A great quote by John Wooden that that I believe relates really well to non-profit chairs is it “The most powerful leadership tool that you have at your disposal is leading by example”.
Some of the things that you might put in place to ensure you are leading by example are:
having a strong board agenda, not only for meetings but also for the development of the board.
Ensuring you are consistent in your approach in your methodologies and your role as chair
Being consistent and fair in your dealings with the organization and key stakeholders.
You should have good listening skills as there's a lot of information coming from different sources whether from interested parties, the organization, clients or even from the broader world itself informing you of impacting on the organization.
Making sure that are also communicating well to the board to the organization to those interested parties and key stakeholders.
Practicing all of these will go a long way to ensuring you are leading by example.
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