Model the behavior you want to see

I want my team to be more vulnerable in retros. Do I show vulnerability in retros?

I want my team to give me honest feedback. Do I give them honest feedback?

I want my team to feel comfortable shutting down Slack for focus time. Do I ever shut down Slack for focus time?

It’s obvious, I know. “Lead by example” and so on. But still, when I find myself thinking “how can I encourage my team to X?” I often realize that I’m not doing it myself. Even if “lead by example” is obvious, it takes constant reminding.

An ounce of modeling the behavior I want to see is worth a pound of asking for that behavior.