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In one workplace, employees had a bit of an early warning system.

“Be careful. He’s in one of those moods today.”

This meant that someone, at some time during the day, was going to bear the brunt of his outburst.

Let’s just say, he did not create a consistently positive environment. Employees respected his genius, but they feared his wrath.

Ironically, on his good days, they enjoyed working with him. But his inconsistency led to fear of failure and high turnover of a very talented and skilled workforce.

What makes the difference?

When it comes to cultural impact, one word applied across all channels makes all the difference.

That word is “consistent”.

It applies to communication, empowerment and accountability, values, visibility, collaboration, trust, learning and development, appreciation, support and care, and creating a positive environment.

These areas thrive in an atmosphere of consistency.

What does this look like?

Communication

Consistency in communication means you make a conscious effort to have clear and open communication with your team on a regular basis. It means your walk talks like your talk talks. You say what you mean and mean what you say. And it means you make a concerted effort to include your team regularly in conversations that are relevant to their work. It also means listening purposefully.

Empowerment and Accountability

Applying consistency to empowerment and accountability means you seek ways to empower your team to make decisions and grow within the areas of their responsibilities. It means you are clear on expectations and generous with praise for a job well done. It also means you are willing to have difficult conversations, when necessary, to prevent larger issues.

Values

Consistency in values means you know what your non-negotiables are and hold true to those values. You may entertain other viewpoints, but then consistently bring the actions back to “what is true” for you and your organization. Decisions based on a solid set of values bring stability.

Visibility

Being seen and heard requires the consistency of showing up, not just when you think about it or feel like it, but every day. This consistency creates the characteristic of dependability. And when people know they can depend on you to be there, you will gain their trust.

Trust

Consistency is bedrock to trust. When you are consistent in each of these areas, it builds a tremendous amount of trust. Your team will know that you are there for them, as you expect them to be there for you.

Collaboration

Collaboration is built on relationships, and small, consistent deposits of conversation and actions build solid relationships. Creating a habit of communicating with your team regularly builds solid relationships; and solid relationships create solid teams.

Learning and Development

The percentage of adults who read books after graduating is, reportedly, low. But learning and development should not stop after graduation. It is a life-long process, especially for leaders. Your growth limits limit your team. But applying intention and consistency to learning and development will make you a much more effective leader. The habit of consistent learning and development is an outstanding trait of John Maxwell. It has helped to make him the leader of leaders that he is today.

Appreciation

This one is easy to forget in the busyness of today’s workplace. This is why you must make expressing your appreciation a consistent habit. Everyone on your team has a need and desire to be appreciated. The best words of appreciation come in the form of something specific that they did and not in generalizations. Thus, you will want to make it a habit to notice those extra actions that deserve a good measure of appreciation.

Support and Care

John Maxwell says it often: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Caring for your team is not optional. It is essential. Make a conscious effort to get to know your people and show them that you care.

Creating a Positive Environment

This goes back to the story of our inconsistent leader. Had he moderated his environmental temperature to a more consistent level, he would have had the ability to create and maintain a confident, unstoppable team.

Application

Consider your own realm of leadership across each of these channels. Are there areas that beg for more consistency? What will you do to apply that consistency on a daily and weekly basis?

For valuable resources on Leadership Strengths and Tools, click here.

Deb Ingino is a highly sought-after executive coach, mentor, consultant, and speaker worldwide. Deb is well versed in business operations and in the importance of asking key questions most business leaders won’t ask themselves. She brings deep experience in leadership development, strategy, high performance team building and effective communication. She has a passion for leading people to discover and maximize their strengths as well as those of fellow team members, while offering advanced strategies to achieve high performance. Deb is the perfect fit if you’re ready to take your leadership and impact to the next level!