Course 2, Discussion 2: Lead by example
Great Leadership, unsurprisingly, starts with yourself!
Practice what you preach. Lead by example. I am sure all of you heard these phrases. But why are they so iconic?
Because the journey starts with the first step and you are the person who is taking the initiative to lead -- Start a journey! So, you are the one who needs to take the first step before expecting others to do it.
To start with leading yourself, close your eyes and visualize two people: someone who inspired and encouraged you to be like them, and someone who discouraged you to be not like them.
Then, write down the good qualities of the person who inspired you as well as the qualities of the second person. You do not have to be specific with the details. Just a bulleted list.
Now, compare the list to yourself. Note the good qualities you have, the bad qualities you have, and give yourself a rating on a scale of 1-10. What we just did is identified your strengths and weaknesses and what you need in order to lead yourself. This allows you to create self-awareness.
Self-awareness is key to leading yourself in the right direction. But, leading yourself is not easy. Just being self-aware isn't enough. It's igniting the spark but not enough to catch the fire. To catch the fire, you need to be persistent with your practice, which is regular reflection. Be consistent with monitoring your efforts and holding yourself accountable.
You can't effectively lead others until you know how to lead yourself. That happens through Self-Observant Leadership: when you deeply understand your identity, compare it to your reputation (how others experience you) and then make meaning of the observations, and choose to adapt.
Exercise:
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
✒️ Respond to one of your peers in this thread
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@Hope
I learned that leadership starts from me, then to others, and that there are things to do and not to do
@Hope
What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
I learned this a long time ago, but the thing I learned was also have your facts straight, pay close to details in everything, not only to follow up but to follow through with what you say. This was taught to me by the ones I held in high regards that gave me the reason to walk the walk. Thank you for the refreasher.
@SerenitywithKat
Very well said
@Hope
I learned that one of the most important leadership aspect is that one's actions should be always on the level of their words
I agree @supportiveRiver8773
@supportiveRiver8773
Our actions always speak louder than words. So any information we put out there needs to be followed through and led by example, not merely by words. This helps build trust in you because you’ve been consistent in both words and actions.
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
I learned that a lot of the things I do to lead I learned from others and the self-awareness gives me a better grasp of how and why I do the things I do.
@Hope
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
Through this exercise, I learned that I already carry some of the qualities I admire in others like empathy and strength, but I also became more aware of the traits I want to continue working on, such as not taking things personally and being more confident in my decisions.
It showed me that self-leadership starts with knowing both my strengths and my blind spots. This reflection helped me recognize that I’m on the right path, but growth is a continuous process, and I need to stay intentional about who I’m becoming.
@Hope I learned that many times my thoughts and emotions are influenced by deep beliefs that I hadn't even identified before, I realized that by recognizing these patterns, I can better manage my reactions and make more conscious decisions to grow personally
@OyenteDiego I think this is a really important insight you found. By identifying the deeper beliefs that influence our thoughts and emotions, we can better manage how we behave in various situations, and having control over our behaviour is an important trait that anyone would benefit from.
@Hope
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
I learned that there are still alot of positive traits I want to work towards having, but also that I have alot of positive traits that I identified in a good leader.
@Hope
I learnt that leadership is more than just giving directions and overseeing progress and performances. It’s more about inspiring, motivating and supporting the team to reach their fullest potential.
That’s a good point
I learnt that leading people starts with oneself. I really liked doing the visualing exercise. From that, I learn about my strengths and weaknesses. It’s crucial to practice what I preach while adapting better techniques to become a better leader.
@calmingcomfortero
Hii there! I love your take on this "leading by example" idea. I agree that being a leader requires being flexible and having the ability to adapt to different scenarios. Wishing you nothing but luck and success towards your way on this leader journey of yours ;)
@calmingcomfortero
That's really well stated on your part! I agree the activity was a great realization about our strengths and weaknesses. Wish you the best for your pathway further! I'm sure you will rock it on definitely!😇
@calmingcomfortero
Leading by example is a great way to set a positive impact.
✒️ What did you learn about yourself through the given exercise?
I learned that being an effective leader requires leading by example. In order to help others to success, I must take on a model role to encourage others to follow in the same footsteps, if not, similar.
@greka7
I agree with you on that! Leading from the front is definitely a core part of being a good leader