"Strategic Leadership Starts in the Heart" (part ten)
By Patti Branco

Leading by Example

If you consider yourself a leader, then your natural expectation is that people will follow you. Your people will look to you and your own behavior as a guideline to follow. They will look up to you, support you and look for direction.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that they will copy your style whether your behavior is good or bad. After all, if you take two-hour lunches, why shouldn’t they?

You could say, “Because I’m the boss, and I said so.” But that is about as far away from leadership as you can get. The solution is to set an example for what you expect, and it will be followed without question.

I once worked on a project in a financial institution. I was only the project manager/consultant, but it drove me nuts that most people drifted in between 9:30 and 10 a.m. I never commented on this, for it really wasn’t my place to do so. However, I started arriving at 7:30 a.m., which is easy to do on location, away from home and other responsibilities.

By the conclusion of the project, most of the office was coming in much earlier, saying how pleasant it was to work before the phones began ringing. I will always remember that as a simple reminder about leading by example.

Time Blocking

Leaders are usually in control of their own time, using it wisely and purposefully.

One of the best and most effective methods for managing time is time blocking. It’s the simple act of making appointments for your prioritized activities.

 

When a future leader is planning her time blocks, she should have at least fifty percent of her time assigned to activities that involve contact with her workers.

If you let your day be dominated by administrative duties—mail, reports, issues—you will never get out of that ivory tower office. You must proactively choose to put your people first and worry about the administrative duties after that.

 

That is why time blocking works for leadership development. You can plan and do exactly what needs to be done, and if a task is incomplete on Monday, there will be a little time scheduled on Tuesday, Wednesday and so on, to finish the job.

Allot time in the schedule for flexibility and to handle issues that can crop up outside of your control. Overscheduling your activities will create frustration and discouragement.

Write out your list of activities, prioritize it, and then book time for each activity in writing. It will take a while to get into the groove, but eventually, you will feel an amazing sense of freedom and accomplishment. There are many time management tools on the market to help you keep track of your time and appointments.

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Author's note: An 20-year veteran of the securities industry, advisor coach Patti Branco is a securities industry consultant, and founder of Patti Branco Management Solutions. And can be reached at 903-451-9800.