Unleashing excellence: leveraging consistent leadership for peak performance
Adobe
To unleash the full potential of your team, don't underestimate the power of simple consistency in your leadership.
This is not to say that boring routine is the answer. Nor is it to dismiss the role of a dynamic personality. But teams simply thrive under the kind of leadership that is rock solid, and dependable.
How does that happen?
If you want your leadership to bring out the best in your team, you need to demonstrate consistency in four specific ways:
#1 You need a consistent temperament.
I once worked for a boss who was so erratic, that every morning the first whispers throughout the office were, "What kind of mood is the boss in today?"
Some days he could be charming, the next day he could be a raging tyrant. And the team floundered.
But when you demonstrate a consistent temperament, your team will feel secure and will respond with consistent performance.
#2 You need consistent follow-through.
Your team needs to know that your "yes means yes" and your "no means no."
They need to know that you will do what you said you will do, and that you will follow through on your commitments every single time.
With that track record of consistency, you will establish solid trust with your team, and that trust will translate into a desire to perform at the highest level.
#3 You need consistent values.
The surest way to see the values of your organization lived out on a daily basis, is for the leader to embody those values and demonstrate them in every situation.
When people see your organization's values being lived out in you day in and day out, that consistency will quickly result in your team embracing those same values.
#4 You need a consistent work ethic.
It's no secret; "Speed of the leader, speed of the team."
Your team will never out-work, out-hustle and out-perform the pace you set. And so when they see you consistently busting it to achieve results, your example will draw the very best out of each member of the team.
So, this week if someone observes your leadership and labels you as "consistent," don't take that as faint praise.
Because when it comes to building a high-performance team, being known as consistent may just be one of the highest compliments you could receive.
 | Scott Cochrane serves on the executive team for the Willow Creek Association, as Vice President, International Ministries. He was born and raised in Canada, where he became connected to the Willow Creek Association, first as a marketing director and later as the ministry’s Chief Operating Officer. Following a five-year stint as Executive Pastor of a large church, Scott returned to Willow Creek Canada in 2009 as Executive Director, and in 2012 relocated to Illinois to take up his current post with the Willow Creek Association. Learn More » |
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