Yesterday, while tuning in to practice 15 like an animal being stalked, I picked up a hint of a very familiar scent. I investigated a bit further and then asked the team if they smelled what I did. Nope, nobody had noticed. Nobody knew where I was coming from or where I was going. So, I told them…
I smelled inconsistency.
Inconsistency is the enemy of high performance teams because it messes with our justice threads. A tweaked teammate, remember, is not performing to his/her potential. And, your team is full of tweaked teammates who are immature and overly tuned to their own justice thread. Normal. Only the damn few develop their tuneage beyond themselves.
So, yesterday I called out a leader in front of his team and asked him what he’s going to do about an inconsistency in his kingdom. He could have killed me for telling him the truth. He did not. We’ve built trust overtime and slowly allowed each other in. And, I gave him a convincing argument he couldn’t refute. I didn’t speak before thinking. I pushed him to figure out his own PA for closing down a gap in his leadership. He came up with a good one. He’s getting much better, btw, at actually doing what PA he says he’s going to do. Leaders, make this a habit. Do what you say you are going to do. When your team evaluates your ethic, they mostly measure how consistently you do what you say you will do. Funny, they rarely make many moral judgements beyond this basic. Moving along…
Inconsistency is your enemy. Close your own integrity gaps. Consistently lead your team. Do not lower the standard for high performers and don’t “put off” dealing with the low ones. You, most likely are too tolerant or too tough. Consistency counts, my friend. Sniff out your own inconsistencies and close ’em down. Tune in to your system like an animal being stalked; you’ll begin to notice nuances that have always been there, you’ve just not been looking hard enough. Masters, notice nuances, lean against tendencies, ask the best, piercing questions, and leave no stone unturned on their way to high performance. You, my BTL leader, have some work to do.
And, for what it’s worth, you’re most likely not too tough…
BUILT TO LEAD 
Good post Toto… Someone might ask “What about inconsistent capabilities of team members? Different levels of work scrutiny are required based on performance history.”
Remember, BTL leaders do NOT treat team members equally. For whom more has been given, more is required. Their bar is HIGHER. And YOUR bar for YOURSELF? HIGHEST of course.
Btw if you r wondering where your integrity gaps LIE (pun intended) as a leader, ask the one or two or few truth tellers on your team who won’t blow sunshine up your skirt. This takes PRACTICE. Practice asking and you will slowly but steadily build a leader AND team with more and more truth tellers and more and more CONSISTENCY.
— John Rue