Steve was so frustrated with the way his team dressed in the office, no matter how many times he said ‘smart casual’, people would turn up in jeans, trainers and unironed t-shirts. Even new additions to the team started coming into work smart, as he’d instructed during the recruitment process, but within a month their standards slipped too.

You didn’t have to look far to see what the problem was, the CEO came into the office in flip flops and shorts, often covered in dog hair – the only way the team knew that an important meeting was taking place was when he showed up in a shirt and trousers, with his hair brushed!

Have you ever had this kind of experience?

Leading others effectively is impossible if you are not prepared to demonstrate the values and behaviours that you wish to see and develop in your team.

Say your values are: Transparency, Responsiveness and Innovation. How are you embodying them daily?

Does your team know what your plan is for business growth? Do they know there is a problem BEFORE you start reducing the outgoings? Do you respond to requests for help or assistance promptly (even if it’s just sending a holding message)? Do you shoot down any ideas that don’t come from you?

Do you think your team would be transparent, responsive and innovative with you, your business or your customers?

Being a true leader means taking a hard look at yourself and making the changes that you need to influence in the right way because whatever you do positive or negative you are making an impression on those around you.

Take this quick exercise and see what you need to work on -

Take a pen and paper
Write down your top 3 – 5 business values
Write down an example of how you have demonstrated (or not) each in the last 2 weeks
Assess what you could have done better and decide what you will do the next time

Be honest, if you can see that you aren’t demonstrating your core values, make a plan for how you can set a better example for your team.

Need some help on your leadership journey? Schedule a call and see how we can help you build a positive legacy of leadership