As a leader, you have a certain set of standards for those you lead. Those standards basically revolve around your followers being disciplined.
My question to you: Are you a disciplined leader?
For some, this question may sting. When you begin to think about whether or not you’re disciplined as a leader, you realize this is an area you struggle in.
You lack the discipline to show up on time. You may lack the discipline to control company spending. Or you may lack the discipline to hold your tongue when you’re facing opposition.
As much as you might desire for your team to be disciplined, you must be disciplined as well. You have to have the self-control you desire to see in those you lead.
What comes to mind when you think of someone who’s disciplined? I think of someone in the United States Army.
These men and women are trained to discipline their minds and bodies. They have taken control of their desires and submitted to a higher calling. They no longer get up when they want, do the things they want to do, or act the way they desire. Instead, they have trained themselves to conform to the standards set before them.
They are disciplined.
Becoming A Disciplined Leader
If you desire for your team to be disciplined, you have to take the first steps in becoming disciplined yourself. This means living out the standards you have set out for your team.
To become a disciplined leader, you’re going to:
- Show up when you say you will
- Continue to learn and grow
- Put in the effort to get the job done
- Consistently perform well
- Say no to your desires
- Control your anger
- Speak kindly
- Choose appropriate responses to stimuli
- Do the hard things
- Get back on the wagon when you fall off
- Do the things you don’t want to do
Becoming disciplined isn’t an impossible task. You, along with everyone else, can become disciplined. It’s taking intentional actions every day and choosing to do what’s required of you as a leader.
When you become a disciplined leader, you become a better leader. You are able to show your team you mean business and they can count on you. It also shows them what you expect them to do as well.
Over the next month, you will see posts detailing exactly how you can become a disciplined leader, what a disciplined leader looks like, and why you need to become a disciplined leader.
I hope you’ll join me on this journey. It’s going to challenge us but it’s also going to make us better leaders.
Can I count you in?
This article originally appeared here.
