What Do Leaders Do?

It’s obvious, leaders lead, right? Everyone knows that, of course.

How? Well, that’s a slightly trickier question somewhat.

Mainly, leaders lead by the example that they set. All leaders, whether inadvertently, or intentionally by design, model the behaviors that their followers will try to emulate.

This means that if the leader is terminally impatient and grumpy, before too long the entire organizational culture will become impatient and grumpy also. It will be difficult to work for this company with any measure of success if the employee isn't patient and buoyant and good-humored.

If the leader is tolerant, and solutions-oriented, so too will their people become; so too the organization as a whole.

Given enough time, organizations become carbon-copies of the senior leadership team: they hire and fire in their image, they reward the attributes that they model and share, and we all know that what gets rewarded gets repeated.

If you want a more solutions-oriented company, become more solutions-oriented. If you want a more creative company, demonstrate that you value creativity – in thought, but just as importantly, in deed.

Leaders lead whether they want to or not.

Leaders communicate whether they want to or not.

Leaders set examples whether they want to or not.

Leaders are responsible whether they want to be or not.

...and, most of all…

Leaders encourage what they tolerate in themselves and then others.

To better understand how you might better model the behaviors that your organization needs requires a high degree of leadership self-awareness.

To significantly build leadership self-awareness requires regular (daily) introspection – leadership journaling quickly builds these reflective and reflexive muscles. Since the best of the best journal – isn’t it time you too made a start?