Leadership Principles: Leading By Example
When it comes to television and movies I like a good comedy like the next guy but my favorites would be military action films. It’s hard to say what my all time favorite movie would be but oftentimes I’ve said it would be Saving Private Ryan. When it comes to television series, that’s a little easier, the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers has it hands down.
Band of Brothers follows Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War 2. We follow their training and exploits from the beginning. The character development is top notch in my opinion. One of the things I love most is hearing from some of the actual soldiers the show is about. One particular soldier we see is Richard Winters who we meet as a lieutenant but is a major by the time the series wraps up. In episode five, entitled “Crossroads,” we see some of the actual men talking about his leadership and how he would never send someone to do his job. (here’s a YouTube link to that particular video) He led by example constantly understanding his role well.
In his book “Canoeing The Mountains” (a must read), Tod Bolsinger talks about the idea that we oftentimes look at people in positions of authority, such as a boss, manger, pastor, etc., as leaders. He goes on to say that while these things are helpful in leadership, they are not necessary. Yet these are ways a leader stewards their leadership.
Fast forward a couple episodes to episode seven, entitled “The Breaking Point,” we see Easy Company in the Ardennes Forest preparing and eventually making the assault on the town of Foy. At this point, Lt. Norman Dike is the commanding officer of Easy and during the assault freezes up. While Major Winters wants to run and take over he sends Lt. Ronald Speirs in to take over. Speirs quickly assesses the situation, gives a few orders, and then leads the assault in capturing the town of Foy. What we see here is a leader that did not steward their leadership well and a couple that did.
What does that mean for us though? You’re more than likely not an officer in the military reading this but I think there’s some lessons from the life of Richard Winters that could apply in our organizations, ministries, and lives. I’ve said for some time that leaders need to be out front where their people can see them but not so far that no-one can follow them. Leading by example can be a delicate balancing act at times. If I do too much they aren’t leading but if I do too little I’m not leading them. I think the operative word I’d like you to embrace in this concept is “with.”
What if leading by example was leading alongside our people? At times that may be “hey, would you help me with this” and other times it may be “I need you to handle this.” The thing that’s required of both of these situations is being with them. You have to lead from within your team with consistency. When our teams trust us, our decisions, and our leadership they will follow much farther than they would if they didn’t. This is how we must “steward” our leadership as Bolsinger says. When we lead by example and alongside our teams we are saying the purpose and mission are what matter, not ourselves.
May we look to steward our leadership well and lead alongside our people, setting the example of what leadership should look like. What are some ways you look to lead your team by example?