Consistency Magnifies Trust

Cathie Leimbach • September 6, 2022

“It’s the little things – done consistently – that make the biggest difference,” says David Horsager. “If I am overweight, it is because I have eaten too many calories over time, not because I ate too much yesterday. It is the same in business. The little things done consistently make for a higher level of trust and better results.”

Consistency is the critical driver for success. Being consistent means dedicating yourself to your goals and staying focused on the things and activities needed to achieve your goals. Consistency requires a long-term commitment from you and involves sustained effort in doing actions repeatedly until you achieve your goals. 

Discipline, accountability, and responsibility are all parts of staying consistent. Why is it so difficult to stay focused, to be disciplined, to hold ourselves accountable, and to exercise personal responsibility? 

One of the reasons is that the world around us and technology provide so many distractions that people don’t stay focused on their priorities. Another is that most people don’t have a focus because they haven’t been intentional about deciding what they want to do in life, what they want to accomplish. 

Let’s look at a few aspects of being consistent.

  1. Set Clear Goals – Determine the priorities in your life and define them in measurable ways. For example, if one of your priorities is to be a high performer at a job you love, you may set a goal for sales, client retention, average customer satisfaction, and/or your performance feedback rating. 
  2. Create a Plan to Achieve Your Goals – Write down all the things you need to do to achieve each goal. How much time will each take? How frequently do they have to be done? When will you do each of them. Create a schedule for each day, week, or month and enter all of the things you need to do to achieve success.
  3. Follow Your Plan – Now is the time to demonstrate consistency. Live in the present. Every day, week, and month, do the things on your schedule. Discipline yourself to follow the plan. Find an accountability partner who will check in with regularly to acknowledge your progress or get you back on track. Take responsibility when you fall behind due to your lack of follow-through.
  4. Review and Adjust – Evaluate the progress you are making towards your goal. If you haven’t been following it, what do you need to do to increase your consistency. If you are regularly implementing your plan but not making enough progress, what changes could improve your results? Revise your plan and consistently follow the new plan.  If you discover your goal is unrealistic, revise the goal and modify your plan.

When people see that you are clear on your priorities and consistently working towards achieving your goals, they will see you as trustworthy. Your track record of trust will be built over time; there is no other way to lasting success. Deliver the same quality of results every time and you will maintain trust.

Listening Is Key to Effective One-on-Ones

By Cathie Leimbach • September 15, 2026
Tom walked into his one-on-one feeling relieved. For a week, he had been struggling with two critical assignments. His supervisor had delegated them without much context, and Tom wasn’t clear about the desired results or how to get started. Surely, he thought, we can sort this out today. Fifteen minutes later, Tom walked back to his desk just as confused. His supervisor had done nearly all the talking—reviewing priorities, sharing updates, and reminding Tom that the two assignments were important. But he never asked the question Tom needed to hear: “What do you need from me to be successful?” When One-on-Ones Become One-Way Conversations This happens more often than we might think. Leaders enter one-on-ones with a list of things they need to communicate. They talk through the list, ask if there are any questions, and move on to the next meeting. But a one-on-one should do more than transfer information. Its purpose is to help the employee succeed. That requires conversation—and conversation requires listening. Ask what the employee wants to discuss. Listen for what is getting in the way. Do they need clearer expectations? More training? Better resources? Help making a decision? Encouragement that they are headed in the right direction? Then determine together what each of you will do next. Try This in Your Next One-on-One Instead of starting with your agenda, begin with one simple question: “What would be most helpful for us to talk about today?” Then listen. You may discover that the most valuable thing you contribute to the meeting isn’t what you say. It’s what you learn. Conversation is Where Leadership Happens™ If this has you thinking about the conversations you have with your team, join me at the Workplace Conversation Clinic on September 21 . Bring a question about your one-on-ones or a conversation you’re finding difficult, and let’s work through it together. RESERVE YOUR SPOT HERE

Are you Supporting Your Employees to Overcome Hurdles?

By Cathie Leimbach • September 8, 2026
For weeks, Mary had been frustrated with frequently occurring delays in shipping. During her one-on-one with her supervisor, she finally told him what was going on. He listened, asked questions, and said he would look into it. She left the meeting feeling encouraged. Maybe this situation would finally get resolved. A week later, her supervisor started their one-on-one by asking “So, what do you want to talk about today?” He didn’t mention what he had learned about the problem in shipping. “Of course not!,” she thought. “Nothing is going to change.” So, she sadly replied, “Nothing really. Everything’s fine.” Sometimes employees stop talking because experience has taught them that speaking up doesn’t make any difference. One-on-ones are an opportunity to change that. Give the employee a voice in what gets discussed. Help them address bottlenecks. Follow-up on your to dos from the conversation. It can be as simple as: “Last week we talked about the shipping problem. I checked into it, and here’s what I found out. A possible solution would be this .... How do think that might work? ... What other ideas do you have?” The message is clear: I heard you. I remembered. What you have to say matters. And when employees believe their concerns and ideas matter, they’re more likely to keep speaking up. Conversation is Where Leadership Happens™ What Workplace Conversation Are You Struggling With? Maybe an employee has stopped talking. Maybe you’re dealing with accountability, conflict, attendance, performance—or simply a conversation you’re not quite sure how to approach. Bring it to the FREE Workplace Conversations Clinic on September 21. Join Cathie Leimbach and other leaders to talk through real workplace people challenges, hear different perspectives, and get ideas for moving forward. Register Here