Career coaches decode the impact of inconsistent leadership on team dynamics

Nitish Kumar addresses the media about his decision to switch sides. Pic Courtesy/Getty Images

After yet another political U-turn with his exit from the INDIA Bloc of opposition parties, Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has again returned to the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party. How does such inconsistency translate within the workplace and affect the overall functioning of a team? Two career coaches explain the impact of such management and work styles, and how to tackle it in a corporate set-up.

Dealing with inconsistency

In order to deal with employees, peers or managers who may be inconsistent across stations of a project, for instance, in the overall goal of a task and the inability to lead a team stably or approaches to daily tasks, Afsheen Dattoobhai, instructor to life coaches and founder of Outsight Growth and Development, suggests that the company must break down the vision and scopes of work. "Dealing with inconsistency is a common problem. What we can look at first is the ultimate vision for one's career or a project, for all members of the team. Brainstorming together, we define professional goals in alignment with the project or the company's requirements."

One-on-one check-ins for members across roles, offering a platform to share concerns is crucial. Representation pics

This helps one gain clarity about their overall role, scope of work and how to make appropriate moves that help them achieve the goals. People also better understand how they can play a key role in the position they fill or within a project. Step two, Dattoobhai notes, is to create a tracker to help stay outcome-oriented. Monthly check-ins by one's guide, mentor, or management will help them stay on track.

Awareness and alignment is the way to go, Dattoobhai points out. She notes that once people are armed with clarity of their own roles and vision, they can plan better ways to move in the direction of their goals. In this way, inconsistency reduces and one becomes more reliant as well as efficient.

Conduct regular group check-ins to align on project objectives, individual roles and how each member is key to the project's success

C for Commitment

Another way to tackle a peer or manager changing their vision, play or alliance, which can bring instability and confusion to the workplace, is to check one's commitment to a certain task. She says, "On a scale of one to 10, if one's commitment is below eight, ask what needs to change for you to be committed to this role or task. The changes can be minor tweaks to help you be more consistent and the habit to be sustainable. This can be a self, group or one-on-one check-in."

Afsheen Dattoobhai

Causes of inconsistency

Sanjay Rahate, life and career coach and founder of up skilling portal, Get Set Go World, suggests beginning at the root causes of inconsistency which include a lack of self-efficacy and weak operating skills. Some red flags to watch out for are erratic decision-making and inability to carry out daily tasks. Weak operating skills include mismanagement of resources, undermining or underutilising your team's strengths, setting inefficient processes, hindering team performances, and failure to meet objectives. "Irregular work scheduling is a consequence of inconsistency that impacts employee well-being and productivity," Rahate notes. He explains the steps to adopt for efficient decision-making, noting that the intricate process includes identifying relevant variables, tracking uncertainties, considering your team's suggestions, issues and strengths, and investing time in moving towards a solution.

How to overcome inconsistency

Sanjay Rahate

. Communication and clarity: Establish clear communication channels to address doubts, help with redirection, convey updates, and realign with tasks and goals. This is important for employees and managers at all levels. It is crucial to adopt transparency in the workplace

. Skill development opportunities: Provide opportunities to employees at all levels to grow professionally; follow work-life balance, and enhance operational skills. This can be done through workshops, training programmes, investing in skill development and above all, by incorporating such opportunities directly into one's organisational role, daily tasks or overall vision

. Regular feedback and check-ins: Implement feedback and check-in sessions to proactively engage with the employee whether in execution or managerial roles. Align on performance, expectations, and progress; and create space to express concerns and seek clarification through supportive dialogue. It is important to foster a collaborative workspace for employees to reach out and speak out in case of issues faced, so that they are able to realign and focus on organisational and professional objectives