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Many within (and outside of!) the Delta Companies, Inc., organization will know Wally from his many training sessions at Colas University, various Colas meetings, and even our own Delta Days training events. As a former U.S. Marine Officer, Wally led a tank battalion before becoming a pilot of AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters. Today, he serves as President of FireStarter Speaking and Consulting. To learn more about Wally, visit his website at www.firestarterspeaking.com.
Our exploration of "NO YELLING: The 9 Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You Must Know to Win in Business", continues with the third secret: SET THE EXAMPLE which includes: Inspiring Followers, Being a Role Model, and Professionalism.
You cannot lead people from behind your desk. When you do come out from behind the desk, there are several reasons you are doing so: to role-model proper behavior, to inspire and influence others, to be visible, and to enable direct communication. Setting the example is one of the most mentioned elements of good leadership.
Employees do what they are told because they understand that to stay employed they must do those things, and they might be fired if they don't do those things. However, real leaders want their people to perform, not conform. The goal is to get high performance from people because they want to give it, not to extract compliance and conformance from people because the rules mandate their work.
Setting the example is one of the primary ways leaders begin to establish credibility and rapport with those they lead.
You set the example through your conduct, the way you treat other people, and the attitude you bring to work every day. Simply being enthusiastic and having passion for what you do go a long way. Conversely, your negativity can suck the life out of your work group.
Inspiring Followers
Setting the example is not conditional; it is an all-the-time behavior. The way we apply the principle may differ but the principle is constant. When the stakes are high and the risks are great, the principle applies to an even greater degree. The pressure and stress of combat are unlike any other human experience, yet people go to war. Often that willingness to remain steadfast in combat and the adherence to standards in the face of difficult conditions are the results of solid leadership. Leaders set the example through physical courage and, more important, moral courage - doing the right things.
"Set the example to help your people understand and live the norms of conduct." - Ken Maney, Lt Col USMC
Being a Role Model
"Leaders can't lead if they are not seen." - Jeff Schade, Captain USMC
Setting the example is not only about giving your followers a proper role-model to follow; it gets to that deeper theme that runs through much of this book, respect. Your behavior and actions directly influence people. At its core, leadership is about influence. Influence can be exercised by people at any level in the organization.
"The thought of one of the execs 'getting dirty' was out of his frame of reality. But then he looked me straight in the eye and said, 'If that is important to you, then I will make sure all of my guys know it, and we will make it important to us. We won't let you down.'" - Anonymous, Major USMC
What you do as a leader will have an impact, positively or negatively, for years to come.
Professionalism
Setting the example is also about self-control. We want our leaders to be calm, cool, and collected under pressure. We want them to be professional.
The rough and tumble nature of the Marine Corps is indisputable. However, this environment does not offer carte blanche to use profanity. This issue has to do with standards of conduct, respect for the individual, and self-control.
"Educated people do not use profanity. We need to set the standard here. Sure, it might be different out in the fleet, but here we want to establish good muscle memory. We train correctly. There is no need for good leaders to lower themselves to the lowest common denominator." - Jimmy Lane, Captain USMC
Setting a standard of excellence is about eliminating the acceptance of the status quo.Summary
Setting the example is not about being perfect, nor is it about acting one way in public and another in private. It is about taking action to support the words you say. It is about giving your people an example of what you expect. It is far easier for me to imitate something I see rather than something someone tells me.
The message is that we are in this together, and I want you to do your job correctly, and I want you to do it well. Inspiration, trust, respect, role modeling, and composure are all components of setting the example.
"...the rah-rah stuff is fine but you still have to walk the walk. You must be in front of your people showing them the standard of excellence you expect. Don't just talk about it, do it. Show them." - Stephen Oren, Colonel, USMC
Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc
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