Master Military Leadership: Lead by Example for Modern Success | Scott McCarthy | Episode 303

Scott McCarthy:
Yes. Welcome 1. Welcome all. It’s your chief leadership officer, Scott McCarthy, and welcome to the live recording of the military Monday military leadership insights. And yes, it’s going to take me a little bit of time to, get used to saying that. Right? Because this is still a new segment here of the podcast. So I figured that today, I’m running a little bit behind. I figured why not? Let’s just go live in our free Facebook group leadership skills for managers who want to be leaders not bosses.

Scott McCarthy:
And, you know, so you get this real time straight away. And today’s topic is essential, and that is leading by example. Military principles for modern leaders, this is what we’re talking about today. But before we dive into the topic, let’s just quickly talk about what this whole podcast segment is about. So it is again coming out Mondays, weekly. That is the plan. No plan survives contact, so bear with me as we get this new schedule routine going. That is it.

Scott McCarthy:
It’ll be coming out on Mondays. It’s just gonna be me talking about my leadership, you know, insights, experiences from a military context. So for those who are still new and don’t know who I am, I am Scott McCarthy. I still serve in the Canadian Army as a senior army officer currently commanding the largest supply organization within the Canadian Armed Forces out of beautiful Montreal, Quebec, and I have served for over 20 well, over 22 year 23 years actually now and still counting. So a lot of military experience coming at you. I’ve not necessarily talked a lot about this through the years of doing the podcast. Like, there’s bits and pieces of it, but never solely focused on it. Yet you folks have said, hey.

Scott McCarthy:
We want more of this, so here you go. This is it. I’m bringing it to you here with this new podcast segment or episode types, whatever you wanna call it. It doesn’t matter. I’m here. You’re listening. Let’s get to it. So today, we’re talking about a core leadership principle within the military, and that is the concept of leading by example.

Scott McCarthy:
And this is crucial in the Canadian Armed Forces in the military. I know in speaking with my brethren from all across the world and other nations, our allies, partners, that leading by example is a core leadership principle. And the reason for that is because you have to understand that despite having higher rank, higher, you know, higher privileges and stuff, you’re still no better than the rest of your team. And if you want your team to do certain things, then you have to show the example by doing them yourself. Goes with the old, saying and you don’t wanna follow the saying, but it is do as I say, not as I do. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the complete opposite of leading by example. Alright? Where you tell people what to do, but yet you don’t follow those principles, those rules yourself. And the reason for that straight away is because it is all about your credibility as a leader.

Scott McCarthy:
And the simplest example I give you is telling your team to, you know, your people, they have to show up on time. So if work starts at 9 and it’s expected everyone shows up 4:9 ready to roll, yet you float, you know, gracious you casually walk in at 9:25 every day, that does nothing for your integrity or sorry, your, credibility as a leader because you’re expecting people to show up at 9, but yet you can’t seem to show up at 9. It might be a good reason for that. We’ll get to that later. But the moral of the story is you still need to do what you’ve told people to do. Right? So that is just the kind of core aspect of it. So let’s talk about some different ways that you can use this. Now we’ve used this in a negative connotation, lead by example, I.

Scott McCarthy:
E. If I don’t do what I’ve told my people to do, then they’re gonna turn around and not do it as well. But we can use this for the positive, and that’s where I want to take this, episode today and run with it. We should use this, in a positive sense. So showing the people what the example is. Right, vice showing them not what the example is. So if we can show them what the example is, then they’re gonna elevate themselves. And the first thing is personal discipline and accountability.

Scott McCarthy:
Alright? Personal self discipline is crucial. Alright? It is all about discipline. Discipline destroys motivation. Motivation is a first. Discipline is where things get done. So buying self discipline, I e, doing the things you say you’re going to do. Then what you what you do is you turn and you build that credibility. Okay? So everything you do, whether you like it or not, and whether or not people actually are doing it actively, but they could be doing it, you know, in the in the background of their brains and not even realizing it, but you’re being judged.

Scott McCarthy:
I’m sorry to tell you, but as a leader, you’re constantly being judged, and your example is the most crucial thing that is being judged. Hence, why I’m talking to this topic. So personal discipline is crucial because what you want to do is continuously build that credibility. So some techniques for personal accountability is, you know, having a task tracker, having your calendar up to date, and following it, having these using these different tools that are out there that can help you do the things that you said you’re going to do. Some other things is having accountability partners. People who hold you to account say, hey. Are you getting after you know, maybe it is, working out. Maybe it is developing yourself reading.

Scott McCarthy:
Who knows? Whatever it is that you’re going after, well, the story is having accountability partner will help you tenfold. And then another technique which you can use for personal accountability is being open and transparent with people about things you are trying to improve on. So maybe you’re going you want to run a marathon and you tell people, hey, We got this marathon coming up in 2 months, and I’m gonna go after it and I’m gonna do it. And what’s gonna happen is indirectly, people will hold you accountable because they’ll ask you about how training is going, are you excited about it, are you nervous about it, and so on, and it’ll keep in the back of your mind. K? So tools out there, accountability partner or group, or being transparent. These are all techniques of a personal accountability that you can use. Along with that okay? So we’re gonna tie this together with the next point is continuous self improvement. And why is this example great? Because if people see you continuously trying to self improve and develop yourself, then that can inspire them to follow your example and go ahead and improve themselves as well.

