Are you living by your guiding principles?

Leading by example is one of the main points of leadership. 

You may have noticed: it’s in the word. 

To get the behavior you want from your employees is to be the person you want them to be. 

They can see you

We don’t live in an episode of Big Brother, but we are being watched all the time. 

Your team members see what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. 

If they don’t like what they see, they won’t trust you. 

If they don’t trust you, they won’t want to work for you. 

And if they don’t want to work for you, they won’t. Not for long, and not well. 

What are your guiding principles?

The first step to leading by example is to know what that example is. 

Write your three guiding principles that describe how you want to be known and the traits that guide your business behavior. 

How do you recognize them?

What does it mean to see your guiding principles in action?

Lead by example, and guide your employees by clearly explaining the behaviors you expect.
Write some descriptions of your guiding principles in action, and how those principles inspire a particular way of doing things. Learn how to recognize them. 

How do you lead by example?

Once you know how to recognize your guiding principles in action, it’s time for introspection. Are you truly living these values? Do your actions match the descriptions of your guiding principles? Are you doing what you expect others to do?

Guiding principles are natural

Living by your guiding principles every day should not be hard. It should be natural. 

If it is not, you have the wrong guiding principles. 

What next

This is hard to do on your own. Schedule a 30-minute discovery call to chat about how to develop your true guiding principles.