Leadership is my favorite topic to read about, teach, and practice. I firmly believe that the first job of a leader is to set the vision for the group they lead. Vision is the "ideal state" we aspire to. Here's the vision we have at our landscaping company: To be recognized by our clients, our team members, and experts in our industry as the best landscaping company in our market area. It's the ultimate goal; it's what we want others to say about our organization. Once a vision is in place, the leader's goal is to put a mission in place that allows for the team to accomplish the vision. At Grunder, we require our entire team to know our mission statement: To enhance the beauty and value of every client's property while exceeding their expectations every step of the way. A mission is what will be done on a daily basis and it will be carried out in a fashion that supports the group's core values.

Core Values are behaviors that we will see demonstrated in all that we do. At my firm our Core Values are Quality, Leadership, Teamwork and Profitability. We eat, drink and sleep these four words in all that we do. You CANNOT work at our company if you don't completely embrace and support them. Good Leadership is rooted in someone at the top putting life to the vision by supporting the Mission Statement and Core Values. So, again the first job of a leader is to set the vision, to chart the course, to point the ship in the right direction. Once the direction has been targeted, it's time to lead and if we understand Leadership, then we know that Leading by Example is the foundation to being a Great Leader.

In my 30+ years of owning a business, I have demonstrated poor leadership and good leadership; I'd even like to say-Great Leadership-but that would be a self-serving comment and it would be better for one of my followers to tell you I am a Great Leader than my telling you. Why? Because people see better than they hear. Let me explain.

Gandhi, the legendary leader, once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." He was so right; if we want to see change, if we want certain results, then we must be willing to demonstrate the behaviors that we wish to have present in our followers. To be blunt, it took me a long time to understand this.

I would go to a seminar, read a book, see a speaker, like the lessons I learned from these experiences and would come back to work, gather everyone and tell them what we were going to do and how things were going to be different going forward. I would focus on what I talked about for a few days and then forget what I said and stop talking about it, which was a mistake, but what was an even bigger mistake was my behavior. It did not support what I wanted to see from my own team.

I recall talking about customer service to my team but then not offering up any training or direction to improve our customer service. I didn't even recognize members of my team at Grunder Landscaping Co. who provided great service to our clients. Another time, I recall talking about how important it would be for us to save money and I bought these expensive trash cans with our logo on them. (Like we needed that!) One other time, days after I talked about treating each other well, I absolutely undressed a long-time team member in front of everyone for something stupid he had done. Yep, it was really stupid but I should have let him "have it" in private, not in front of everyone. In each case, my actions did not match the behaviors I wanted to see from my own people. I'm glad I got a lot of those bad behaviors out of my system at a younger age. And I'm really glad I know and understand and work very hard to make sure my actions now align with what I want to see out of my team.

If we as leaders want our team to treat our clients like Kings and Queens, then we must treat our team like Kings and Queens. Our external customer service, the service we give our clients, the service that makes them come back, will never exceed our internal customer service, the way we treat our team. If we want our followers to be organized and pay attention to details, then we must be organized and be attentive to details. If you want your team to be safe, then you need to wear your seat belt, safety goggles and not take chances. I know, this is basic stuff, but the first part to being a leader is to lead by example. People want to follow those who do what they expect others to do. People want to follow those who walk the walk. Seems so simple; however, you'd be amazed at how many people don't realize this.

Leadership is about a lot of things. In addition to Leading by Example, leaders need to have integrity, they need to have some enthusiasm and passion for the work they do, they need to communicate well and they need to be willing to do a little bit more than the other guy. None of which is easy. Oh, it's easy to understand but it's not so easy to implement. It requires a commitment level not easily embraced and it requires consistency at a level few are able to model. Being a great leader is not easy; it never will be. It's hard work and it's a thankless job at times. However, it is, without question, the most rewarding job in the world if you're good at it and see a group, a team or an organization accomplish what they set out to do. Goals are hit by leaders, not followers.

So, how are you as a leader? Take some time today to think about what you could do better and if you feel you need to improve, pay a lot of attention to how you are leading. What kind of an example are you setting? Make your day full of the behaviors and actions that you want to see in your team and success can and will find you!