There is probably nothing more off-putting and dispiriting than a leader who doesn’t lead by example. You’ll likely find their team members cynical, passive, and without much enthusiasm for their work. This is disastrous for any business because it directly affects productivity and growth.

When leaders don’t lead by example, their employees feel betrayed, deceived, apprehensive, and unsettled. It creates a hostile work culture where the team is uninspired, disillusioned, and unwilling to cooperate. It paves the way for employees to lose trust, respect, and deference to their leader. 

Stick around to discover what happens when a leader fails to lead by example and how it can adversely affect team dynamics. We will talk about the impact of needing someone on the team they can look up to, emulate, and be proud of, leading them to feel uninspired about work, unwilling to collaborate with you and their teammates, and disinclined to excel. I will also give tips on what to do to ensure you’re always a good role model for your team.

Should Leaders Always Lead by Example?

Leaders should always lead by example since this is a great way to earn your team members’ trust, respect, and loyalty. When you walk the talk, you motivate your employees to push forward toward your shared visions and goals enthusiastically. You inspire them to emulate you and adhere to the same standards and ethics you embrace.

Leaders sometimes mistakenly assume that, due to their ranking in the business, they are exempted from scrutiny and estimation, especially from their subordinates. They presume they can do their tasks without considering how they impact their employees. They focus only on ensuring that tasks are accomplished, the team stays on track, and objectives are promptly achieved.

This tunnel vision is highly detrimental to team dynamics and productivity. Your employees will feel betrayed. They will eventually lose their trust and respect for you, and anger, doubts, and suspicions will replace these. 

Let’s take a closer look at what can happen if a leader doesn’t lead by example:

Low Team Morale

A friend used to head a small software development team. He knew little about the technicalities of coding and programming, but he believed he possessed the critical traits expected of a proficient leader (and so did management; thus, they promoted him). 

Employees won’t always feel motivated to give their best shot and consistently aim for excellence. Effectively leading a team means finding ways to bring out the best in people so they grow their skills, enhance their experiences, and become valuable assets in the business. When team morale is low, your employees will not be keen on achieving their full potential.

He was doing great at the start, but when his team started working more synergistically and productively, his leadership effectiveness must’ve somehow gone to his head, and he became a different person altogether.

For instance, he has constantly reiterated the value of offering aftermarket services to their clients. Still, he began to handle even the most loyal clients by ignoring and sometimes mocking their requests for software operations and maintenance assistance. His team noted how he would frequently say one thing in front of them, only to cancel out his words by doing the opposite.

My friend lost his team’s respect and loyalty. Management caught wind of it, especially since his lousy behavior became evident in how his team’s productivity plummeted. Some employees followed his lead and adopted a more passive stance, adversely affecting team collaboration and efficiency. My friend was relegated to a leadership trainee position, but I must say that this was an enlightening experience for him.

Trust Issues

Your team may start doubting you and eventually only believe in you if you consistently lead by example. When you say one thing yet do another, you tell them you’re not fully invested in the team. It shows you’re not an authentic leader they can trust and count on to always do what’s best for the business. 

Returning my displaced friend, he could not foster loyalty, respect, and trust in his team by not actively demonstrating his words. His behavior created doubts in his team’s minds about his true intentions and ethical standards. His team reacted, unsurprisingly, by mirroring his lack of drive, duplicity, and dishonesty.

Disillusionment

As a leader, remember that practically everything you do and say can serve as a precedent for your team. That’s why it’s essential to always model exemplary behavior and set good examples that your team can emulate. It’s not enough for you to encourage your team members to embrace high standards and good ethics. It’s just as crucial for you to live up to your words and practice exactly what you preach.

As a leader, your team is expected to look up to you as someone they can admire and be proud of. Failing to lead by example shows your team that you’re not the kind of leader they hoped you would be. Disillusionment and disappointment can adversely affect team motivation, directly affecting productivity.

Loss of Respect

Not aligning your actions with your words may strip you of leadership authority. When you fail to lead by example, your team may eventually lose respect for you and start seeing you as someone unworthy of their approbation and compliance. 

