As a young professional climbing the corporate ladder, I idolized titans like Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, and Warren Buffett. Their extraordinary accomplishments became the yardstick against which I measured my own worth. Each morning, I would reflect on their achievements and ask myself: "What audacious thing will I accomplish today to join their ranks?"

This mindset – where only remarkable, breakthrough achievements counted as success – drove me to exhaustion. I pushed myself relentlessly, always reaching for the next milestone, the next promotion, the next company transformation. Whenever I achieved something significant, instead of celebrating, I'd immediately set my sights on something bigger. The goalposts weren't just moving; they were sprinting away from me at the speed of thought.

Does this sound familiar?

The Paradox of Achievement

When II have been asked to describe my experience in business I found myself using a baseball metaphor and saying I hit singles and doubles.  At first, I didn’t like this comparison because I thought it meant settling for mediocrity. My early beliefs defined success as dramatic breakthroughs, grand slam home runs, not incremental progress – or so I thought.

The irony I eventually discovered was profound: while I was chasing extraordinary moments, I completely underappreciated the true source of sustainable success – the pursuit of consistency in ordinary actions that leads to something lasting.  I have also come to realize that our desire to improve is often the chief obstacle to accepting ourselves as we are.

If you believe you need improving, you're simultaneously declaring that your present self is fundamentally flawed. This creates a perpetual chase for an idealized version of yourself, always believing happiness and fulfillment lie just beyond the next personal development milestone. We constantly plan how we'll be better, happier and more complete in some imagined future.

For executives and leaders, this trap is particularly seductive. The very qualities that drive professional success – ambition, high standards, competitive spirit – can become obstacles to satisfaction and sustainable performance. We push away the present moment in favor of a future that never arrives.

The Self-Improvement Trap

I believe we fall into this trap because we habitually focus on what we perceive as problems to be solved rather than experiences to be lived and understood. Failed initiatives, team conflicts, financial setbacks – these become deficiencies requiring urgent correction rather than natural parts of a complex leadership journey.

True maturity in leadership isn't about achieving a perfect state, it's about letting go of the fantasy of flawlessness. Our flaws are not defects to be hidden, but integral parts of our unique leadership signature.

Think about the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with gold, highlighting rather than concealing the damage. The repair becomes part of the object's history, making it more valuable, not less. Similarly, our professional setbacks, difficult decisions, and moments of uncertainty aren't weaknesses, but the very texture of an authentic leadership journey and lived experiences.

The Consistency Effect

Based on this realization, I began to celebrate extraordinary consistency. Reliable rhythms in my leadership practice that created sustainable results.

Warren Buffett didn't become a legendary investor through a single brilliant stock pick. He built his fortune through decades of consistent decision-making, following the same disciplines through market ups and downs. Steve Jobs didn't create Apple's success with just one product launch; it came through persistent innovation and relentless focus on design excellence.  And Jack Welch didn’t enter Business’s version of Hall of Fame through one great achievement at GE, he did it by delivering consistently. 

The truth I wish I'd understood decades earlier is that we don't need to transcend our own lives to achieve extraordinary results.

From Perfection to Acceptance

This perspective also transformed my view of personal fulfillment. I realized how much of my life I'd spent postponing happiness – telling myself I'd be content after achieving the next big goal.

But that perfect future never materialized, because it couldn't. Each achievement simply revealed new horizons to conquer, new shortcomings to fix. I was caught in what I now call the "improvement loop" – the mistaken belief that solving my perceived inadequacies would finally bring contentment.  It was like moving the baseball outfield fences every time I was “at bat”. 

My breakthrough came when I recognized that this approach had everything backward. Acceptance isn't something we earn after fixing ourselves; it's the foundation that makes authentic growth possible. True development isn't about becoming someone different; it's about becoming more fully who we already are – the person we were always meant to be.

The missteps in my career that once seemed like devastating setbacks now appear as essential chapters in my development, teaching me resilience, humility, and adaptability and providing a treasure trove of lived experiences to pass on. 

The Performance Paradox

What's fascinating is how this acceptance of imperfection enhances performance rather than diminishing it. When we're not exhausting ourselves trying to be perfect, we free up tremendous energy for consistent growth and contribution.

The most productive and innovative teams I have worked with have always been those where members felt secure enough to be authentic – where mistakes were treated as learning opportunities rather than failures. The psychological safety created by acceptance paradoxically leads to higher standards, not lower ones, because people bring their full capabilities to the table.

These insights and experiences have led me to write a book titled, "The Consistency Effect: How to Turn Reliable Actions into Remarkable Results." The book is scheduled to be published in the early summer of 2025.  See below for how you can get an advanced copy. 

Practical Applications for Leaders

So, what does this mean for you as a leader?

First, consider where you might be postponing life while chasing perfection. Are you waiting to feel successful enough, accomplished enough, or prepared enough before allowing yourself to feel content? What would change if you practiced accepting yourself exactly as you are right now? Try this experiment: For one week, start each day by acknowledging your current strengths and contributions before thinking about improvements.

Second, shift your focus from big hairy audacious goals to consistent excellence. What daily practices would create the most significant long-term impact in your work and life? How much time do you spend on strategic thinking each morning or regular one-on-ones with key team members? What would it look like to value those consistent actions as much as breakthrough moments?

Finally, embrace the beauty of your imperfections. Your quirks, your rough edges, your unique limitations – these aren't defects to be eliminated. They're essential aspects of who you are. What if, instead of trying to erase them, you integrated them into your authentic leadership style?

The Journey, Not the Destination

The path to remarkable results isn't found in extraordinary moments but in the consistent pursuit of excellence in ordinary ones. “The Consistency Effect – Turning reliable actions into remarkable results” – isn't about perfection but about the steady accumulation of moments lived with integrity, purpose, and presence.

I've stopped trying to be the next Jobs, Welch, or Buffett or their latter-day equivalents. Instead, I'm focused on being the best version of myself – imperfections and all – consistently showing up with excellence in the ways only I can.

And what I've discovered is that when you embrace consistency over perfection, you don't just perform better – you start enjoying the journey. Because the secret to a meaningful career isn't found in some distant achievement; it's in bringing your full self to each moment along the way day after day after day.

The most compelling adventure we'll ever embark on isn't to the bottom of the ocean or the farthest reaches of space. It's the one we're already on: the unfolding story of our own lives as leaders. And the goalposts in the race? They're yours to define for you and your team.  That is where true leadership happens. 

Next Steps

Ready to unlock the transformative power of consistency in your leadership journey? My upcoming book, "The Consistency Effect: How to Turn Reliable Actions into Remarkable Results," isn't just another leadership manual—it's your blueprint for sustainable excellence.

Be among the first to access the complete system that turns leadership challenges into career accelerators.  Get access to your advance copy before public release by visiting Consistency-Edge now to join my exclusive preview list.

I am also offering a complimentary coaching session to discuss your unique leadership challenges.  Contact me at bradhenderson.com for more details. 

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