Show up as a leader

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

Every day, leaders walk into their workplace carrying something powerful, an energy that directly affects the people around them. Whether you’re leading a company, a department, or a crew on a job site, how you “show up” as a leader can either lift your team up or drag them down.

At a recent TCIA Winter Management Conference, Clint Swindall, leadership expert and author of Living for the Weekday and Engaged Leadership, often emphasizes the importance of attitude and intentional influence. Leaders don’t get the option of “not showing up.” Even when they don’t say a word, their mood, body language, and behavior send signals to the team. Those signals shape morale, motivation, and performance.

Your Attitude Sets the Tone

Swindall reminded the leaders in the audience that engagement begins with leadership. A leader’s mindset becomes a mirror that the team reflects. If you walk in frustrated, distracted, or negative, your team feels that energy and often mirrors it. On the other hand, showing up with focus, optimism, and presence gives your team permission to do the same.

Small Actions, Big Impact

It doesn’t take dramatic gestures to set the tone. Greeting your team, checking in with genuine interest, or expressing gratitude can change the course of someone’s entire day. Swindall’s SIMPLE guide to overcoming negativity (Self-Responsibility, Identify, Make a Plan, Practice Gratitude, Learn to Laugh, Encourage Others) is a useful reminder that positivity is a choice and leaders make that choice not just for themselves, but for their entire team.

Leadership is Contagious

Negativity spreads quickly, but so does positivity. When leaders demonstrate resilience, optimism, and encouragement, it creates a ripple effect. Team members begin to respond to challenges more constructively and support each other in the same way they see modeled from leadership.

Your Team Deserves Your Best “You”

One of Swindall’s core teachings is that leadership is not about titles, it’s about influence. Every interaction is an opportunity to influence someone’s experience. As a leader, you have the ability to make your team’s day harder or better simply by the way you show up.

Let’s face it, your team doesn’t remember what you say, they remember how you make them feel. Leadership is about showing up intentionally every day, recognizing that your mood sets the tone for productivity, collaboration, and culture.