A guest post by Mark Miller on the launch of his new book Leaders Made Here Originally published on GreatLeadersServe.com

I’ve been thinking more seriously about the issue of being prepared. I have several observations and ideas to share.

Here’s my first observation:

The best leaders seem to consistently show up better prepared than others.

That idea alone makes me want to be better prepared. However, there are other reasons preparation matters…

When you are prepared, you get better outcomes. I don’t know about your organization, but in mine, I’ve watched this play out for decades. Those who are better prepared are allocated more resources – both people and dollars. For me, that’s enough incentive to get my act together the best I can. There are no guarantees, but I’ve observed a striking correlation between preparedness and positive outcomes.

When you are prepared, people take you and the work more seriously. This may be obvious, but I still see leaders miss this one. If you don’t care enough about your work to prepare, whether a budget presentation or a keynote, why should others care? I want my level of preparedness to speak volumes about the importance of whatever it is I’m presenting.

When you are prepared, you set a good example for your team members. I’ve said this for years: People (your people) always watch the leader (you.) One of the things they are looking for are clues regarding what’s important. They’re also looking to see if you are trustworthy. If you talk about preparedness and don’t model it, you’re done. Your people won’t trust you nor will they do what you ask them to do – at least in this arena. You’ll have no moral authority.

When you are prepared, you strengthen your personal brand. If I asked those who work with you to describe your brand, what would they say? Would their description be what you want it to be? Would preparedness be part of their commentary?

What are you doing to show up prepared?

Mark Miller is the best-selling author of 6 books, an in-demand speaker and the Vice President of High-Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. His latest book, Leaders Made Here, describes how to nurture leaders throughout the organization, from the front lines to the executive ranks and outlines a clear and replicable approach to creating the leadership bench every organization needs.