modelling of behaviour by a leader

"Model the behaviour you wish more people would display. Lead first." Robin Sharma.

Modelling of behaviour simply means the act of showing how to do something & guiding through the process of imitating the modeled behaviour. This modelling of behaviour is many a times done unconsciously as leaders of the organization, as role models, as influencers, as parents and even as teams. Every action a leader takes is important. People generally pick that up that is modeled & is mirrored back. So, being in responsible positions not only mean leading only to grow the business and developing craftsmanship but equally important is the leadership depth of the leader & the display of the leadership behaviour that he/she wants his/her team, community members to model.  Thus, the best leaders model the behaviour they want. They simply don't instruct, order but model it for the rest to follow.

Likewise, an HR leader also need to model the behaviours that are deemed fit to take the organization from good to great. In fact, HR leaders are the harbingers of the right behavior that need modelling & hence deep work on leadership depth need to be done to own this fact & lead from a space where there is no intellectual arrogance, no fear of consequences but simply love for the role, for the people that they are serving, the organization that they are making a difference to  & in the larger context the society that they are living in. 

Some powerful questions that need to be reflected upon are:

1. What needs to shift inside of me to enable others to be who they are supposed to be?

2. Who am I being in my role if the culture of my organization is not supporting innovation, creativity, growth, integrity, agility?

3. What needs to be communicated or given to the ecosystem so that I harness support in modelling the right behavior, the right culture & truly embody the essence of my role?

When you shift your thought process from a place of arrogance to receiving, when you open your minds to look for answers within, when you work towards focusing on your being rather than on the doing bit; deep transformation happens and you grow as a leader. You then model behaviours for others to follow. You then grow as a leader with greater velocity which then enables you to embrace other skills effortlessly. Leadership depth holds you not only at times when you flourish, but at times when things are challenging.

Today during a session with my coach, I witnessed a beautiful modelling of behaviour by my coach. Something that was modeled by my coach is not very frequently done by leaders. There was a moment when my coach realized that she was being judgmental about a certain thing that the client was sharing, she immediately got present to her thoughts, her emotions & expressed with humility about her judgmental attitude towards what is being presented. This I call as authenticity, vulnerability in true sense. This needs courage & leadership depth to even realize the blind spot in oneself & acknowledge it & let it go. My respect for her increased manifold during that moment as I saw her modeling a behaviour that she wanted us to follow. Today with great conviction, I will model this behaviour too & gift this to my clients & the community that I am committed to serving.

Yes, a leader is a coach & a parent too because a leader inspires, elicits & nurtures the person inside you. Many a times, we don't see our own blind spots. As leaders too we don't see the blind spots that hold us back from performing at 10X level. Not modelling the right behaviour is a blind spot too. 

​So, are you modelling the right behaviour? If not, what will enable that in you?

Warmth,
​Priyanka