You’re probably familiar with the saying: “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”. When we become leaders we’re given a portfolio of talent in the form of teams. As leaders we can take a strategic, fiduciary perspective and increase the talent level and value of the portfolio, and grow and develop confident, capable leaders for today and tomorrow by “teaching them to fish”. Or a leader can milk (i.e., drain rather than enrich) the talent portfolio in the interest of achieving short term successes by “giving them a fish”.

Telling others what to do, i.e., “giving them a fish”, will likely change their behavior in the near term, but has no lasting value - telling fails to provide opportunities to learn by observing and practicing what’s expected. Alternatively, role modeling, i.e., “teaching them to fish”,  are teaching moments used by leaders to demonstrate expectations, shape team member behaviors and actions, and show the leader’s commitment to team member development and success.

Leading by telling is akin to leading by osmosis, i.e., hoping your team learns by absorbing your words of wisdom. Alternatively leading by imposing your will is leading by intimidation, i.e., using your physical presence or leadership level to influence behavior. Neither hope nor intimidation has lasting teaching benefits for adults in the world of work because they’re short term focused,  lack the instructive value of learning by observation and practice, and position the leader as less than personally vested in the team’s development and long term success.

The need to deliver extremely challenging results quickly can cause leaders to do more telling than role modeling. Communications from the leader become downward directives (i.e., adult to child) rather than  lateral (i.e., adult to adult) collaborative conversations. Unfortunately, if left unchecked, adult to child conversations become the norm and significantly diminish team member enthusiasm, commitment, capabilities and results.

As leaders we want members of our teams to partner, i.e., to commit with us to accomplish the right things and to feel invested and valued in the process. Each and every day we want them to embrace the team’s vision and make important contributions by bringing their best capabilities and efforts to the table.

When people are engaged and invested with their leader and team they are willing to bring and commit more of themselves and their capabilities to achieve a goal and/or overcome a challenge - they exude a what ever it takes/can do level of energy and commitment. Conversely, when they are not invested and instead feel marginalized by their leader; they are more likely to spend time appearing committed on the outside, while on the inside feeling personally vulnerable, limiting their level of commitment and avoiding  all risk taking for fear of making a career limiting mistake. This frequently results in leader expectations not being met and the potential downward spiral of the quality of the leader/team relationship.

So what should a leader do? First, reflect on the best bosses you’ve had and think about the key actions that he/she employed that made working with them a rewarding experience. Second, are you employing these actions with your team - if they worked for you they may work for your team? Third, demonstrate your behavioral expectations of the team by leading by example - don’t wait for your team to figure it out on their own; it wastes time and can damage relationships in the mean time. Fourth, commit to leading by example every day and to hold the team accountable for doing the same with their teams. When leaders role model behavioral expectations they demonstrate their vested interest in the team’s prospects for success and respect for the capabilities of team members.

What does good role modeling look like? It’s a leader who:

• Knows clearly what he/she wants the team to accomplish and who provides latitude on how it’s to be achieved.

• Does what he/she says and consistently demonstrates the behavior and actions expected of their teams.

• Takes the time to develop trusting, meaningful relationships with team members - he/she learns who they are as individuals, their personal/career goals, their strengths and development needs, and what motivates them.

• Ensures he/she hears from everyone rather than the same few and actively listens to the range of perspectives allowing himself/herself to be influenced by what’s said.

• Mobilizes and leverages the diverse strengths and perspectives of team members.

• Holds team members accountable to actively participate in determining and executing the how of meeting expectations.

• Doesn’t sit idly by when teams are struggling but rather uses struggles as teaching moments to help team members isolate key issues and identify the best way forward.

• Provides balanced timely feedback to team members and is personally vested in team members development and success.

• Holds direct reports accountable to role model desired behaviors and actions in leading their teams.

What are the key benefits to leaders who are good role models for their teams?

• Team members will learn to be good role models for their teams by practicing desired behaviors and actions.

• Team members will be valued as role models across the broader organization.

• Desired behaviors and actions will become infectious and lead to enhanced collaboration and team performance and better results.

• Business units with good role models are viewed by the larger organization as desirable places to work and develop.

So leaders, role model what you want to see from your team members. Don’t wait for them to figure it out unless creating an engaging, productive work environment and meeting or exceeding expected results are not a top priority.

The Corbett Group is a certified leadership/executive coaching and organization consulting firm that works with leaders and teams to expand their capabilities, improve and sustain team alignment and achieve their vision and goals.

Bob Corbett