What does it mean to be a leadership role model?

Leaders set the tone, they demonstrate what is acceptable and not acceptable, people copy them and look up to them. Why is it that so many leaders are unhappy with the culture in their own company then?

We think it’s because they want everyone else to change but aren’t willing to put the work in themselves to change. I used to work with someone who wanted to change the culture, they wanted their people to make more decisions and not ask for permission and got increasingly frustrated when this change didn’t happen… I mean they’d told everyone what they wanted, why weren’t they doing it??

The problem was that whenever anyone did that, whenever anyone made a decision and didn’t run it by them, they got an absolute rollocking! What’s said and what is done often two different things.

Raise your awareness of your own behaviours – are they in line with what you want from others? Are they creating the environment where others can do what you have asked of them?

Ensure Leadership teams are aligned – if one leader says one thing and another leader says the opposite then things are going to go pear-shaped pretty quickly.

What are you permitting? – The old saying goes “What you permit, you promote” If you’re letting unacceptable behaviour slide for one person, you’re sending the signal that that’s ok, so don’t be surprised if others take the lead from that.

If your company culture isn’t where you want or need it to be first ask yourself – what am I doing to create this?

If you'd like an informal chat about leadership or culture, drop us a note at hello@curiousjellyfish.com and we'd love to talk.