This blog is dedicated to Paige Elenson, Bethany Lyons, the Baptiste Yoga team, and my fellow Level 2 graduates who showed me the way last week - in word, listening and expression.

“The greatest leaders embody their words. They say less with greater impact. They mind the details of practice as if each detail held the magical secret to life. ”

Photo by Jamie Roberts (instagram @the.jame)

6 Attributes of the Leader By Example

Technical Skill

Self Assessment / Regulation

Awareness

Communication

Goal Setting

Organization / Prioritization

“ It’s not what I say that matters, but how I say it and live it that creates the impact. Do I say, express, and practice my message with the conviction of my body, voice, and action?”

We live in a world of words, inundated by words on social media, in books, in conversation. Even this blog is a bunch of words. A story. Words are powerful. They are messengers that convey information, shape perspective, and inform experience. Both the words I say, and the ones I don’t, impact my interaction with, and understanding of the world.

The greatest leaders don't just speak, they embody their words. They don't tell me what to do, they show me how to embody it, and create space for me to embody it in my own way. They say less with greater impact. They create themselves as models of possibility, living with rigorous vulnerability, and a deep respect for how the way in which they work, express, and interact, informs how others work, express, and interact. They mind the details of practice as if each detail held the magical secret to life.

Praxis Action Style

Disciplined Practice

types of practice

Default Practice: normal, unconscious, day to day mode of practice
Deliberate Practice: focused, specific, measurable, growth-oriented mode of practice
Deep Practice: intense, felt-experience of the practice

Leadership Language

By Example

The foundation of all great leadership is self-leadership, personal mastery, and disciplined practice. It's not what I say that matters, but how I say it and live it that creates the impact. Do I say, express, and practice it with the conviction of my body, voice, and action?

A leader delivers a message in order to mobilize specific action and behavior within a group of people. A leader by example delivers the message through personal experience and expression. They lead through the work of self. Becoming the model of possibility, exploring each moment with the courage and wonder to discover an opening. The leader by example exposes what's normal motion - the default - in themselves and works deliberately into the simple, deep practice of personal expression. They learn directly from experience, and relate to others from that experience. They realize that the world around them is a mirror. Before they say a thing, they believe the thing, because they've experienced the thing.

A leader by example says less, and inspires more. Do you?