In late December and early January, I did a series of posts on what leaders need to do to help the people they lead to succeed. These tips were related to one of the points I make in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations: create a committed and engaged workforce.
Developing and communicating a clarity of purpose and direction is another of the 4 Secrets. Organizational values are helpful in communicating clarity of purpose. Values guide decision making. They help people figure out what to do in ambiguous situations.
In this post, I will concentrate on one of the things great leaders do to use values to communicate their organizations clarity of purpose.
Lead by becoming a role model for your organization’s values with the people you lead.
Great leaders act as role models for their organization’s values. They set the proper example. They are committed to their organization’s values, and they practice them all the time, without exception. The people they lead can count on this.
Great leaders know that bringing values to life is a behavioral issue. They put their focus on what they do, day in and day out. Great leaders realize that to be a values role model, they need to pay attention to everything they do – because everything a leader does, counts.
In order to become an exceptional values role model, great leaders focus on four items.
- How they spend their time.
- Where they go.
- What they say.
- How they deal with problems and crises.
Read on to see how great leaders use their time to become a role model for their organization’s values.
Great leaders realize that their time and how they spend it is a very clear indicator to the people they lead of what’s important to them. No matter what you say, the people you lead will watch what you do. And, the things you do will send a strong clear signal to the people you lead about what you really think is important.
The people you lead are smart. They watch how you – or any leader – spend your time and they draw their own conclusions. “That’s what’s really important.” “That’s something that is OK to do, or not to do.” “That’s what I should be doing.”
The opposite is also true. The people you lead are also aware of what you don’t do and make similar conclusions. “My leader doesn’t spend a lot of time on this, so I guess it isn’t very important, even though he says it is.”
Great leaders analyze their daily tasks and activities. They make sure they are spending their time doing things that support their organization’s values. These leaders know that actions speak louder than words, and they make sure that what they do is in sync with what they say.
Great leaders know that the people they lead will act like them. They continually ask themselves, “am I spending my time in such a way that I set the right example for the people I lead?”
Eric Harvey, author of Walk the Talk: And Get the Results You Want has a favorite saying that anyone who aspires to become a great leader should embrace. “We judge ourselves by our intentions. The rest of the world judges us by our actions.” Think about it as you plan your day.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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