The most unexpected thing that will make you a great leader

If you’re a leader today, you’re likely facing intense demands to deliver business results, while also supporting people, and taking care of yourself, as well. You know you need to pay attention to all kinds of strategies for effectiveness—and it can all be so overwhelming.

But there’s new evidence that one key leadership strategy is especially successful: Being consistent and predictable with your behavior.

Effective leadership is especially important now, because the market is increasingly competitive, and the talent shortage is acute. But when you’re a great leader, you contribute to your organization’s success and your employees’ well-being and engagement—not to mention your own feelings of esteem.

Why now

It’s a VUCA world—that is, it’s Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. In this context, people tend to be more anxious, so when you provide leadership that is stable and consistent, it contributes to people’s sense of well-being.

In addition, the requirements for leaders at this moment are broad. You need to provide purpose and direction, as well as clear expectations and processes. You want to give people opportunities for growth and ensure your team is adapting and evolving. But among all these important elements, you can also take straightforward action and get to great outcomes by demonstrating consistency and predictability.

Here’s how you can have a powerful, positive impact:

Be consistent in how you show up

One of the primary ways to demonstrate consistency and predictability is to show up every day with a uniform approach. With all the issues people face inside and outside of work, they want to know what to expect from their leader and their work. You may have ups and downs, but when you can behave in a steady way, it will drive trust with others.

In fact, fascinating data shows that people have a better experience with a leader who demonstrates poor behavior but is predictable over one who is erratic or unpredictable. Specifically, a study of employees used surveys to compare worker reactions to supervisors’ behavior related to their fairness—in situations where they were always fair, sometimes fair, or rarely/never fair. The results found that with leaders who were less consistent—sometimes fair and sometimes unfair—people experienced greater stress, emotional exhaustion, workplace uncertainty and job dissatisfaction compared with those who experienced the more consistent supervisor behavior. This is according to research published by the Academy of Management.

Be consistent by staying calm even if you’re facing a huge customer issue or product failure. And be consistent by showing up with your best, even if you’re going through challenges in your personal life.

Be consistent with how you treat people

It’s also essential to be consistent in how you treat people—behaving similarly on a stressful Monday during tax season or a relaxed Friday before a holiday weekend.

If you’re sometimes brutal and then try to make up by swinging to kindness, it’s actually damaging to relationships. This was based on studies of employees in the U.S. and Europe that included both surveys and experiments in the workplace.

The research process examined how supervisors treated employees and then assessed worker reactions, including their emotional exhaustion and job performance. It found that while people had negative reactions to supervisors who treated them abusively (for example, blowing up, berating them, or criticizing them publicly), their reactions were even more negative when the supervisor tried to make up for the bad behavior by swinging over to charming or effusive treatment. Employees’ reactions were the same whether they were receiving the treatment themselves or witnessing it in others. The study was published in the peer-reviewed academic Journal of Applied Psychology.

The shifts from abusiveness to ethical behavior break down trust and credibility and have a negative effect on others and on the culture. Be consistent in demonstrating caring, empathy, and respect for people—always.

Be consistent with fairness

You’ll also need to demonstrate fairness across employees. The Academy of Management research found that people’s preference for consistent approaches was especially relevant to equity—and believing that people were being treated fairly by leaders.

In fact, one of our fundamental human needs is fairness, according to a study by the University of Oxford which analyzed 60 different global societies. People want to see that you’re treating them and others equitably.

Be consistent in how you provide rewards and recognition, as well as how you make opportunities, growth, and development available. Also be consistent in holding people accountable and ensuring that they deliver on their responsibilities and obligations to the team.

Be consistent with how you show up and what you say and do

Another key element of consistency is in ensuring alignment between what you say and do. We all tend to prefer people who are legible, or easy to read. If you have a poker face or like to keep people guessing, you’ll be less likely to build credibility or motivate people for results. It’s significantly more effective to be clear and easy to read—which contributes to a sense of stability.

A related way to be consistent is to be present and accessible. With so many distractions today, attention is one of the most scarce resources. People appreciate when you’re attentive to them and when you resist distractions in conversations—and when you’re mentally present in person or virtually.

People also value leaders who are available when they’re needed, and who are responsive—in answering questions or making decisions. Interestingly when leaders were visible and accessible, it was one of the most significant contributors to positive outcomes, according to a survey of almost 5,000 people across 20 countries by Oracle.

Be consistent by acting in accordance with what you say. If you say you value follow-through, then be conscientious about meeting your commitments. If you say you appreciate input, be open and listen when people provide ideas. If you set a rule that people must be on time, always be prompt yourself. And strive to be both visible and accessible to employees.

Be consistent with the organization

You’ll want to be aligned with the organization’s messages and other leaders. If the organization values transparency, you’ll need to be authentic and open. Or if the business has just reorganized, you’ll need to stay calm and appropriate in your support of the new roles and work processes.

You’ll also want to communicate alignment with other leaders—and if you’re not aligned, work that out between yourselves. For example, if the senior sales leader is focused on the customer, your regional sales team will need to adapt so the customer is primary in your processes as well.

Strive for consistent progress

As a leader, people focus on what you do and the choices you make. You might have heard the saying, “You’re behaving so loudly, I can hardly hear what you’re saying.” The meaning, of course, is that how you behave sends a stronger message than what you say, and if what you say and what you do are different, people will believe what you do more than what you say. Given this, you have a powerful opportunity to make a positive impact based on how you show up.

But despite the pressure you’re under as a leader, no one expects you to be perfect. Instead, people want to know you care about learning and making progress. So do your best—and show up with consistency and predictability—and focus on learning and getting better all the time.