Scott McCarthy:
So great example. Leading by example. 1 of our clients in the leader growth mastermind, mister s, I’ll call him, during his lunch breaks. So so back the the story up. He used to say he was getting tired and stressed out at work. He wasn’t really taking care of himself. And I said, okay. Well, what are you doing during, your lunch breaks? And he was like, well, nothing.

Scott McCarthy:
I’m, you know, kinda working through them. Like, man, you gotta take you gotta take those off, brother. Like, you need to take time for yourself to recharge your batteries. Like, I know. I’m like, well, what’s one thing that you can do, you know, during your lunch break? And then, well, you know, it’d be nice to be working in a great area. You know, just going for a walk. I’m like, okay. Go for a walk.

Scott McCarthy:
Long story short, you know, him walking by himself showed the example to others, and sure enough, later, he ended up having a walking group. A whole group of people walking with him at lunchtime. Everyone was taking a break, recharging their batteries. They’re building bonds, getting better connected. Why? Through that personal discipline, accountability, self improvement. K? So keep that in mind. Building trust and respect within in your team. You can do this by leading by example.

Scott McCarthy:
K? And it’s crucial to show respect, constantly show respect. And that is something that I do as a leader regardless who I’m talking to. If I’m talking to my superiors or I’m talking to the brand new private at the floor level, show respect. People deserve to be respected for who they are. K? So do that. And when people see that, they in turn will follow that example. And you can use that as, like, a core value of your organization, respect. And when people are not being respectful, you go, hey.

Scott McCarthy:
We we don’t do that here. We respect each other here. Regardless if we’re having a disagreement or not, we respect. And by showing respect, what you’re doing is you’re building trust as well because people now know it’s a psychologically safe environment, and they can fall on that. They can go, okay. Trust. They and they can trust that they’re gonna be respected, that they matter, that the organization actually cares about them as an individual. So keep that in mind.

Scott McCarthy:
Communication, leading by example and communication. Okay? Crucial thing, most people think that higher I am up at the food chain, the more I need to talk and the more I need to I have the answers and I’m going to tell people how it is and stuff like this. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, as a senior leader, your communication technique needs to be effective listening and asking questions, not cutting people off, not thinking you have all the answers, not taking up all the airwave, I e, when you have time with people, sucking all the time by just plucking. Alright? So as a leader, what you need to do is show the example by giving time to your people, by listening to them, and listen to understand vice listening to respond. Alright. I had a superior once who just want it who just listened to respond and never listened to understand. So whenever we were in having a, you know, a debate per se, in disagreement, professional conversation, he would constantly be like, yes, but but but, and he’d be constantly trying to cut in and cut me off and not let me finish explaining myself.

Scott McCarthy:
And I don’t know how many times that I would go, yes, sir, but let me finish, please. And then I would finish, and he would go, that’s a very valid point. Thank you for bringing that up. But if just let him cut me off. Right? And I had the, you know, the self self respect and confidence to push back and say, let me finish my point and then finish it with him. So but if I didn’t, he would never have gotten the full picture and not actually understand my point of view. So the moral of the story is this, effective communication for you as a senior leader leading by example is to listen to understand. Listen to understand.

Scott McCarthy:
When people notice that you’re listening to understand, they will do the same. And suddenly, when we have a group of people who are all listening to understand, now the organization actually communicates effectively. And then the final thing we will talk about with this segment today, and leading my example, is accountability and responsibility. K? As I said earlier, you are constantly being judged. Alright? So you have to hold yourself to that higher standard, and you have to hold yourself accountable for your mistakes. If you make mess up, k, tell people you’ve messed up. You made a mistake. And most importantly, what you’re going to do to fix it.

Scott McCarthy:
Because that, ladies and gentlemen, will set a tone of psychological safety, which will establish a learner’s environment, I e, a place where people feel safe enough to make mistakes, but learn from their mistakes. And then the second part of it is being responsible, taking ownership of the organization. And I say this through all the time. I say this, my people are the reason for our successes. I am the reason for our failures. Taking that extreme leadership approach, being the one, you know, saying, you know, I’m the reason why we messed up here, not you. I should’ve seen it, you know, thought forward on this. You know, we should I should’ve allocated more time to it, more resources to it.

Scott McCarthy:
I should’ve provided people with better training, more training, more guides, more mentorship. K? Seeking that responsibility. And again, what does that do? It shows your leaders, your team what it means to be a leader. And that elevate it, That’s that leading by example. And then what in turn, what’s that’s going to do? People are gonna fall down and go, you know what? I will take ownership of this. I should identify that I needed more training. I should ask better clarifying questions and more clarifications. I should have came back and said, hey, boss.

Scott McCarthy:
We need more time on this project for the following reasons. And that extreme leadership and extreme ownership will cycle through your team. And now everyone takes ownership of the problem of the organization, of the team, and that’s how we lead better. So that’s it, ladies and gentlemen. That is leading by example, your military contacts for this week. Hope you enjoyed this. Let me know how this segment goes for you if you enjoy it. If you don’t, you know, good, bad, what have you, you know, Brent.

Scott McCarthy:
I got broad shoulders. I can take it. But, I appreciate you all. Thank you as always. Lead the boss. Take care now.