If change is an inevitability we must contend with in life and at work, then it stands to reason that embracing change and navigating it well will improve both the journey and outcomes. As John F Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” So while change is a given, balancing that change with consistency is important for leaders within organizations.
Leaders work to increase productivity, increase revenue, and hit targets, but how many also focus on the importance of consistency in leadership and how that impacts the workforce within an environment that constantly produces or requires change? In this blog, we look to provide a few tools leaders can use to leverage consistency in a dynamic business environment.
Consistency As a Competitive Edge
Why consistency, and how can consistency differentiate a business from its competitors to create a competitive edge? In an era where transformation and transition are a natural part of workplace strategy discussions and change management approaches, the importance of consistency in leadership cannot be overstated. Take Google for example. Google is known for its many innovations and a large part of their success is that they have maintained a consistent and structured culture that allows them to thrive.
Google has a strong mission statement and follows the values of “respect the user, respect the opportunity, respect each other.” Everything, no matter how innovative or new, is done by these standards. In their community guidelines, Google makes clear that leadership and managers will model and monitor proper behavior because the only way to be successful is to “own [the values] personally…own them collectively.”
Google also encourages a sense of belonging, creates a culture of recognition, and supports employee growth initiatives. These practices are known to lead to lower turnover, increased satisfaction, increased innovation, and heightened employee engagement.
While this is only one example, when we think about why consistency matters in leadership, particularly in a world of rapid change, consider the positive impacts to organizations as demonstrated by Google when talented individuals experience a positive workplace environment where leaders consistently demonstrate that “you matter” and “you belong.”
Key Consistency Areas to Maintain and Improve
In the face of change, employees need consistency, and leadership is responsible for providing this in the workplace. But what are some of the key areas to develop and maintain consistency? Let’s look at a few areas where workplace consistency is essential and allows employees to better focus more of their efforts and abilities on organizational or team goals as opposed to using time and resources to navigate ever-changing waters.
- Vision and Mission: Consider the goals and missions of both the team and the organization and how they can remain consistent with one another to provide clear direction and alignment.
- Decision-Making: Taking consistent action and using consistent criteria or processes for making decisions can encourage trust, alignment, and fairness across professional relationships.
- Communication: Perhaps the most important of all, ensure that constructive feedback comes with plenty of praise and positive sentiments as well; after all, 82% of team members who reported having exceeded their goals over the past year highlighted that their leader made them feel confident, valued, and assured.
- Policies and Structure: Constant internal restructuring or endless changing of policies and procedures can diminish employee engagement and affect morale and company culture.
Tools and Techniques for Consistency
In order to be consistent, leadership needs to have the training, tools, and processes that support these actions and behaviors while simultaneously embracing and navigating change. Here are a few aspects leaders can concentrate on to achieve consistency in a dynamic business environment.
- Smooth Your Onboarding Process: This is a new hire’s first connection to your company, so it’s a valuable opportunity to establish norms for how things are done (even if what they will be doing might change). Starting an employee off on the right foot supports consistency and can lead to high performance and engagement.
- Use Technology and Automation Many tools can help maintain consistency in operations, especially when those tools are used regularly over time. Find the tools that fit your organization and teams, and be sure that all are trained on how to use them correctly. In the age of AI, choose your usage wisely and ingrain it into your company culture.
- Provide Training and Development Consistency does not happen overnight; it is only through relentless pursuit that we can embrace change while staying consistent in targeted areas. Developing consistency in areas that affect key interpersonal interactions often necessitates behavioral changes from staff, and training and development can help to enhance and support workers and their skills. Offering regular training programs can be a good place to start and can also help maintain regularity through continuous learning and feedback.
- Improve Soft Skills: A recent Dale Carnegie study showed that high-performing teams thrived when team members reflected favorably on their leader’s ability to create consistently positive experiences through enhanced interpersonal skills, ultimately affecting employee performance. Therefore, “it’s critical for leaders to include targeted soft skill enhancement efforts in key performance indicators (KPIs) and return on investment (ROI) discussions. This allows organizations to recognize short-term improvements and demonstrates leadership’s commitment to the employee experience.”
Facing Change with a Positive Attitude
As many companies demonstrate, the importance of consistency in leadership is a critical component and consideration that contributes to how an organization approaches change and innovation as well as overall success. Positive change cannot take place without consistency and alignment in key aspects of leadership and an organization’s core values, its mission, etc. This requires consistent leadership to model the culture you are creating and requires all stakeholders to be on the same page surrounding foundational items, even in the face of change. Whether you need employees to adjust to change or for leaders to lead change effectively, Dale Carnegie has the resources to help.
Establishing consistency is a long game, but once it’s part of your culture, it supports itself as a norm within your organization. Visit Dalecarnegie.com to search all our courses or find your local Dale Carnegie location to learn to lead change through consistency.
Robert A. Coleman, Ph.D., is the director of research and thought leadership for Dale Carnegie and Associates, where he is responsible for ongoing research into current issues facing leaders, employees, and organizations worldwide. Visit dalecarnegie.com for more information on a variety of workplace topics and resources to help your organization.
