I can’t sit here and tell you what you have to do to be a great leader, because I am not there yet. But I can talk to you about my mistakes and mistakes I learned from my peers. One of the biggest mistakes is not being consistent in your actions or attitude, which creates mistrust among your staff and clients. Nothing builds trust like consistency.
When I talk about consistency, it refers to all aspects of your life — not just when the spotlight is on you — including your mood, store operations, the language you use, and the list goes on.
Back in the beginning, when I first started building my business, I worked full time at an engineering company and coached boot camp classes before and after my 8 to 5 job. When the business was built around me and I was a sole operator, keeping the consistency was easy. I controlled all of it. I showed up to the studio, I opened the doors, and I also coached the class. Nothing happened without me.
When I had to hire employees, that is when my leadership was tested, and I tried to make sure we kept the process, the schedule and the classes consistent. It is essential in the early stages of a startup that you have consistency throughout your organization, so your clients will trust you and tell their friends. Fast forward seven years, and we have over 50 franchised units sold or under development, and guess what? We still talk about consistency, and it is as crucial as ever.
When you are consistent, it allows you to be more approachable, and that will lead to better communication, which will lead to trust within the organization. Small things like being moody are detrimental to consistency and trust. Being moody shows on your face or in the way you raise your voice. These small actions that you don’t notice will make people hesitant to approach you, because they are unaware of how you will react to them or bad news.
As a leader, you will shoulder a lot of changes and make the best of all situations, and this can be stressful. Like everyone else, we have great days and then some bad days. However, if you are consistent in your approach to every situation, it will do amazing things for you, your staff and your customers.
Look back at any situation in your past, not to judge but as an opportunity to learn. Look at situations where maybe you overreacted or didn’t take the best approach. Think of how you should have acted. Write down what you did that you feel could have went better. Now with this list, hold yourself accountable to these actions in the future. We all fail at times, but it is the ones that try again that will succeed.
And remember, consistency is key to great leadership.
