Amita Balla, the regional director of West Crunch Franchise, shares the importance of having consistency in leadership.
In 2023, we know employees are still silently resigning and wanting more from their work life. Gone are the days of the top-down leader and the disrespectful supervisor who demand more of followers than themselves. This doesn’t mean a strong leader isn’t demanding of their staff to be the best version of themselves. In fact, the best leaders are the ones who not only demand more out of the people that follow them but of themselves consistently.
Preparation and organization: For business to be successful, you must be prepared to handle customers and be highly organized. This is also imperative for today’s leader. You need to not only be well-versed in the business’ numbers and challenges but understand the small wins and recent personal victories of that employee. Each person on your team deserves preparedness and organization of thought, not a few times but every time. When you are consistent in this engagement you can garner respect and loyalty.
Timeliness and Communication: Most people expect others to be on time. But are you also demanding that of yourself? Have you allotted enough time for meetings to go over? Have you figured out a way to gracefully exit a Zoom call to show respect to whoever is next? When people are on time, they show you respect and you like and honor that. But it is even more essential to show that same care to your people to help them feel they matter.
Immaculate follow-up: When you follow up, you are teaching your leaders how to treat their teams to value their thoughts, work and ideas. Even a simple thank you to confirm you received an email goes a long way for many employees. I am always amazed how powerful the simplest gestures of professional follow-up can be.
Raising the bar with your expectations that your team can handle: The most important aspect to be a consistent leader is to stop expecting less and allowing average performance. When you consistently challenge your leaders to be the most capable and productive versions of themselves, they will rise and your organization will rise. If you are consistent with your approach, engagement and messaging, your teams and leaders will follow suit.
