Consistency

A dance rewarded by faithfulness.

Consistency is one of the main leadership qualities praised in popular culture. Those who wish to succeed at exceptional achievements need both discipline and coherence in the preparation phase and on the journey.

Although often praised in the context of individual realisations, and relatively unapparent whilst efforts are ongoing, consistency is a core ingredient in the post-rationalisation of leaders’ journeys once they enjoy statutory recognition.

Consistency is also a leadership quality that many teams value. From a subordinate perspective, consistency contributes to clarity and convergence. The steadiness associated with the concept is reassuring and integral to a perception of fairness in the way issues are dealt with, away from the alluring but excessive nature of ‘heroic’ leaders.

Yet, dealing with leaders who value consistency requires overcoming two paradoxes.

On the one hand, such leaders can be innovative. Their commitment to a certain stability or objectivity makes them resourceful. Hence, they can prove effective at attenuating the disruptive effects of innovation and facilitating its adoption.

On the other hand, the resilience of leaders with a consistent leadership style may be perceived as a weakness in times of crisis. Their ability to absorb stress may cut them away from more collective dynamics, when times call for hybris and more seemingly charismatic leaders to emerge.

In other words, their autonomy is both a strength and an impediment, especially when collaboration is required.

“How can such leaders improve their collaboration skills?”, asked the Mouse.

In reality, and sometimes by their own account, leaders who value consistency are “natural collaborators”. Indeed, they read their environment in light of their own autonomy and are ready to negotiate every situation to protect their boundaries.  

In so doing, they risk compromising – i.e., stopping halfway in the value creation process unlocked by collaboration –, or conversely, conveying rigidity regarding alternative ways of doing things. Investigating the root cause of those reactions requires understanding leaders’ value and exploring their relationship with conflict.

From a consistency standpoint, what leaders value is something they try to protect, whether it is their intimacy, their agency, or a certain worldview. Depending, loyalty will make up for shortcomings, feasibility will prevail over ideals, and reliability will be valued for its predictability.

Addressing those underlying needs will help consistency-seeking leaders accommodate alternatives, especially as it appeals to their pragmatism. In such cases, even seemingly disruptive behaviours can find a place in their worldview, and the importance they give to their autonomy will help them be respectful of others’.

Navigating leaders’ relationship with conflict may be more challenging. Avoiding conflict is one of the key reasons they are eager to negotiate in the first place. The mutual assertiveness required to make the most of tense situations will need to be reframed in terms they can understand and perceive as respectful of their boundaries.

In conclusion, leaders who value consistency can often have exceptional leadership qualities. Yet, they are often much more complex than their equanimous demeanour would leave to think. They can be the best administrators or the most daring explorers, very accommodating or staunchly set in their ways. In any case, consistency is a shield to protect what drives them intimately.

Nurturing an eye-to-eye relationship with them requires detecting the deep-rooted emotions, and potential sources of anxiety that their modesty and occasional bashfulness hides so well. It is something of a pragmatic take on emotions, or what one could call “realistic sensitivity”.

Still, leaders valuing consistency need to invite you in, probably in an indirect way. Answering the call in an equally indirect way is necessary to keep their armour intact and reward their effort in connecting at an emotional level.

On a day-to-day basis, it is a dance, which will be rewarded by faithfulness.

Baptiste Raymond - 04/2022.