Consistency in management: Commitment to success

The longing for more consistency in management

The same conversation scenario over and over again, whether board member, managing director or head of a department:

“We’re not making any progress.”

“People simply don’t stick to agreements!”

“Constant reasons why something doesn’t work!”

etc.

I have the feeling that these kinds of statements and conversations are on the increase. And not only that, they are becoming sharper in tone and message.

Only recently, I was able to witness a managing director saying to his next level:

“I no longer trust anything or anyone here!”

Certificate of poverty? Unprofessionalism? Or simply an act of desperation out of sheer existential angst over shrinking productivity, declining customer satisfaction, which was once held so high, and with it the loss of competitiveness? In a conversation, the managing director confirmed the latter to me, of course. Despite, or perhaps because of, the good market situation and the growth in both turnover and employee numbers, the company was finding it increasingly difficult to cope with this success. Customer wishes and demands for product diversity and new products were increasing. The existing structures and processes were not designed to cope with this load. But that wasn’t even the problem, because my client had recognized these things in good time and addressed them with appropriate concepts. In addition to the increasing operational requirements, the organization was faced with a whole host of change measures: a change in the vertical range of manufacture here, a new CRM system there, a redesign of production elsewhere to create more variance in the product lines, etc.

The effect:

The burden on the organization increased. Both in day-to-day business and in the work “on the system”, i.e. the necessary changes to processes and structures. It was therefore in no way unclear what needed to be addressed and done! There were no knowledge problems, but “only” implementation problems.

Whether, as in this example, a whole host of things come together that make life difficult for a manager and the organization, or whether it is a matter of getting a central project over the finishing line, where IT is finally consolidated or cross-company collaboration, which looks so wonderful on paper, is to become a reality.

Most of the time, things are neither unclear nor are the plans bad.

It is simply managed inconsistently!

More and more frequently, I have to deal with situations in which it is impossible to rely on one another, in which tomorrow’s agreements are just yesterday’s gossip and, as a result, a toxic mix of pressure, mistrust and control spills over all hierarchical levels in a vicious spiral. A tragedy that none of those involved wanted and where, in discussions with managers at all levels, the desire for more commitment, more reliability and, as a result, more consistency is expressed.

One fundamental connection will be examined in more detail:

Why is the longing for more commitment and more reliability a longing for more consistency?
What does the longing for more consistency mean? Does it mean a child’s longing for punishment when it has eaten too many sweets so that it won’t get a stomach ache next time?

This is not only unworldly but paradoxical. Nevertheless, this is a common understanding of consequences in a management context: sanctions for misconduct or poor performance. And preferably with a show effect or at least sufficient satisfaction for the sanctioner, the enforcer, to make it clear to everyone that this is not the way to do things. And this is what employees and managers are supposed to long for? Hardly.

In a culture of inconsistency, we experience a kind of powerlessness that today’s agreements are just yesterday’s gossip.

What does a culture of inconsistency mean in companies?

In my understanding, longing refers to a different understanding of consequence:

It is the longing to be able to do good work for which there is recognition and appreciation, the only true motivating factors.

As organizations are complex structures with complex processes that are only idealized on process charts in a clearly structured and orderly manner, I have to be able to rely on others in this functioning chaos – on their promises, on the agreements I have made with them. Especially in phases when new demands are placed on the organization and the well-established daily business is shaken up. As an employee, I want to be able to rely on agreements being kept and consistently implemented, whether with superiors, colleagues or employees. This is the only way I can do my job and live up to my agreements. Only then do I have a chance of being successful in the end and receiving praise and recognition (see Fig. 1).