The Law of The Picture: People Do What People See

Law #13 of John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is:

The Law of The Picture: People Do What People See

This law addresses the idea that ‘you need to practice what you preach.’ You can teach and talk all day long, but you need right actions along with that to provide a model for your followers that they can respect and emulate. When leaders show the way with the right actions, their followers copy them and succeed.”

Making The Picture Come Alive

“Great leaders always seem to embody two seemingly disparate qualities. They are both highly visionary and highly practical.”

Mission provides purpose- answering the question, Why?

Vision provides a picture- answering the question, What?

Strategy provides a plan- answering the question How?

This does not mean that leaders have all the answers. Uncertainty is certain. It is a necessary component of change…which is a necessary component of progress and growth. It is actually during times of uncertainly that leadership is most important. And how you model dealing with times of uncertainty will significantly impact your team.

Modeling Insights for Leaders:

1. Followers are always watching what you do. “Followers may doubt what their leaders say, but they usually believe what they do. And they imitate it.

2. It’s easier to teach what’s right than to do what’s right. “It is a challenge to raise your living to the level of your teaching.” But, “nothing is more convincing than people who give good advice and set a good example.”

3. We should work on changing ourselves before trying to improve others. In order to be a credible leader, you do need to practice what you preach. Your standards of excellence need to be highest for yourself. “As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me.”

4. The most valuable gift a leader can give is being a good example. Following are results from a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for a finance company. American workers were asked to select the one trait most important for a person to lead them…

RANK	CHARACTERISTIC	PERCENTAGE
1	Leading by example	26%
2	Strong ethics/morals	19%
3	Knowledge of the business	17%
4	Fairness	14%
5	Overall intelligence/competence	13%
6	Recognition of employees	10%

Applying the Law of The Picture to Your Life

1. The primary example you set for your followers will be in the area of character. This is the area you need to address first before trying to change others. Give yourself a character audit. Make a list of your core values [eg integrity, honesty, hard work, etc]. Next, notes any incident in the past month when you have acted inconsistently with respect to those values. Don’t dismiss anything. No excuses. Work on changing your actions and attitude in these areas.

2. Ask a trusted colleague to watch you for at least 2 weeks and compare what you teach to how you act. Have him/her record the inconsistencies and review them with you at the end of the time you determine. You can ask for clarification, but do not defend yourself. Plan to change either your actions or the philosophy you are teaching- so that they are consistent.

3. What are 3-5 things you wish your current people did better than they do now? List them, and then grade your performance in each. If your numbers are low, then you need to working on improving those qualities/actions in yourself. If your numbers are high, you need to make your example more visible to the team.

Reference:

Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Chapter 13- The Law of The Picture. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN; 2007