. This is easier said than done, especially if the manager is more dictating in his style than embracing a learning culture all around. However, even in such situations, there are small yet powerful lead-by-example gestures an employee can make to ultimately be able to manage from the bottom up.
While leading by example, whether top-down or bottom-up, is indeed a very effective leadership quality, we need to realize is that it is not really a choice that leaders—or, for that matter, anyone—makes. We lead by example involuntarily all the time in our daily lives.
We need to note that such leading is not always positive. It’s a double-edged sword, and there can be harmful repercussions of leading by bad examples. When everyone is under time, cost, and market pressures, we need to be especially conscious to lead with the right examples.
This is where a true leader differentiates himself from the rest, and it is not difficult to identify such people. The leader's traits—integrity, sincerity, results orientation, and empathy for end users and employees—show up in the way the leader conducts himself, which automatically creates the leadership by example that his team can emulate.
If we were to handpick five essential management traits that will continue to make a positive difference in the workplace for years to come, leading by example bags a strong seat among them. This trait has withstood the test of time and will continue to do so into the future as well.
