Predictability Drives Clarity

Being predictable is the hallmark of a true leader, because it means that they’ve communicated through their words and actions to such a point that the people who follow them trust the leader to predictably move forward.

You haven’t communicated until your audience can finish your sentence and mean that same thing you intend.

Actually, I’ll amend that. Positive predictability is the hallmark of a true leader. It’s the quality people want most from their leaders—those individuals people CHOOSE to follow. As leaders, being positively predictable creates the clarity, energy and focus your team needs to effectively do the task at hand.

In contrast, being a predictable asshole or being predictably unpredictable or negative is definitively NOT what teams want from the people they choose to follow. Not all predictability is created equal.

Positive predictability creates psychological safety and collective and individual energy; all other predictability creates chaos, and unnecessary chaos is unprofitable. (For an excellent illustration, watch episode one of Band of Brothers, when all of Easy Company’s non-commissioned officers risk court martial and execution by refusing to follow Captain Sobol into D-Day. Actually, watch the whole series; it’s amazing.)

5 Steps To Be Positively Predictable

1.      Set Clear Expectations. When people know the company goals, and how their team, and they fit into those goals, it’s easier to move in the same direction. Set clear expectations by articulating standards, deadlines, and roles.

2.      Repeat Yourself Often. Repeat Yourself Often. (See what I did there?) When your team can finish your sentences that’s when you know you’ve delivered your message. You need to repeat yourself many times for a whole team to hear, understand, and absorb your message. One and done doens’t cut it. Yes, you’ve said it once. Who cares? Until everyone can finish your sentence you haven’t delivered your message.

3.      Set a pattern of communication. Weekly email, staff meeting update, bi-weekly check in, monthly review. Whatever gets you in front of your team often, with, you guessed it, predictable agendas helps create the clarity everyone needs to perform well. Just because it’s predictable doesn’t mean it needs to be boring. Add some flare or humor to keep people engaged. A chuckle or LOL makes things memorable.

4.      Be overt and obvious when things need to change. Of course, our world is not predictable and you will need to change course. Be overt about the change, explaining why you’re making the change, and providing as much context and detail as possible. What people need to count on is that you’ll explain what’s going on - that’s the predictability that matters when plans change.

5.      Be pragmatically positive. Your team is looking to you to set the tone, provide direction, and chart a course forward that is possible. Be real, not falsely positive.

Being positively predictable is definitely NOT being a robot or boring. You’ve got plenty of room for spontaneity and surprise, as long as it's positive. We call it "surprise and delight" for a reason. Something that’s not expected but is fully in line with behavior and brings a smile or a laugh. “Surprise and disappointment” is what predictably unpredictable people and organizations do.

Be predictably predictable by communicating repeatedly, regularly and often to create the clarity your team needs to make your goals achievable.