The importance of constant consistency as a leader
Over the course of my time as a school leader – coming into my 10th year – I have obviously learnt many things. I have succeeded greatly, failed miserably, laughed, cried…been excited and energetic with change and also have felt the lethargy when change is upon us. What a mix of those emotions we have all felt recently!
I think that the thing that I admire most about great leaders I work with and have worked with is the ability to act, react, decision make and think constantly consistently. A leader is someone who should be able to inspire confidence with everyone in the organisation at all times, as opposed to someone who has occasional flashes of brilliance. When a leader is consistent, they are able to inspire trust, whereas a leader who is inconsistent can leave their team struggling on a daily basis.
When an individual in a leadership position doesn’t act or behave in a consistent manner, the people around him or her don’t know what to expect. I have witnessed this. What happens then? People then must position themselves to be able to react to a wider range of responses from the leader. This means that instead of instinctively knowing what actions to take themselves, they have to waste thought, energy and time waiting to see which way the wind will blow. If the leader were consistent, people would know how they are expected to proceed.
When a teacher walks into a classroom we know that they set the tone. The children look to them for consistency so that they can understand the expectations of that classroom. We expect this of our teachers, so should expect no less than that for ourselves when leading a school. We set the tone and therefore have to do that consistently.
I worked with a leader once (most senior person in the organisation) who openly told their colleagues that they shouldn’t ask her any questions before 8.30am - and if they did, they should expect a snappy response. What’s that all about? Not consistent, that’s for sure.
We cannot always be all things to all people…but one thing we can be is consistent.
We have to remember that people come to work wanting to do a good job; the leader’s job is to enable them to do a good job. In order for us to do that, one of the things we must do is behave consistently. This doesn’t mean that we become robotic, unfeeling individuals – we are still humans, with emotions. We can show vulnerability and be honest about how we are feeling, whilst still being consistent.
Domain-specific knowledge, expertise, vision, energy, structure, direction, culture, hearts & minds…the list goes on…all important ‘leadership-qualities’. Really important. But I wonder…do we, first and foremost, have to be constantly consistent?
consistent
adjective
1.
acting or done in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate.
"the parents are being consistent and firm in their reactions"
2.
(of an argument or set of ideas) not containing any logical contradictions.
"a consistent explanation"