One of the bedrock of leadership is INTEGRITY. Most people lead from the angle of the title and force people to follow just because of the power and respect that comes from the positional title.
It would be best if you did not have to enforce leadership, people should follow you because they believe in who you are. Wiki defined Integrity as the quality of being honest and showing consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values.
Economic Times addressed “integrity as the act of doing what is right, even when it is difficult or an unpopular opinion.” If people see you follow through with your words not only because you need to lead by example but because they can see it as the core of who you are, you earn their trust.
The more credible you are, the more confident people are in you. Integrity is not about what we do but who we are. A leader with integrity displays consistency in values which builds confidence and results in trust from team members.
For example:
Action point: I want us to treat every client with respect.
Me: I treat every client with respect.
Reaction: They also treat clients with respect.
The moment I do not embody that or staff see me do otherwise, I lose their trust. When I have integrity, my word and my deeds match up. I am who I am, no matter where I am or with who I am. A person with integrity is whole and identified for their single-mindedness regardless of the situation or people involved.
One other thing worthy of mention is that you can not influence what you have not been able to become personally. Before you sell that idea, you must have personally believed it. Competency, consistency, and integrity will give you that respect from the people you intend to lead.