— To follow is a bullet of wisdom on leadership. It comes from Tom’s rifle, named Shot, who has seen it all. You’ll get the drift by clicking Blog in the menu above. —
I’M NO ACADEMIC, but I know how to say “learning” and to avoid “ain’t.” Often when folks think of a rifle like me, they think of me as a “redneck” special. Not so. I learned long ago from Rudy that wherever possible one should set a good example. People learn from examples; they learn from role models. That’s me: Old and worn? Yes, and I do things right—right character, right motives, right habits. Okay… right wherever I can think of it. Others learn from that.
The power of role models: Where you have them, give them life. It might be one thing that a leader does exemplary, but that one thing can model. What others see, others do. In some cases, an aspiring leader may be a role model and maybe for a class of your employees, say a winning woman for the benefit of other women, a masterful young performer for millennials, or a successful person of diversity for others of similar identification. Find them, expose them, profit from them. And by the way, if you’re the leader, plan to be followed. Others will model you. May they learn well.