Are you consistent or stubborn?
 
When it comes to job hunting, are you consistent or stubborn?

Being consistent at work matters because it enables others to anticipate how you will act.  Consistency is the basis of trust.  Trust allows you to rely on others to behave as expected and deliver as promised.  Ultimately, consistency reduces costs related to supervising and coordinating.

If you always do the same thing in the same situation, then you are being consistent.  But what if the situation has changed?

Does it make sense to be consistent in terms of who you were back then?  And if you now adapt to this new world, will you be seen as inconsistent and therefore untrustworthy?

Actually, being suspected of being untrustworthy could be the lesser risk.  If you are consistently unwilling to adapt, to renew yourself, then you will be seen as plain stubborn.

And we all know that stubborn often creates nonsense at work.  That’s the greater risk.

I’m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork dot com

Listen to the radio version of ‘Are you consistent or stubborn?’ (10 most recent radio files)

© 2009 James Henry McIntosh