As a leader you cannot be effective if you’re not seen to be consistent. And who is the judge and jury? Your people of course.
John Maxwell has authored dozens of books on leadership and if there’s one thing he’s certain of it’s this: ‘A sure way to lose followers fast is to say one thing and do another – you won’t believe how quickly they abandon you. All the slick talk in the world won’t disguise that disconnect.’
Keith McFarland wrote a great book, ‘The Breakthrough Company’, about how successful mid-size companies become successful large companies. Interestingly, he noted that those companies don’t spend a lot of time ‘drafting values statements and fretting about corporate culture.’ Instead, they focus on ‘aligning what they say with what they actually do.’ In a word: consistency.
People are bloodhounds for inconsistency. Continually ask yourself, and your people, what your organization can do to better align its practices, processes, policies and products for success.
Consistency, consistency, consistency.
Your thoughts?
Michael
