Why Consistency Is Still Key: A Guide for Leaders

In the words of athlete Junior Seau: “Leadership comes with consistency.” You aren’t born an effective leader, and we agree that being a great one starts with your ability to be consistent across all platforms. In a world of instant gratification, consistency in leadership when leading people is still required for excellent results. In life, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a new fitness programme or climbing the career ladder, you don’t get anywhere fast. That is even truer as we are living in a time where it feels like we do. No place is that more evident than in your work and in leading people. It’s not only crucial for people to be consistent in their role, but it must come from the top down. Leaders need to provide a stable space that people can rely on to build trust and understanding, making it a place where everyone can succeed. And that’s where our software comes in.

Before we go explore this further, let’s look at what we are not trying to achieve. Inconsistency has a viral characteristic. If exposed to your work environment for too long, it will spread. Worse still, it’s not immediately obvious but manifests subtly overtime. It goes back to the theory of one bad apple spoils the bunch, the same goes for practices. If someone is always late for work and it becomes the accepted norm, soon, everyone will know they can play around with their time frames without repercussion. Suddenly company time is compromised. Similar applies to consistency. It’s essential to set the tone and make it standard practice in your company. The only way effective way to do this as a leader is by practising it yourself.

“Everyone wants that feeling of when they cross the finish line. You have the power to coach your people there.”

So how do you and we do it? Achieving consistency in leadership is not in grand efforts, but in smaller ones more regularly. Just like the fitness programme, massive sporadic sessions are not going to garner the same results as shorter, more frequent sessions. It’s the same with this. You’ll start to see the benefits over time. It’s not a one-off fix approach, as they usually result in long term let down. It can be a challenge to stick with the smaller efforts when you might require a more significant return in the short term, but this is about the long game so stick with it.

When it comes to our product, it’s designed with this in mind with the features supporting you in providing consistency for your people. For example, continuous performance reviews ensure you are showing up for them and helping them progress. Feedback in real-time proves you are as engaged as you want your people to be. This is where you can demonstrate to your teams that you are not only active but committed to their development as well as the company growth.

We are passionate about the balance between personal and professional and consistency in leadership and in business is an excellent example of this. For instance, we are all great for coming up with new ideas, initiatives or systems that will improve the way we work. However, very often, these can slow down after the initial excitement, enthusiasm wanes, productivity drops and then so does the project. The flip side of this is the substantial emotional letdown that results for your people when consistency isn’t leading to follow-through. And letting down your people means lowering their morale. But this can be avoided as we have seen and balance restored. Everyone wants that feeling of crossing the finish line. You have the power to coach your people there. Equally, you can support them in dropping out of the race and feeling defeated.

It’s worth remembering that you hold the trump card. You’ll find adopting a new approach or indeed reigniting an old useful one, is never without its obstacles. You are overseeing everyone’s work, and each person is bringing their way of doing things to the table. However, you also have the power to improve operations. You have the ability and indeed, the responsibility to take control and ensure amidst the general chaos that exists during the day to day of any business, that you can calm the waters. The best way to do this or better still, avoid the storm altogether, is by taking the consistent route. But it has to start with you. When it comes to consistency in leadership and leading people in the workplace, it’s all about remembering that inconsistency breeds while small actions regularly result in success. You can avoid follow-through frustration as well as control the chaos, and we can help you.

If you would like to know more about how we can support consistency in your company, get in touch with Ronan from team Frankli today.