Leaders are expected to be examples not exceptions. I would rather watch a sermon than listen to a sermon any day. I don’t think that I am unusual, in that I have zero respect for someone that says one thing, but does the opposite.
How often have you heard about people in so-called positions of leadership that don’t think that they have to obey the same rules or laws that the rest of us serfs and peasants need to live by? How much do you respect them?
I know right off the top of your head you may immediately think of wealthy businessmen, politicians, professional athletes and entertainment celebrities. Those that are above the law. The “American Royalty” as it were.
But how about you? You are a leader even if you’re not a CEO, an actor, or a relief pitcher. Do your words match your actions around your children?
We tell them to clean their rooms when our home office is a mess. We tell them to be honest, then they hear us tell a little white lie to someone on the phone. We tell our children we love them more than anything else in the world, then yell at them to be quiet when we are watching television.
“Leadership is influence, no more no less” – John C. Maxwell. You are the number one influence on your own children. So make sure that your words match your actions. In the little things, not just the big things. And in front of the little people, not just the big shots.
If we mess up, if we forfeit our credibility with our children, and lose our place as the main leader and influence in their lives; Then who will they end up following? Probably someone in that American Royalty category that you were blaming a few paragraphs back.
Would you want a rock star to take your place as the main influence in your child’s life?