Consistency Is King

February 27, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

“I’ll start every meeting on time, and I’ll end on time.”

This was my first decree when I walked into my current leadership position. One thing I’ve always hated is uncertainty from my boss. What’s the purpose of this meeting? How will they react to bad news? Will I be stuck in the room long after the meeting should be over?

We’ve all been there. Some bosses are inconsistent in time management, reactions, and purpose. We become trapped in meetings and inefficient in our day because others are unprepared. We don’t know what to expect and fear the boss’ reactions. Being on the receiving end is bad. Being on the giving end is worse because it’s in our control.

One of the Most Important Things You Can Do for Your Team Is to Be Consistent

Your behavior influences how others interact with you. This in turn affects the entire organization in efficiency, morale, and productivity. Being consistent matters for several reasons.

1. Psychological Safety. When something is familiar and predictable, others feel safe in what to expect. They know their day is not about to get blown up by the boss on a random whim. Psychological safety is the shared belief that anyone can speak up without fear of public humiliation or punishment. You create this environment through consistent actions.
2. Trust. Great leaders make commitments and follow through on their word. People need to trust that what you say is what you do. The more consistent you are in your behaviors, the easier it is for others to trust you. This in turn encourages them to live up to those same standards and emulate your actions.
3. Communication. Predictable leaders receive and give information consistently. Others know how to give you information, and your team spends less time preparing for meetings and more time being productive. In addition, bad news is reported quicker and more often because there is no uncertainty in your reaction – so long as you have a reputation for receiving bad news well.
4. Stability. People don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses. Erratic leadership can easily cause retention problems. Consistent leadership offers people a vision of the future and how things will be in the months or years ahead. Great leaders cast vision, create action plans to achieve those goals, and maintain focus on the organization’s North Star. Stability breeds culture and retention.     

How to Be a Consistent Leader

1. Start and End Meetings on Time. You give back time to your organization when they can plan their lives. The old mantra where “if you’re not early, you’re late” is a huge time waster. People are literally sitting around being unproductive for no reason. If every meeting starts on the minute and ends on or before the scheduled time, the entire company is more productive.
2. Respond to News the Same Way. Leaders must take good and bad news in stride. People are less afraid to tell the boss bad news when their reaction is known. Create a reputation for receiving bad news the same way each time: calmly and rationally. Treat it as a problem to be solved, not the end of the world. And, as Colin Powell would say: “never let them see you sweat.”
3. Schedule Predictable Touchpoints. In my current job, one of the first things I noticed was we were meeting with first line supervisors multiple times per week. They were “summoned” to the conference room frequently and often at a moment’s notice. We scrapped all that and now we have one weekly touchpoint, one day per week at the same time. The rest of the time is theirs to run their organization.
4. Work within Work Hours. It is so tempting to launch an email on the weekend or late at night. Even if you don’t expect them to respond, you’re the boss. They will feel compelled. Keep those good ideas for work hours. Unless it’s an emergency, wait until the morning or see them on Monday. If you simply can’t get the thought out of your head, write it down or use the email delayed delivery function. No one wants your good idea while they put their kids to bed.

Consistent Leadership Equals Positive Culture

You set the pace and tempo of your organization. Consistency is one of the key ingredients to increase efficiency, morale, and productivity. If you’re being consistent in your words and deeds, the rest of the organization will follow your lead.

Making this a habit will inspire confidence in your team to trust you more.

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