You can tell them to be on time but if you’re not, it is very likely that they won’t be either. You can tell them to have a positive attitude but if you don’t, it is very likely that they won’t either.
Just as you watch your people to see how they behave, they watch you to see how you behave. Even those members of your team who “never listen” always watch.
As a leader you are their model for success. Right or wrong, what you’ve done and what you do has gotten you where you are. If your people aspire to be where you’re at then they will do what you do, even if they have little or no growth aspirations, the “safe” thing to do is mimic you.
That’s why RDNA leaders kill organizations. What’s an RDNA leader you ask?
Well, an RDNA leader is one for whom the Rules Do Not Apply! An RDNA leader has somehow convinced themselves that “they have earned the right” to a less rigid set of rules.
An RDNA leader will say that “rules were made to be broken” by only by me.
These are the leaders whose motto is “do as I say not as I do.” These are the leaders who kill the morale of their team and then condemn them for low motivation and poor attitudes.
Authentic leaders know that they are the model for successful behavior. They willingly follow the same rules they set for others and hold themselves to an even higher standard of behavior than others.
Authentic leaders know that if they don’t apply the rules for themselves then the rules won’t apply to anyone. When people see that their leader follows the rules they will follow the rules as well and they will follow them much more enthusiastically.
Authentic leaders will also see rules that need to be broken but will likely change the rule for everyone and often, the rule is changed before it is broken.
If you hope to truly lead others then you need to make sure there is one set of rules for everyone. Two sets of rules creates an atmosphere of the “haves” and the “have nots” and in any type of organization this much is certain, “have nots” never willingly follow the “haves.”