In the modern workplace, we often celebrate agility, flexibility, and fast-paced innovation. While these qualities are vital, there’s one often-overlooked ingredient that can make or break success: predictability. Predictability is not about stifling creativity or maintaining the status quo. Instead, it provides a stable foundation that fosters psychological safety, energy flow, and heightened performance.
When we, as leaders, embrace predictability, we create an environment where stress, dysfunction, and uncertainty are minimized. This allows our teams to spend their energy on thriving and excelling rather than merely surviving.
How Predictability Fuels Energy Flow
- Clear Expectations: When employees know what is expected of them—what goals they’re striving toward, what “success” looks like, and the boundaries within which they can operate—they can channel their creativity and focus toward achieving results. Uncertainty about expectations often leads to wasted energy on overthinking, second-guessing, and inefficiency.
Example: A team working on a critical project is given clear deliverables, timelines, and resources. This clarity allows team members to focus on innovating rather than constantly recalibrating their understanding of the goals.
- Structured Feedback Loops: Regular and predictable feedback ensures employees don’t feel like they’re operating in a vacuum. They understand where they stand and how to adjust, which keeps their momentum strong.
Example: A sales team receives consistent monthly feedback sessions with measurable KPIs, enabling them to course-correct without panic and focus on honing their strategies instead.
- Predictable Leadership: When leaders are consistent in their behavior and communication, it fosters trust. A team that trusts its leader spends less energy worrying about how decisions will be made and more energy collaborating and innovating.
Example: A manager known for holding a weekly meeting and communicating changes transparently ensures that employees stay engaged without the anxiety of surprise decisions or sudden pivots.
- Reliable Systems and Processes: Established systems for communication, decision-making, and resource allocation ensure that employees can navigate their workday efficiently. Dysfunction in these systems leads to frustration and energy drain.
Example: A company introduces a streamlined project management platform where teams track progress and requests. This eliminates bottlenecks, reduces chaos, and improves team energy.
Predictability and Performance
By eliminating unnecessary stressors, predictability enables employees to enter a state of flow—the optimal zone of engagement where they feel fully immersed in their work. Flow isn’t possible in an environment riddled with unpredictability. Research shows that employees in flow states are:
- 500% more productive (according to McKinsey studies).
- More creative and innovative.
- Less likely to experience burnout.
When predictability is prioritized, employees can focus on deep work, take calculated risks, and contribute to long-term success. It’s like designing a river: when obstacles are removed, water flows freely, creating energy and power.
The Leader’s Role
As leaders, it’s our responsibility to remove unnecessary unpredictability from the workplace. This doesn’t mean avoiding change; it means providing structure during transitions and maintaining clarity amidst uncertainty. When we do this, we free up energy for creativity, collaboration, and peak performance.
If you want your team to make Maverick Moves, start by ensuring they have a predictable foundation that allows their energy to flow. Only then can they rise to the challenges of uncertainty with confidence and strength.
Let’s embrace predictability—not as a constraint, but as a tool to unleash the extraordinary potential of our teams.
About the Author
I’m Gina L. Osborn, retired FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, former Chief of Safety for LA Metro, and a recognized expert in security, crisis management, and leadership. From a young age, I dreamed of chasing spies, which led me to join the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Program and later investigate espionage cases in Europe as the Cold War ended. In 1996, I became the only FBI agent in Little Saigon, building alliances to combat organized crime. After 9/11, I led counterterrorism efforts in Los Angeles and eventually tackled cybercrime cases like the Sony hack.
Through my experiences, I discovered a powerful approach to creating extraordinary impact. Success requires what I call ‘Maverick Moves’—bold, rule-bending actions fueled by ‘absurd’ ingenuity. This mindset allows us to shatter barriers, drive transformation, and accomplish what others consider out of reach. Embracing the absurd isn’t just a strategy; it’s a game-changing way to achieve the remarkable.Follow along as I share lessons on making bold, Maverick Moves that shatter barriers, drive transformation, and achieve extraordinary success. Discover how embracing the absurd can empower you to lead with ingenuity, inspire change, and rise above challenges. To learn more, visit www.ginalosborn.com.