The National Institutes of Health says the positive correlation between a leader’s integrity and an employee’s performance is well-documented. Further studies indicate that a leader’s consistent integrity fosters trust and energizes performance.
Ineffective patterns of behavior hold leaders back in all areas of life. When I deliver feedback to employees who are consistently impatient, irritated, and unmotivated, I often ask how those traits manifest in interactions with their kids at home. Similarly, when I am forced to talk with employees about controlling behavior toward coworkers, I ask how their spouse reacts to this trait.
A manager or supervisor’s character traits shape their leadership inside and outside work. Predictable and dependable leadership flows from leadership training that empowers leaders to maximize strengths and overcome flaws.
Effective leadership remains consistent even under the microscope
A leader’s goal is not to reach an endpoint but to navigate a challenging path and serve their team along the way. Because leaders are under continual scrutiny, constancy must be the hallmark of their approach at every stage of the journey.
Leaders are held to higher standards because they lead by example. That means being honest about where their own character strengths and weaknesses lie, living according to their values without compromise, and consistently doing what they say they will do.
Consistent leadership means developing a consistent narrative
A leader’s style becomes their story. To persuade and motivate others to action, leaders first need to craft an engaging, clear, and consistent narrative.
Because a leader’s actions at work reflect their character everywhere else, they must consider how they want to be seen as a leader and role model. The best way to do this is to allow their team to see the same story again and again with passion and conviction.
Leaders craft consistent narratives when they are real and unwavering. Over time, they earn the respect and confidence of those working under them.
In many cases, insufficient training is to blame for erratic leadership. Without training, leaders make decisions based on emotions, contradict departmental guidelines, require tasks from employees one day but not the next, give directives then rescind them at the eleventh hour, fail to deliver on promises, pass judgment on work that was lauded the day before, make rash calls without input from employees, and refuse to provide explanations.
Overcoming the challenges to consistent leadership
Consistent leadership helps a team know what to expect and how to behave. Consistency is not about being perfect — it’s about acting reliably, even when difficult or uncomfortable.
A leader’s capacity to serve with consistency will be tested by external pressures. Unrealistic expectations, financial constraints, team strife, and external rivalry are just a few of the everyday challenges leaders face daily.
Without regular training, these pressures often tempt leaders to respond with impulsive judgments, retractions, and back peddling. However, consistency is essential when a team faces challenges, outside pressure, transition, and uncertainty.
For managers to succeed, they need to earn their employees’ trust by being consistent in making decisions, implementing policies, enforcing procedures, and keeping commitments. This requires not only effort and self-awareness but also training.
Consistent leadership relies on effective and transparent communication
Effective and transparent communication is at the heart of nearly every leadership activity. A leader’s actions will produce positive or negative outcomes depending on the communication strategies they employ. Regular leadership training improves communication by keeping leaders up-to-date on changes in policy and employment laws, reviewing new or revised organizational strategies and goals, encouraging inclusivity when involving a diverse range of employees in policy development and problem-solving, and building consistency and uniformity across communication channels.
Transparent communication builds trust. When you are transparent, it shows you value your team’s opinions and that they can trust what you say. This is especially important when there are tough decisions to make or difficult feedback to deliver.
Transparent communication also builds engagement. When people feel included in decision-making processes, they become invested in the work and vision. Training leaders to keep in close contact with staff facilitates a two-way flow of information that increases employee buy-in.
Gallup research finds that only 22 percent of workers feel their executives have a vision for the company. Leadership development lays the groundwork for effective communication by teaching participants to articulate the company’s purpose, values, expectations, plans, and objectives.
A consistent leadership approach builds trust
Consistency is the cornerstone of trust, and trust is the bedrock of transformational leadership. Leaders earn trust by being consistent in their actions and words over time. Trust is earned, not given, and isn’t built overnight — it’s an ongoing process that requires patience.
A leader’s conduct is always on display. Every day is an opportunity for people to judge whether or not they want to work with that leader. The story a leader tells with their actions ultimately shapes whether or not their team will follow as they watch the leadership narrative play out at work and in the community. They will scrutinize even the smallest interactions, so leaders must be genuine, honest, and consistent to earn trust. Additionally, leaders must learn to recognize the patterns of ineffective behavior that get in the way of their leadership approach and strive to be the best person they can be for their loved ones, neighbors, and coworkers.
Many leaders struggle to be consistent role models, communicators, connectors, and facilitators of positive work environments without formal leadership training. Leaders can’t pick up these abilities in a single training session, but rather need ongoing general leadership training and targeted individual instruction to improve specific skills and weaknesses. When companies train leaders to be consistent, staff engagement and productivity will fall into place.
