People are the key
With very rare exception, in every business, people are the key.
And, without exception, people are human. We’re not emotionless automatons, nor faultless superheroes. We’re incredibly smart, and remarkably stupid. We’re deeply committed, and hilariously lazy. We’re fiercely loyal, and totally flakey.
Humans are lots of things, and unfortunately “inconsistent” is chief among them.
You might notice this in yourself. Some weeks you’re up early every day, doing yoga three times a week, submitting your paperwork on time, and looking after your family and friends. Then, some weeks you’re out of bed at the last minute, fail to exercise even once, submit everything late, and get snappy at your partner and kids (and completely ignore your friends).
I’m sure you notice inconsistency in your people too. Some of your team can be superstars some days and absolute disasters on others. Sometimes your clients just disappear for no reason, even though you really thought you were delivering great work. It just doesn’t make sense.
Humans are weird, huh?
Ironically one of the problems we face as a leader is that we're human too! And when we feel like we're being let down by our people, it can be easy to regress to frustration and anger, and respond in a manner that is patronising, or domineering, or authoritarian... or worse.
Unfortunately, whilst these reactions might make you feel better or get things done in the short term, in the long term, they degrade the quality of your leadership and the effectiveness of your team.
The salve, I think, is to start with compassion.
P.S. — If you know a leader who is working to build a thriving tribe of contributors, please send them the link to this article.
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Photo by Cameron Casey from Pexels