November 11, 2020

1 Leadership Thought

What do your team members need from you most in times of crisis or uncertainty?

The first things leaders typically think of are that they need to be calm and reassuring, to inspire, or be a hero and jump in to fix the issue. You can do all of those things and still be missing what you need most — consistency.

David De Cremer has done research at Maastricht University revealing that inconsistency strips certainty from an organization.

People end up confused, trust is lost, and fear rises. Toxicity creeps into a team and teammates begin to avoid or shut down interactions with the offending leader.

Especially in crisis and uncertainty, your team wants to know if you can be counted on as a leader.

This means that you need consistency more than intensity.

Intensity:

  • Inspiring speech

  • Annual review

  • Team building retreat

Consistency:

  • Repeat vision & values every meeting

  • Regular 2-way feedback

  • Daily connection

Intensity means you're flashy. Consistency means you're trustworthy. (Share this on Twitter)

You're already winning if people in your company never have to guess what you're thinking.

In fact, if you are consistent in your leadership and decision-making and your team already knows what you'd say and do in a situation, they will naturally know how to initiate, react, and work together.

1 Resource

James Clear on consistency in habits:

"Success is the product of daily habits — not once-in-a-lifetime transformations...You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results. If you're a millionaire but you spend more than you earn each month, then you're on a bad trajectory. If your spending habits don't change, it's not going to end well. Conversely, if you're broke, but you save a little bit every month, then you're on the path toward financial freedom — even if you're moving slower than you'd like. Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits...You get what you repeat."

Source: James Clear’s New York Times bestselling book, Atomic Habits

1 Question

Which of my current habits is helping me make the most progress? Which is helping me the least?