This creates significant issues when you provide directives you expect your team to uphold. You might find them resisting your authority simply because they feel you don’t deserve it. Their lack of deference to you will also create problems when you attempt to resolve conflicts. You’ll be met with defiance because they deem you unfit for your leadership role.

Development of a Negative Work Culture

Modeling lousy behavior for your employees may encourage some to follow your lead. It may lead to a vicious cycle of employees emulating you, then you attempting to correct them and then refusing to submit due to a lack of trust and respect for you. These negative actions, ways of thinking, and outlooks may soon become entrenched in the work culture and become habits that will be hard to break.

Tips on How To Lead by Example

Leading by example is crucial to becoming an effective leader. You must be a good role model for your team, someone they can admire and aspire to be. This is one of the simplest ways you can inspire them to excel, deliver outstanding results, and tap into their full potential. 

Here are some tips on how you can lead by example:

• Stick to your word. Always stand by your statements, keep your promises, and deliver your commitments. This inspires your team to follow your lead, allowing you to create an engaged, driven, and ambitious team.  
•  Walk the talk. You create an inclusive work environment by consistently actively demonstrating the behaviors, mindset, and ethics you claim you stand for. Only expect something from your employees that you are willing to do.
•  Think before you speak. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Ensure you can always translate into actions whatever statements you share with your team. 
•  Remember, no one is above the law. Leading a team doesn’t make you immune to scrutiny, rules, and expectations. At Sancus Leadership, we believe in establishing a culture of accountability within your team by ensuring you’re always the first to exhibit ownership of your words and actions. 
•  Be a team player, not just their coach. Managing a team means you must set the standards to which your team will adhere. Consistently demonstrate efficiency, collaboration, and excellence by actively leading your team and not just barking out orders from the sidelines. This is also a great way to boost your business’ employee retention rate. 

Here’s a quick video that shows how leading by example is the most powerful way to influence those around you and how it can change the behavior of others more effectively.

Final Thoughts

When leaders don’t lead by example, their team may feel betrayed, disillusioned, and uninspired. They will lose their employees’ trust and respect, making it more difficult for them to manage the team effectively.  

The best leaders lead by example and are excellent role models that their team can emulate and be proud of. Their ability to translate their words into actions is evident in their leadership brand. They know this is one of the best ways to encourage their team members to adopt great work ethics, always aspire for excellence, and contribute significantly to the business.

Leaders are commonly judged by higher standards than how others are judged. We expect them to be practically better at everything and always to be a cut above the rest. We feel immensely disappointed when they fail or fall short of our expectations. Sometimes, when we question their leadership rather than offering them the same compassion and empathy, we expect others to extend to us.

Leaders shouldn’t be held to a higher standard because they’re also human and bound to have weaknesses and strengths. Assuming they’re infallible may have disastrous consequences for the team. This also sometimes lowers the bar for others, creating an imbalance in team performance.

In this article, we will talk about some compelling reasons why leaders shouldn’t be held to a higher standard, starting with the acknowledgment that they have their strengths and weaknesses to contend with. Then we will tap into the issue of equitability and leveling the playing field regarding team performance. We will also explore the delusion of infallibility leaders are held to a higher standard sometimes acquire and how it can be detrimental to a team.

Should Leaders Be Held to a Higher Standard?

Leaders shouldn’t be held to a higher standard because, like everyone else, they are prone to weaknesses, mistakes, and apprehensions. Expecting them to be practically faultless can encourage the delusion of infallibility. Moreover, it can lower the standards and decrease expectations for the rest of the team, making leaders carry the brunt of the responsibilities and promoting an imbalance in team dynamics.

Let’s break down these concepts further:

1. They’re Human, Too

Sometimes, we tend to put our leaders on a pedestal and forget they’re imperfect and vulnerable, too, just like the rest of us. They have their own merits and faults, harbor insecurities, and may also have misgivings about their leadership brand. Like everyone else, they should be given allowances for failure and mistakes and must not be harshly judged based on these alone.

Some leaders pressured with being held to a higher standard are compelled to lie or withhold information to avoid disappointing their team; this behavior creates toxic bosses. Others can’t own up to their shortcomings and mistakes for fear of being ostracized. Showing vulnerability in leadership is seen as a weakness, so these leaders merely put on a brave front despite needing support and understanding from others. 

