Even though it was a Monday morning and we were all in the board room, waiting for our VP to enter and kick off a meeting, the rest of us were excitedly sharing about our weekend, a contract that closed on Friday, or how we could collaborate and help each other prepare for an upcoming meeting. Until the VP walked in – dead silent.
Everyone on the edge of their seat, anticipating, wondering which mood will he be in today? Will he be excited and share in our enthusiasm, or is he going to be completely pissed off and come in and slam down that hammer? Awful way to kick off a Monday morning, or to live in any type of environment on any day.
Now if you’ve been with me, you know that I read a Forbes article where their counsel is sharing their top tips for women in leadership. I’m going to be sharing one tip with you today, along with my personal experience and take, with the hopes of helping you shorten your leadership learning curve. Today’s tip: be predictable.
Yes, as monotonous as that may sound, being predictable provides for a safe environment.
Imagine that VP, imagine that team not ever knowing which mood they’re going to be in. This isn’t to say that you can’t have good and bad days as a leader, but be predictable in how you’re managing that.
Have more of a consistent pattern, and have a professional way that you’re handling any of the challenges; those bad days when you need to be more serious. The more consistent you are, the more predictable you are, and the better the communication is so that your team understands where you’re coming from, the better, safer, more productive environment you as a leader are going to provide.
Be predictable.
Please join me in the upcoming series of videos where I’m going to share with you more tips. And if you have your own tip to help somebody else shorten their learning curve, please post it in the comments below.