As the list gets longer, we almost end up creating an image of the perfect manager.
Yet, after several years of working with managers and organizations, I believe there is a much simpler quality that has a tremendous influence on an team’s trust: predictability.
Employees don’t need their manager to always make the perfect decision. What they need most is to understand how their manager operates and know what to expect from them.
When employees no longer know what to expect
Let’s take a very simple situation. An employee arrives late on a Monday morning and their manager says nothing. A few days later, another employee arrives late and immediately receives a warning. The following week, a third employee is late and, once again, there is no intervention.
Very quickly, the issue is no longer just about being late. The issue becomes uncertainty. What is the actual rule? When does it matter? Who does it apply to? And most importantly, how will the manager react next time?
I often find that employees can accept a decision they don’t like when they understand the reasoning behind it. What becomes much more difficult is when they feel that decisions change depending on the day, the person or the manager’s mood.
Employees notice much more than we think
When a manager addresses a situation with an employee, they are generally focused on the issue they need to resolve. Yet the rest of the team is also watching what happens.
Employees notice which behaviours are tolerated and which are not. They see how their manager reacts when a mistake occurs, how they handle disagreement and whether they follow through on their commitments. Over time, all these small observations shape their perception of management.
That is why a decision is almost never only about the person in front of us. It also sends a message to everyone who is watching. And when those messages become inconsistent, trust can quickly begin to erode.
Being predictable does not mean being rigid
There is, however, an important distinction. Being predictable does not mean making exactly the same decision for everyone, regardless of the circumstances.
Managing people requires judgment. Two situations that appear identical can have completely different contexts. An employee who is exceptionally late because of a family emergency is obviously not in the same situation as an employee who has been repeatedly late for several weeks despite previous interventions.
The decisions can therefore be different. What should remain relatively consistent are the principles that guide those decisions.
An employee should be able to say to themselves: I don’t know exactly what decision my manager will make, but I know they will listen, try to understand the situation, be fair and explain their decision.
To me, that is probably one of the best definitions of a predictable manager.
Unpredictability costs more than we think
I have seen teams where employees developed a rather revealing habit. Before going to speak with their manager, they would ask their colleagues: how is he today? The question may seem harmless, but it says a lot.
When employees constantly have to assess their manager’s mood before raising an issue, delivering bad news or simply asking a question, part of their energy is spent managing that uncertainty. Some even end up waiting before communicating important information because they would rather choose the right moment.
By contrast, when a manager is relatively predictable, employees know how things will unfold. They know they can raise an issue, that a mistake will be discussed, that a disagreement can be expressed and that when a line is crossed, the manager will intervene.
That stability goes a long way toward creating a climate of trust.
Managers have bad days too
Of course, no manager is perfectly consistent. We are human. We can be tired, preoccupied, impatient or simply have a bad day. Sometimes we react poorly or make a decision that we would have made differently with a little more perspective. That is not necessarily what causes a team to lose trust.
What often causes more damage is when a manager refuses to acknowledge that they made a mistake. Telling an employee: I reacted too quickly yesterday. Looking back, I shouldn’t have responded that way. This does not necessarily diminish a manager’s credibility. Quite often, the opposite is true.
Employees do not expect to work with someone who never makes mistakes. Above all, they want to work with someone whose intentions, values and way of operating they understand.
Consistency is sometimes more important than charisma
We tend to associate leadership with certain highly visible qualities. Charisma, energy, the ability to motivate others and strong communication skills are obviously important assets. But charisma can never replace consistency.
A manager can be extremely likeable and well regarded while still creating a great deal of uncertainty if they constantly change their expectations, avoid certain situations or apply rules differently depending on the person. Conversely, a more reserved manager can create an excellent work environment when their team knows exactly what to expect from them.
They follow through on their commitments. They intervene when a situation requires it. They explain their decisions. Most importantly, there is generally consistency between what they say and what they do. Over time, that consistency becomes an important source of credibility.
Trust is built through the little things
We sometimes associate leadership with major decisions. Yet trust in a manager is often built through much more ordinary situations.
Doing what you said you would do. Providing an answer when you committed to giving one. Intervening when a behavior crosses the line. Acknowledging a mistake. Explaining a difficult decision.
Individually, these actions may seem insignificant. But when they are repeated week after week, they help employees understand how their manager operates. And that predictability ultimately creates something essential within a team: trust.
Striving for consistency rather than perfection
Through our coaching and management support work, we regularly see just how demanding the role of a manager can be. Many managers try to find the right words, make the right decision and intervene in the right way, particularly when dealing with more complex people-related situations.
Yet management is not an exact science. There will always be ambiguous situations, difficult decisions and reactions we did not anticipate.
Perhaps the goal, then, should not be to become a perfect manager. It should be to become a manager who is consistent enough that employees know what to expect.
Ultimately, employees can easily work with a manager who does not always have the perfect answer. What is much more difficult is working for someone when you never know what the answer will be. And often, trust does not come from a manager always making the right decision. It comes from employees understanding how that decision is made.
