What makes you a more successful leader is what you stand for

Learning how to lead has become a journey for me to discover what I stand for as a leader. Early in my career the lines between a leader and manager was blurred for me as it so happens for every young professional. At the time getting tasks done in absolute collaboration with other people seemed enough. I could not at first understand the hype about leadership and why it was so important. I later discovered through experience the “art” of influencing others to create value and I enjoyed it greatly. Then I wondered: why were these colleagues getting influenced or led by me in a small or large scale? How such an impact was even possible? I realized that it was not only who I am but more significantly what I represented mattered. The set of values that I carried and lived every day after day such as integrity, respect for others, transparency was resonant with colleagues. It was then a matter of offering what I stand for to be acknowledged as a leader.

Most companies describe the set of existing “common” corporate values in their purpose and values statements. On the other hand, every leader brings a set of values with them. Naturally those values are internal to the leader himself/ herself and they influence what and how she performs. The primary challenge for the leader then becomes to seek to understand what inherent set of values exist in the group and/or the company. It only follows that the set of values that a leader brings and what the company has need to match to a great degree to create value, achieve success and therefore advance collectively.

It is not all that simple of course all the time. It is my experience that often the “collective” set values in a company fall short of what a successful leader can offer. For example, integrity would probably top the list for every successful leader. However often one would observe the managers would “not walk the talk” and rationalize inaction over action although they committed to delivering what they had communicated. In this case an individual leader’s success lies in rising above the inherent practice in the company and lead by example. In such an environment only a leader who is committed to his/her values offers “integrity” in real form to the organization.

The ultimate opportunity for the leader is discover their values, communicate them clearly and live those values by example every single day. This in fact determines whether other people want to be influenced by the leader. A good leader is more successful if other people can understand and acknowledge what they stand for.