Avoidance breeds inconsistency, and inconsistency erodes confidence. In today’s episode of Lessons In Leadership, leadership expert and president of LearnToLead, Dave Anderson, explores the connection between confidence and consistency and how it can accelerate performance.
Anderson explains that people often avoid tasks that make them uncomfortable, sometimes without even realizing it. This discomfort can stem from a lack of confidence in their ability, a history of negative outcomes, or past criticism.
Take sales calls, for example. The team member who struggles the most with them usually avoids making calls altogether or needs to be tracked down to complete them. Anderson emphasizes that this isn’t just a performance issue; it’s a pattern rooted in discomfort and inconsistency.
The key to building confidence is to improve consistency.
Leaders aren’t exempt from this fundamental principle. Anderson encourages leaders to confront tasks they tend to avoid, such as navigating uncomfortable situations, delivering tough feedback, or holding high-performing but toxic employees accountable.
He outlines four common reasons leaders avoid these key management responsibilities:
- They don’t feel good doing them
- They believe the results are poor
- They second-guess their decisions
- They experience regret afterward
To illustrate this connection, Anderson shares a story from his college coaching days. One player stood out: strong, agile, and skilled, with excellent footwork. Despite the young man’s talent, he rarely drew contact. Drawing contact was essential to reach the free-throw line and score more points. With the player’s size and strength, he should have easily been able to do it, but the player seemed to shy away from it.
The young man’s free throw percentage over a lifetime was 50%, a marker of poor performance. When he stepped to the line, he often missed. The crowd booed, teammates were let down, and he felt down on himself. Over time, he developed an aversion to putting himself in that position.
Anderson argues that this concept applies to anyone, whether leading or following. Avoidance breeds inconsistency, and inconsistency erodes confidence.
He urges leaders to recognize, embrace, and act on the connection between confidence and consistency. Doing so not only strengthens their leadership but also accelerates the development of their teams.
"As they feel good doing it, get praised when they do it, and get better results once it's done– you don't have to beg them to do it! They're going to want to put themselves in that situation again and again and again." – Dave Anderson
