Leaders Model the Way

Leaders Model the Way – Part 1 What Leaders Do According to “The Leadership Challenge” by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, leaders: Challenge the process. Inspire a shared vision. Enable others to act. Model the way. Encourage the heart. 4. Leaders model the way. It is not enough to deliver rousing speeches; leaders must actually participate in the doing of what they ask others to do. Leading by example is how leaders provide evidence that they are deeply and personally committed to the vision they champion. Credible leaders practice what they preach. They do what they say they will do, and thus set the example for others to follow. Leaders set the example by behaving in ways that are consistent with their organization’s shared values. They accomplish this by: a. Clarifying their own personal values. People expect their leaders to stand for something, and to have the courage of their convictions. Leaders who lack core values are likely to change their position with every fad, and will be judged eventually as inconsistent and “political” in their behavior. Values are the standards that help us determine what we will and will not do. They influence every aspect of our lives: our moral judgments, our responses to others, our commitments to personal and organizational goals. A Christian leader’s values must be based directly upon the eternal Scriptures and not the latest opinion poll. b. Building a consensus of shared values based upon the Scriptures. Leaders represent groups. For the people to be mobilized in unity, they must all share the same values. Thus the leaders, through the clear teaching of Scripture, must gain consensus on a common cause and a common set of principles, thereby building a community of shared values that will form the solid bedrock of an organization’s vitality and effectiveness. This takes time since the people must truly own the values; unity is forged, not forced. Biblical values are not negotiable but it still takes time for the people to understand and personally own them. c. Auditing their actions. People pay more attention to the values their leaders actually use than to those the leaders say they believe in. Effective leaders must set good examples, establish high standards for themselves, and personally practice what they preach. A profitable exercise in this regard is to list the values you preach and then systematically compare them with those values actually reflected by your calendar and checkbook for the last month. To be consistent, how you spend your time and money should line up with your espoused priorities. d. Seizing opportunities to teach. Critical incidents present opportunities for leaders to teach important lessons about appropriate norms of behavior. Leaders will watch for these opportunities, and use them to illuminate and reinforce the organization’s values. e. Following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus and His leaders. The call to imitate godly leaders as they walk in righteousness, and not only talk it, is found throughout the New Testament: e.g., 1 Cor. 4:16; 2 Thess. 3:7-9; Heb. 6:12; 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:21-23. http://www.leadershipletters.com/1999/05/24/leaders-model-the-way-part-1/ ============================================================================= Leaders Model the Way – Part 2 What Leaders Do In “The Leadership Challenge,” James Kouzes and Barry Posner demonstrate that leaders: Challenge the process. Inspire a shared vision. Enable others to act. Model the way. Encourage the heart. 4. Leaders model the way (continued). How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, of course! The most effective change processes are incremental. Leaders who try to accomplish the extraordinary must learn the discipline of breaking down big problems and opportunities into small, doable steps. Problems that are conceived of too broadly overwhelm us, but anybody can take “just one more step.” Leaders help others to see how progress can be made by breaking the journey down into achievable goals and milestones. This makes the task more easily understood and accomplished. Moreover, when only a small task is tackled, the chances of success are much higher, and the “small-wins” process enables leaders to build momentum and their constituents’ commitment to the broader course of action. This creates a climate in which success is not only seen as possible, but imminent. In leading the small-wins process and building commitment to the long-term vision, leaders will: a. Take it personally. If you’re the leader, the first small-win “unit” is you. Actions speak louder than words and build your credibility. What new initiatives have you taken lately? What small battles have you won? b. Make a plan. You’ll never be able to foresee it all, and by the time you get there it will likely all be different anyway. Nevertheless, you’ve got to start somewhere and the process of planning gets people to mentally walk through the entire journey, anticipating the events, milestones, tasks and goals, and imagining their success. c. Within the parameters of the overall vision, give people choices. Choice is the cement that binds action to the person, motivating individuals to take ownership and accept responsibility for what they do. d. Break it down. Once you’ve set your sights, move forward incrementally – especially at the beginning. Break large groups and goals into small cohesive teams and doable tasks. There is nothing more discouraging than starting off with a failure, so make sure you include a few early successes in your plan. e. Publicize your commitments and your progress. By making your corporate goals visible, you create accountability and increase everyone’s sense of obligation to the vision. And by publicizing successes, you generate positive momentum and reinforce everyone’s long-term commitment. f. Trust God for the outcomes. When change is rushed, it can increase resistance and be extremely expensive. However, when leaders allow change to happen more naturally, it tends to be slower but it also receives greater acceptance. Build alliances and take the time to show people the benefits of moving ahead. g. Encourage people constantly. Once people start moving down a new path, they need frequent encouragement, especially when they encounter the inevitable obstacles, unexpected disasters and the uncharted forks in the road. The next two Leadership Letters will consider how leaders “encourage the heart” of their followers. http://www.leadershipletters.com/1999/06/29/leaders-model-the-way-part-2/