This is not only a requirement regarding the qualities and ethics of cadres and Party members, but also suggests a deeper perspective on leadership methods, implementation capacity and responsibility towards work and the people.
Setting an example must first be viewed from the very way leaders perform their duties, choose priorities, handle problems and respond to assigned responsibilities. Leadership is not only about issuing guidelines, assigning tasks, urging and inspecting, but also about creating standards of action for the organisation to follow.
A leader who is democratic, close to the people and willing to listen to reality will create an environment in which cadres and Party members dare to speak and act. Conversely, if the leader is afraid of making mistakes, avoids responsibility, stays distant from the people, speaks much but acts little, this may become an “implicit standard” within the organisation. Setting an example, therefore, is a way of leading through action.
This meaning can be viewed from two aspects: setting an example and setting a model. Setting an example means going first, acting first, exercising self-discipline and demonstrating the necessary standards in action, conduct and fulfilment of responsibility. Setting a model means allowing those standards to be proven through working methods and results.
This meaning becomes even clearer as the country enters a new stage of development. Renewal cannot stop at guidelines, plans or slogans, but must be reflected in the way work is organised and problems are solved. When the leader takes the lead in action, knows how to choose the right tasks, assign the right people, grant sufficient authority and create conditions for cadres and civil servants to bring their capacity into play, a proactive, creative and responsible collective will be formed.
In that sense, setting an example is not about doing the work of subordinates, but about building the capacity for action of the entire organisation. The ultimate measure of setting an example, therefore, must be results. A cadre may chair many meetings, yet problems remain unresolved; reports may be complete, yet bottlenecks facing people and businesses persist; plans may be issued on schedule, yet reality does not change. Such practice can hardly be regarded as setting an example in implementation. Meetings must not replace action; documents must not replace decisions; reports must not replace results.
Looking directly at reality, there are still places and times where setting an example has not been substantive, with manifestations of speaking more than doing, formality, avoidance, fear of mistakes and fear of responsibility. In some places, reports are complete, but real changes remain slow. In the context of digital information development, such gaps are increasingly easy to see, reflect and comment on.
It is therefore necessary to clearly distinguish concerns, criticism, differing views and incomplete information from fake news, distortion and manipulation. At the same time, dialogue and explanation must be strengthened, and legitimate issues raised by the people must be addressed promptly. Criticism must not be equated with distortion, nor should rebuttal be used in place of resolving problems that exist in reality.
Protecting the Party’s ideological foundation does not begin only when distorted information appears. First and foremost, it must begin with making reality better, more transparent and more convincing. Real shortcomings, if they are slow to be identified, handled and clarified, may become “material” for hostile elements to distort and exaggerate, turning an isolated phenomenon into an alleged nature of the entire system.
A legitimate petition left unresolved for a long time, a manifestation of distance from the people, an unconvincing decision or a case of words not matching actions may only be isolated. However, if they are not handled objectively, transparently and promptly, such matters can easily create doubt and distance. Therefore, the most persuasive approach is not only to explain, but first and foremost to resolve issues properly and thoroughly, allowing reality to speak for itself.
Through this, the meaning of setting an example is expanded: it is not only about preserving the qualities of cadres and Party members or strengthening discipline within the organisation, but also about contributing to the development capacity of the country.
A country that wants to develop rapidly needs an effective apparatus; an effective apparatus needs leaders who know how to organise, make decisions, delegate authority and take responsibility. When these qualities are demonstrated by leaders and spread throughout the organisation, guidelines can be translated into action, resources can be unlocked and bottlenecks can have the opportunity to be removed.
Setting an example is not only about preserving the qualities of cadres and Party members or strengthening discipline within the organisation, but also about contributing to the development capacity of the country.
However, setting an example is not only the responsibility of leaders or cadres holding leadership and management positions. Every cadre, Party member, civil servant and public employee must set an example in their own position. This means dedication to work, respect for the people, the spirit of daring to take on tasks and seeing assigned duties through to the end; integrity in exercising authority, fairness in handling work, frankness in acknowledging shortcomings and proactiveness in correcting them.
When every cadre and Party member sets higher standards for themselves, setting an example will no longer be an external requirement but become a sense of self-discipline and an internal driving force.
That spirit is also a continuation of the tradition that “Party members go first, the people follow”. Going first is not only about words, but first and foremost about action; not only in difficult moments, but in everyday work. When cadres and Party members do the right things first, do well what needs to be done and dare to take responsibility for their own tasks, trust will be built from the most concrete actions.
A sound policy will persuade through its effectiveness. A sound guideline will generate trust when it is seriously implemented. A good cadre or Party member will build trust through their working methods, service attitude and work results.
Therefore, “setting an example is a leadership method” is not merely a moral requirement. It is a requirement of organisational capacity, implementation capacity and responsibility for the country’s development future. Setting an example means turning guidelines into action, exercising power with responsibility, enabling organisations to act, and allowing the people to see the values the Party creates in everyday life. Gaps in the responsibility of some cadres to set an example must not be allowed to become gaps in the people’s trust.
Filling those gaps cannot be done through stronger rebuttals, but first and foremost through more exemplary cadres and Party members, more responsible decisions, a leadership method closer to the people, and more substantive results. When leaders set an example, organisations gain additional standards; when each cadre and Party member sets an example, those standards are multiplied, spreading from one person to a collective, and from one organisation to the community.
In the era of the nation’s rise, the country needs not only sound guidelines but also correct actions at all times; not only leaders who dare to take responsibility, but also every cadre, Party member, civil servant and public employee to fulfil their duties well, with the whole society joining hands and contributing efforts. From concrete examples and concrete actions, trust will be nurtured, momentum awakened and common strength generated for the country to advance firmly in the new era.
