If you want to unleash the full potential of your team, the key might be found not in the exuberance of your leadership, but in your simple predictability.
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 predictability in four specific ways:
1. You need a predictable 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 predictable temperament, your team will feel secure and will respond with consistent performance.
2. You need predictable 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 predictability, 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 predictable 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 predictability will quickly result in your team embracing those same values.
4. You need a predictable 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 predictably 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 “predictable”, don’t take that as an insult.
Because when it comes to building a high-performance team, being known as predictable may just be one of the highest compliments you could receive.
