Effective Leaders: Leading by Example

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Leadership is essentially the ability to motivate. An effective leader can motivate others toward reaching a common goal. Leaders are different than managers in that leaders inspire others to do the work needed while managers generally tend to manage the tasks associated with completing the goal. - In my own experiences, I have been both a leader and a manager in my professional life and find that leading can be difficult. Inspiring others to get on the same page and work together toward the same goal has its own challenges. It is much easier to manage the actual tasks associated with the project or the goal than it is to get buy in from others to complete those tasks. - A very strong, yet controversial, individual who has been used as a primary example of an effective leader is Adolf Hitler. Though the things he led his armies to do were despicable, he was able to motivate, create a sense of ownership among the armies, and instilled a strong sense of urgency to believe in his vision. - Leading by example: Effective leaders know they are always being watched and are comfortable with being looked to as a role model. Pitching in where needed, being an active part of the team, demonstrating the values and traits expected, and actually doing the work others do to understand it are all aspects of leading by example (Yoskovitz, 2007). - An experience I've had with leading by example was when I was given a position in a middle management role to lead others who had actually been doing the job longer than I had. In order to gain respect and to effectively lead, I had to "get my hands dirty". I spent large amounts of time with each employee to learn what they did, how long they'd been doing it and the pain points they experienced... ... middle of paper ... ...ecision-making assist someone with become more technically competent in that aspects of a that individual?s job may require them to use decision-making with their employees as well as problem-solving with challenges that may arise along the path toward goal completion. - Strengthening skills is a matter of both professional and personal development. Seeking and practicing leadership skills in any field, such as administration and finance, will assist with the continued development of the technical competence needed for the positions as well as the skills needed to be an effective role model and motivator. - Some elements of a plan that perhaps I would engage in are internal trainings regarding effective listening, communication, and organization as well as external seminars, courses and readings to continue to develop me both professionally and personally.

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