2. To Check the Delusion of Infallibility

Leaders are bound to make mistakes and may sometimes even fail, regardless of how good they are, how impressive their track record is, and how long their experience is in their field of expertise. Holding leaders to a higher standard pushes them to put their best foot forward at all costs. This isn’t necessarily wrong, but you’ll risk making leaders develop overconfidence that may become unrealistic and impracticable. 

A leader who revels in the delusion that they are infallible will have their world come crashing down on them once they face failure.

This calls to mind a story about John, a guy who used to be the head of a small consultancy firm. The nature of his work allowed him to interact with big shots from various industries who turned to him for help in handling sensitive business concerns.

Unfortunately, John’s proficiency at his job went to his head and made him feel utterly invincible. 

A pawnshop owner contacted him one day, asking for guidance in formulating actionable solutions to business issues overwhelming him. John eagerly took on the challenge, never daunted by the fact that he had no experience, know-how, or insights into this kind of business.

He disregarded input from his team, secure in the belief that, as their leader, he should be the sole decision-maker. He also wanted to live up to his reputation as an all-around proficient, dependable guy known for coming up with innovative solutions and ideas. 

The client became dissatisfied and frustrated with my friend, and he inevitably lost that business opportunity. Instead of asking for help and admitting he needed assistance, he plunged headlong into the challenge. Unfortunately, the solutions he came up with were irrelevant and potentially damaging to the pawnshop. Moreover, this incident spread like wildfire to his client base, and some lost confidence in him.

Unfortunately, John harbored a delusion of infallibility, thanks to the extremely high standards set on him. On the other hand, it’s also regrettable that the people around him turned their backs on him the instant he displayed vulnerability.

3. Standards Should Be Fair

Leaders shouldn’t be held to a higher standard than the rest of the team because that seems discriminatory. Along with their leader, each team member should be kept to a high standard based on their roles. 

In business, double standards are frequently associated with unfair treatment between individuals in the same “category.” For instance, two employees responsible for handling a particular piece of equipment in the workplace end up damaging it beyond repair due to negligence. There is a double standard if, without any valid reason, only one will be disciplined and penalized while the other gets away scot-free. 

Regarding the leader-employee setup, it would be unfair for the leader to be held to a higher standard if their team was not expected to adhere to the same level of ethics. It boils down to being held to a high standard based on each person’s roles and expertise in the team. 

For instance, leaders should be held to a higher standard when it comes to matters about managing the team. They must be effective in leading the team toward common goals. They must be able to extend support to their team members, especially during critical times. They must also motivate the team and serve as a great role model for them to emulate. Their core values should be integrity, excellence, passion, and commitment.

For instance, leaders should be held to a higher standard when it comes to matters about managing the team.

In the same way, the bar should be set high for employees as they go about their roles and responsibilities in the team. Efficiency, professionalism, collaboration, and the drive to excel must always be apparent.

They must also display integrity, passion, and teamwork, which are essential for teams to survive in the challenging business world.

At Sancus Leadership, we encourage leaders and team members to cultivate values critical in allowing the team to function efficiently, synergistically, and productively. We highlight the benefits of these principles because these are what can assist the team in continuously moving toward common objectives.

4. To Thwart the Coattail Effect

The coattail effect refers to someone or a group of people riding on the success of another, mainly based on association alone. It’s more commonly used in politics, particularly during elections, when one popular, well-loved candidate attracts votes for the rest of their party members due to their alliance. It’s like hitching a free ride where only one person does all the hard work.

When leaders are held to a higher standard, they’re pushed to step beyond their comfort zone and continuously strive for improvement and excellence. This isn’t a bad thing, but if the same level of excellence is not expected or demanded from the rest of the team, some might begin to slack off and perform below par, knowing that their leader has their back anyway.

Employee freeloaders can damage a business, particularly in small teams where each person’s contributions significantly affect efficiency and productivity. Typically, freeloaders put in just enough work to not get fired, so the team is certainly short-changed concerning the investment made in them. 

Here’s a video of Simon Sinek talking about how to lead with authenticity and empathy and how it’s important for leaders to show that they’re human too.