Leadership comes with great responsibility. And if you want to be a transformational leader, you must embody your values, walking the walk, not just talking the talk. That’s why it’s important for you to understand your values.

Research backs the idea that great leaders set a powerful example. As written the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, researchers wanted to determine how much a leader’s opinions, beliefs, and behaviors could influence their followers. According to the study, “Leaders, whose behavior is visible to followers, are in a particularly powerful position to influence their followers’ beliefs.”

In this week’s episode of Reflect Forward: Advice From a CEO, I share how I once modified my values because I felt shame that “Family” wasn’t at the top. “How can I be a good mother if it’s not my top value?” I questioned myself. But as I matured, I realized that the only way to live an authentic life is to understand your values and make sure that they are indeed yours.

I encourage you to perform the values exercise I outline in the podcast and force yourself to narrow your top values down to three and then one. And then develop a plan for living those values as deeply and fully as possible.

Episode in a Tweet: To be a transformational leader, you must embody your values, walking the walk, not just talking the talk. That’s why it’s important for you to understand your values.

Question of the Week

This week’s question comes from a new employee in a management role who asked me, “KP, do you ever feel guilty delegating?”

The short answer is no because I delegate the right types of activities. We all have a role to play and if I am performing jobs that my team can do, then I am not focused on the big picture, which is the role of the CEO.

Delegating is also how I develop my team; I ask them to take on more significant roles or to run a project to learn new skills and stretch themselves. Delegating also shows your employees that you trust and believe in them.

When you don’t set proper expectations or follow up, delegation can go wrong. The person you are delegating to should understand the desired outcome and the expected deliverables. You need to check in regularly so they can ask clarifying questions or so you can course correct along away.

Check out the full episode for details.

Follow me on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Subscribe to my podcast Reflect Forward on iTunes

Or check out my new YouTube Channel, where you can watch full-length episodes of Advice From a CEO!

And if you are looking for a keynote speaker or a podcast guest, click here to book a meeting with me to discuss what you are looking for!