Be Consistent

Any individual who seeks to enhance his or her career must pay attention to personal branding at work. This is how you want other people to perceive you and your work. One of the key rules of personal branding at work is CONSISTENCY.
 

Consistency is a steadfast adherence to the same principles, thought, behaviour, course or form irrespective of external circumstances. It is to have a certain degree of assurance that you will always behave in a regular pattern or style. Consistency is the right approach to maintain balance at work.

I've always strived to stay consistent to my ideas about how work should be done. It’s easier to be great than to be consistent because it can sometimes be tough but when we master it, success is at hand. Many times, the difference between failure and success is consistency. A lot of us have always had fluctuating high and low points in our career because we find it difficult to be consistent in our approach to excellent work. Even the best work plan will fail without a dedication to consistency. 

Every time you make a commitment to do something, ensure you do it. If a meeting is to start by 8.00am, be sure to be in the room by 7.59am at least 99% of the time irrespective of other limiting factors. Consistency is a must as you build and grow your personal brand in the workplace.

Are you finding it difficult to differentiate yourself from others in your team? Try to be more consistent. Why:

• Reputation- Career growth requires a track record of success. Consistency establishes your reputation at work. You can't establish a track record if you are constantly shifting gears or trying new tactics. Many efforts fail before they get to the finish line, not because the tactic was flawed or goals weren't clear. The problem is often that the team simply didn't stay the course to achieve the objective.
• Relevance- If your superior needs to delegate a task when he needs to go to bed, are you the first person he is likely to think of?  If not, you still have a long way to go. Other employees and customers will always need a predictable flow of information from you. Relevant employees seldom lose their jobs, I can bet you.
• Measurement- You can't decide if something works or not until you have tried it for a period of time and in a consistent manner. You make it easy for your appraiser to measure your effectiveness once you are able to perform consistently.
• Authenticity- Consistency forces you to be authentic and genuine about your work. It’s always difficult to be consistent and persistent doing something you really don’t enjoy.
• Accountability – Consistency allows you to be accountable for your deliverables and goals. The same applies to leadership. Consistency allows the team leader to maintain the discipline of making it a priority to make time for and be available to the team. Work at establishing consistent and recurring meetings when a project or aspect of the business requires attention. The simple fact that there is a set time to report on progress is often the vehicle that moves an initiative along to a successful end.
• Message-Your team pays as much or more attention to what you do as to what you say. As a team leader, consistency in your leadership serves as a model for how your team will behave.  If you treat a meeting as unimportant, don't be surprised when you find they are doing the same to fellow teammates or even customers.

Try to be consistent for the next six months and see your career take a positive leap. It sure pays an incredible dividend.

You will reach your zenith!