You know the stereotyped volatile leader. One day they’re all smiles, and no matter how much you mess up, it’s no big deal. The next day the slightest slip-up draws a tirade loaded with expletives.
And you think to yourself, “I just wish they were consistent.”
As you try to learn from other people’s mistakes, here’s a tempting takeaway you may be drawn to. It’s easy to think, “I don’t want to be like that, so I want to make sure I’m always consistent in how I behave.”
But I’ve seen rigid consistency cause problems just like unpredictability does.
Treating every infraction the same leaves no room for grace.
Offering exactly the same kinds of opportunities, incentives, and feedback to every team member ignores diversity of culture, personality, skill, and interest.
So let me propose an alternative to “consistency” when you’re deciding what kind of leader you want to be.
Instead, aim for a goal of faithfulness.
Faithfulness to your personal purpose, mission, and values, as well as to those of your organization.
And balance that with faithfulness to each of your team members, to serve with their interests in mind.
Many times, that faithfulness will look a lot like consistency. But even when it doesn’t, the differences will be meaningful and positive.
If you’re feeling challenged living into that kind of faithfulness, or if you’re trying to figure out how to thrive despite working for a volatile leader, please don’t struggle with it alone. Visit https://stevedwire.com/connect and I’d be happy to have a complimentary conversation to help you find concrete steps you can take to work through the challenge.
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