The role of leader is not for everyone.
– Being leader means being responsible for actions beyond your own.
– Being a leader means accepting the fact that you will be held to a higher level of expectations and standards.
– Being a leader means that people watch what you do (and don’t do).
See a common theme emerging?
As a leader, your effectiveness is a function of your ability to influence the people you lead. Your greatest method of influence is the way you behave, the way you act, and the way you carry yourself.
Whether in the office, at a convention, while watching your kid’s football game, at the bar with colleagues after attending a conference, you are being watched, and rest assured, your behavior will be modeled by the people you lead.
Yes, this stinks sometimes, but like I opened with, leadership is not for everyone. However, for those who embrace being a leader and who want to strengthen their leadership, modeling the behavior you want to see from your team members is the greatest level of influence you can have.
Go forth and lead!