Are you a role model?

We are all leaders, whether we like it or not. The question is how well we lead. Here is what I'm talking about:

You have certainly heard that what you say is far less decisive than how you behave: In every direct interaction with other people, we automatically see which of their behaviour seems threatening to us, which we can trust and which we should copy. This runs fully automatically. 

The consequence: The more you consciously choose your behaviour, the more you can be exemplary for others and thus a good leader.  

How do you become a better role model? Three ideas:

1. Define three characteristics for which you want to be regarded as exemplary. How would you ideally like to affect your environment? Examples: Inspiring, positive, energetic, wise, balancing, calming, etc. There are hundreds of possible traits.
2. Set up an alarm three times a day on your smartphone with one of your three characteristics displayed, e.g. "Inspire!" or "Be positive!". You may think it's ridiculous, but it's those little reminders that keep you fully on course. 
3. Ask yourself every evening how good you've been at each of your three behaviors. Ideally, rate yourself on a scale one to ten. 

If you think these tips are unnecessary, I recommend the behaviour "Be open to new things". This too is an important characteristic, not only for leaders.