Leading by Example

Actions speak louder than words

Lead it! You are a human being who is free to fail because victory goes to those who are willing to get vulnerable. You have heard us say this before. Hopefully, you have had a chance to practice with yourself. You can practice putting yourself out there. You can practice fully committing to the actions you know you need to take. You can practice opening up to the possibility of failure. If you can do this for yourself, and remember that you are still a valuable human being no matter what happens, then you can begin to lead others to unlock their potential by doing the same.

Start with Value: It all starts with valuing those around you as human beings first. Yes we all want to succeed and help others unlock their full potential, but we can only do that if we see people as valuable no matter what happens. If you want to lead others to success and open them up to failure and vulnerability so they can grow, you have to let them know that whether they succeed or fail, you value them the same. Then, you have to back your words up with real actions. If they fail, you have to guide them through that experience while connecting with them as a human being. Reward their vulnerability and openness with support and encouragement. Notice that they are trying and help guide them so they can keep moving in the right direction. Don’t try to do it for them. They will struggle. They will fail. As a coach and leader, you are providing a light on the path that they have to walk.

Support Stumbling: As a leader, you are in charge of the level of risk you expose those you are leading to. You can also support your team through those risky and uncomfortable situations. Therefore you have two jobs. The first one is to make sure you are pushing people outside of their comfort zone and the second one is being there to reassure them and stabilize them and help them recover and get back up when they fall. As a leader, you open up your team to fall because they know you will help them get right back up without losing enthusiasm. Winston Churchill said that success is moving from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm. As a leader, never lose enthusiasm for the journey and your team will follow in your footsteps no matter what happens.

Vulnerability starts with you: As a leader, vulnerability starts with you. If you want your team to get vulnerable and uncomfortable, you have to fight to walk the walk. This is an area that words mean nothing without actions. Show up each moment going all in. Putting yourself on the line. Trusting your team and your skills and getting vulnerable. The only way to lead vulnerability is to live it.

As a leader, this pillar is your greatest opportunity to show your team what it means to be mentally strong. If you can demonstrate the actions above, your team will know that they can take risks and they will be ok. They can get out of their comfort zones knowing you have their back and you can push them even further once you have built that trust.

It is also the place where you can quickly lose your team. Your team knows when what you are doing is about you. They will know when you are avoiding vulnerability or avoiding mistakes. They will know when you see them only as a result or outcome and stop seeing their value as human beings.

Keep living out the principles. Keep showing up. Leading isn’t easy, but we are here to help you along the way. Know that you will make mistakes, you will focus on results and outcomes, you will stop treating your team like human beings, and you will shelter yourself from getting vulnerable. Simply notice when this happens, and move on. Make amends if you need to and keep moving forward. Growth is a continuous cycle of learning, living, and leading.

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