While virtually every post I’ve entered so far has included at least one example of the leadership topic I’ve emphasized, I wanted to be explicit today about the importance of leading by example. We can say or write anything we want about leadership, but unless we are doing it ourselves others will rightly label us with the “H” word–hypocrite. While none of us is 100% consistent in everything we say and do, the more consistency we live between our words and actions the more effective our leadership will be, and the more influence we will have not only with those we lead directly, but those around us who are impacted by our leadership.
I’ve been watching about an hour of the Olympics coverage each day since this past Friday, and one of the truths that has been brought home to me by these mostly young athletes is their absolute commitment to attain their goals. No one could call them hypocrites when it comes to the discipline needed to become effective in their chosen field, or in their willingness to do whatever it takes to win. The challenge becomes the win at any cost mentality they have developed can and has resulted in some athletes using performance enhancing drugs, or questionable or unallowable decision-making or equipment. As with every good or even great opportunity leaders have–and whatever anyone says, Olympic athletes are leaders at least in their chosen fields of endeavor–sometimes the thought is that the ends justify the means.
This thought has led many leaders to forget the example they are setting along the journey in order to get to their desired destination ahead of others, or with greater success than others. We have seen this path taken by leaders in every field of endeavor: business, sports, the church, education, you name it and someone who everyone thought was a great example turns out to be a cheat, a liar, or a phony. As leaders we must make certain that we use appropriate means to attain our ends. I remember more than thirty years ago while sitting in a preaching class at Princeton Seminary, when the professor said, “You can attract a crowd by preaching in your underwear, but the question is, ‘What will you do next Sunday?'”
Shortcuts are always a temptation on the road to success as leaders. While all of us ought to find the easiest and best way to do anything required in our particular field of leadership, sometimes the easiest and best way is still hard. After more than thirty years in the ministry, I still haven’t found an easier way to develop my relationship with God than to invest at least an hour a day in prayer and Bible reading. I’ve tried easier ways, faster ways, but in the end I always come back to the truth that no relationship is built easily or without an investment of significant time.
Think about your primary area of leadership. What kind of example are you setting when it comes to character, behavior, to living through best practices in your field of endeavor? Are you taking shortcuts that will eventually turn out to be anything but shortcuts, because they will compromise your integrity? One of the easiest ways for an Olympic athlete to be disqualified from a competition is to stray off the prescribed course for the event. Whether it’s moving outside of one’s lane, or missing a required element, or using an improper technique disqualification means that years, and in some cases decades of training are wasted.
I don’t want to take anything away from the achievement of earning an Olympic gold medal–or any Olympic medal for that matter–but the stakes are often much higher in your leadership and mine. If you or I stray off the course families will be ruined, businesses may be destroyed, and churches may lose their ability to speak truth and love into a community. All this and more make it vital that we learn the best way to lead in our areas starting with modeling character and integrity, and then learning or developing best practices, and then modeling them in our own lives. As we set the example, we also set the tone of what is and isn’t acceptable in our organization’s culture, which makes all the difference over time, because our organization’s culture provides the arena in which all that we do gets carried out, and sets the boundaries of acceptability and victory. More on that tomorrow.
Here’s to leading better by setting the right example in every area of our lives and leadership–today!