“Mistakes increase experience and experience must decrease mistakes.”
People keep repeating same mistakes day in and day out. Leaders somewhat go elusive sometimes and may not be there to shape or guide you when mistakes become incessant. In other words, Leaders can’t be baby-sitting as always. Although you can’t always get it right on the path to Leadership Development you cannot also consistently get it wrong on the path to Leadership Development.
Mistakes increase experience and experience must decrease mistakes. We need to work to achieve this. To avoid inconsistencies, first admit failure. Don’t wade in excuses. Ask for feedback and work to achieve standards. Set w.o.w (ways of work) for yourself. Let it feed into the process at the workplace and be ready to adapt. Remember there is no prima donna at the workplace.
Probe yourself a little bit more after every task to check your consistency. It is one thing getting tasks executed and it is another thing executing tasks right and consistent with process, policy, procedure, pricing, products and people. It is of course difficult to be consistent with performance. However, this is where Leadership is leading to.
Unbelievably, professionals show inconsistencies in performance and would still demand for more from their employers. Some say, ‘I’ll be consistent when I get to lead the team’. It is a Leadership myth. Start showing consistency in the way you do things now. I mean life in general, at work, in relationships, in self, team and in time management. I hear time and time again that failure is good because it prepares you for success. Well, well, well. I believe that when you rather admit that you failed without giving excuses it is an opener to learn through the mistakes to become better professionals.
To err is human. I agree. An inconsistent view, by the way. But is it good to also fail repeatedly? This is the main blight here. We fail and sit in our stinking smelling failure and continue to give excuses. Sorry. Then we ask ourselves, why isn’t it working? Then we look back and take failed stock of achievements and we scream, where did we go wrong? So you seek for answers to questions you don’t even ask right.
If you show a little love for the job, as in passion, give back to junior colleagues by way of mentoring and knowledge transfer, guiding the team by directing and influencing positively by showing leadership and handholding colleagues and applying the rod when necessary by way of shepherding, I can boldly say that you may at least be making a move towards fighting inconsistencies to ensure everyone stays in the line of consistency. But consistency is an individual thing.
When you are empowered, give back the power to the team just so you can have it back. The power of a leader is in the might of the people. Power here means knowledge. If you don’t train the team, you must be prepared for consistent inconsistencies. When the team is consistent, you’ll be consistent. It is also shameful when attitudes of trainees don’t change to reflect investments injected into colleagues by way of trainings and employee development strategies aimed at capacitating teams. It is sad if the team fails to shine after investing so much into them. If the team fails to bloom after continues learning and development, be ready for the gloom.
Sometimes you need to change people otherwise they will change you. Do you know why? People want to be who they are until they drop dead. But this can’t be. Remember we live by rules, regulations, conventions, policies, laws etc. You just have to learn and subsequently practice what you learn.
Sometimes people don’t want to be corrected. Babies cry when they see darkness. This is normal. But it is seriously worrying when adults are scared when they see the light. Colleagues would always wish everyone lurches in ignorance, darkness and underperform to shortchange shareholders’ investments. This must not happen. Be the light. Go with the bonfire. Put on your torch. Carry your sun with you wherever you are and show the way.
Consistency is a Leadership thing and Leaders must instill and demand this every time. When you do it, you’ll drum in best practice and you’ll get good returns from the team. After all, the mango fruit doesn’t drop too far from the tree it fell from. In my experience from various workplaces, with teams, with departments and strategic business units, I can confidently conclude that lackadaisical, irresponsible and nonchalant behaviours are sometimes inspired by Line Managers. Actions and attitudes may consciously, unconsciously or subconsciously create room for inconsistencies among teams. Learn to scan every space when you Lead teams.
This is one of the main reasons why sometimes you have to look beyond your Line Managers in your move to get to the top. Be consistent with time. Be consistent with work. Be consistent with tasks. Be consistent with executions. Be consistent with deliverables. Be guided and consistent with policies. One secret to the top is to be consistent with persistence. River can split rocks because it is consistently persistent. Be consistent with your faith because you need it all through. Above all, be consistent with yourself and life in general.
