Leadership Principles # 1: Do What You Say You Will Do

“Leading is a privilege and true leadership is about adding value to other people and inspiring people to believe that the impossible is possible.?When leaders can inspire a group of people to become the very best versions of themselves and perform beyond their normal limitations, it leads to greatness.”?This is one of the best definitions I recently came across about leadership.?

What makes great leadership??As I learn to lead in life & business, I noticed several core leadership principles shared by some of the highest performing influential leaders I have encountered over the years.?The insights, simple yet so valuable, has compelled me to pen down these Leadership Principles.?

One of the Most Powerful Principles of Leadership Is to Do What You Say You Will Do.

It involves two simple steps: you make a commitment (say what you will do) and you make it happen (do what you say).?

• Accountability occurs when individuals reliably deliver on their commitments, showing others they can be trusted to do what they say they will do.
• Leaders will hold themselves and their teammates, accountable to do what they say they would do.?
• Effective team leaders take further responsibility for the outcomes of their actions and decisions and successfully transforming effort into results.

The Importance of Doing What We Set Out to Do

• Every time when we do not follow through even on something of little significance, it chips away a small piece of our inner power.
• When we keep ignoring our words, we unconsciously start creating a habit of not doing what we need to do to achieve and succeed.?
• When we do what we say we will do, it builds character - one that ‘gets things done’ or ‘executing on the goals you have set with grit and resilience’.?
• If we have the character that follows through with what we have promised to do for others, it builds trust. We become someone dependable for others and that in turn create more opportunities.

Levels of Honoring Our Words

When I was exploring this principle with peers, suggestions were made around avoiding over commitment.?The fact is that high performers consistently make more commitments than many others for higher achievements. When it comes to daily practice of leadership and integrity in my own imperfect ways, one of the most profound distinction I learnt in my search for excellence is the three levels of integrity:

1. Do what you say you will do (self-leadership)
2. Do what you did not say and are expected of (community leader).
3. Do what you did not say and are unexpected of (true leadership).

Doing what we say we will do is easier said than done.?Despite all the convenient reasons available, we should always strive to honour our words.?I would like to conclude this article with a quote I am very fond of: ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is a habit. --- Aristotle’.

Labassa Capital?is an investment manager and principal investor focused on debt and equity investment in Australian private real estate. We are a team of professionals tenacious in our pursuit of excellence. We learn, we evolve, and we grow.

[email protected] | www.labassa.com

Author: Melissa Hosgood | [email protected]