At the outset, leading by example seems simple: Behave the way you want your team to behave. In practice, especially in a large organization, managing teams, it can become overwhelming. To avoid that and be consistent in your leadership, the following ten strategies set a solid foundation. Let's get started.

10 Strategies to lead by example

Decide what you want to be an example of

First things first, to lead by example, you need to decide what kind of leader you are. For example, the leader of a struggling company needs to be vulnerable and motivating. The manager of an overworked team must be empathetic and supportive. To lead by example, begin by:

• Outlining your vision: Show the team what you are expecting the future to look like
• Clarifying values: Outline the values that are important to you and expect the team to follow
• Demonstrating behaviors: Act the way you want your team to act -- be open, speak straight, be on time, document everything, etc. Simon Sinek's Start with Why is a powerful resource to begin your journey towards leading by example.

Communicate openly

You might think you're leading by example, but that can often go unnoticed. For instance, you might always keep your camera on in Zoom meetings, but team members who are shy might not follow suit and might not think much of it. So when modeling behaviors isn't enough, it helps to be more explicit about it. For instance, create a "working with me" document that your team can access. You can set it up on a tool like Github Wiki, which you can share with everyone on your team. They might even comment on the doc or ask questions, strengthening your collaborative work in the process. If you are new to writing about your work style, check out some team docs template that can get you off the ground.

Provide useful and constructive feedback; receive the same too

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is assuming a position of authority, thereby not taking feedback from their teams and juniors. When you behave this way, the team learns that they don't need to be collaborative or take feedback as well. Instead, prioritize seeking feedback and taking action on them.

• Have open-door hours: This will encourage employees to walk in, share ideas, ask questions, and seek guidance without worrying about scheduling meetings
• Ask for opinion: In standup calls, retrospectives, and brainstorming sessions, ask each person for their opinion. Even nudge the silent ones gently
• Encourage debate: Empower people to disagree with you. Do this publicly, so other team members can be reassured that they can debate with you If you team is distributed, build virtual spaces to do this. Have an open plan office sort of set up with a tool like Google Chat. Have contextual conversations (in nested comments), debating ideas and suggestions. For a more structured feedback mechanism, try the Workday feedback template. This fully customizable template allows you to gather feedback, visualize sentiment, and build a company culture of transparency.

Encourage a transparent workplace

Transparency in leadership is often presented as a virtue, like the right thing to do. However, few understand why transparency is important. Here it is. In knowledge work, success depends on everyone knowing as much as collectively possible. For example, if you content writer doesn't know that you use Oxford commas, you're going to have inconsistent writing. Transparency enables you to increase the collective knowledge of the organization. Here are some ways you can create a transparent workplace:

• Documentation: Write down observations, meeting notes, insights, etc. and share it widely with the organization. Confluence is a great way to do this
• Systems: Set up a project management system to manage the track all the work you do. This makes information accessible to everyone involved
• Reports: Build reports for metrics that matter. Dashboards can automatically do that for you when you manage your projects with JIRA Project Dashboard

Practice authenticity and vulnerability

Authenticity can be the glue that binds your organization together. Great leaders learn to show vulnerability without appearing weak. In his book Shoe Dog, Nike's co-founder and ex-CEO Phil Knight talks about the time when they had just launched Nike and the company was facing its first big crisis. Knight gathered his employees together and laid bare the threats and obstacles facing the company. Transparency about the impending crisis and openly acknowledging possible risks helped embolden his employees. The talk turned out to be a rallying cry for the fledging organization. Leading with authenticity also shows the teams that they can be vulnerable with you. They can escalate any toxicity and resolve conflicts, thereby creating a safe and inclusive workplace. For practical advice about shame, vulnerability, and empathy, read this summary of Dare to Lead, Brene Brown's roadmap to courageous leadership.

Set team goals

Business leaders have a tendency to set company goals with the board and then pass them on to their teams. This sometimes makes teams feel like their targets were handed out to them. To lead by example:

• Set the goals together with the team
• Ask them what's achievable
• Take responsibility for the team achieving their goals
• Actively learn what they need
• Monitor progress on a regular basis and support the team where needed Confluence/Jira is perfect for setting targets, measuring progress, and interjecting as needed.

Don't be scared of making a fool of yourself

The problems that modern organizations solve need creative and adventurous thinking. Sometimes, the ideas may sound silly. Teams need to feel reassured that all their ideas will be welcome without judgment. To enable this, be open to sharing ideas openly.

• Invite people to speak their mind and demonstrate active listening without judging them
• Encourage the team not to reject ideas straightaway but explore the direction in which they lead
• Within the team, build guard-rails to avoid reckless decisions

Schedule Q&A hours

Spend time in your teams' shoes

Evolve with the times

A war-time prime minister needs completely different skills and attitudes from a peace-time one. So, be the leader your teams and organization need you to be. When the economy is slow, you might be creative or aggressive. When the investment is flowing, you might invest in training and experimentation. When your team is small, you might have a closer relationship with everyone. But when your team grows, you might even struggle to remember everyone's name. As a successful leader, it is your job to evolve with the times. Show your team that change is not only inevitable but can also be positive. For example, if you're a leader managing the change to return to office, you show up in person everyday. Talk about how it is helping you and how it might help your team. Accept disagreements head-on and debate positively. If it still doesn't work, don't shy away from retracting your plan altogether. While all of these strategies can be really helpful, each individual is different. During the course of leading by example, challenges are bound to arise. Let's see how you can overcome them.

Overcoming Challenges in Leading by Example

Leadership strategies and management styles differ across and within organizations. Change leadership directs an organization through transformation. This situation--like COVID-19 or economic volatility -- is often thrown at the leader, which they must navigate to be successful. Emergent leadership, on the other hand, rises to the position organically and guides teams without relying on formal authority. They are adaptable and more in sync with the team. Ethical leadership is about doing the right thing, not just for the bottom line but also for the employees, customers, and society at large. Depending on the organization, market situation, and leadership skills, here are some challenges a good leader might encounter and how to overcome them.

Lack of a unified vision

To lead by example, your team needs to see and relate to your own behavior. Without a unified mission and principles, your exemplary actions can go unnoticed.

Solution: Document your vision and leadership philosophy. Discuss it with your team members regularly. Encourage them to make decisions based on the principles, values, and beliefs you've set together.

Delegation

Every manager, however experienced, struggles to delegate at some point. Sometimes, they might not have the right person on their team to carry out the task. At other times, they themselves might not be clear about what they need.

Solution:

• Document in detail the work you need done, expectations, goals, and outcomes. Writing it down creates clarity and serves as a reference.
• Provide all the resources necessary to get the work done.
• Explain how you want it done (a document detailing "here is how I would do it" is a great way to lead by example)
• When you update documentation, tag your teams so the information isn't missed.
• Schedule regular check-ins and offer feedback on progress

Appendix:

• What is "leadership philosophy"?