Inconsistency kills reputations. Say one thing whilst doing another can be one of the quickest ways to confuse the people you lead and to cause them to believe that you are inauthentic. Leaders who are proponents of the do as I say not as I do school of thought can swiftly cause those they lead to lose belief. We just don’t like incongruence.

Such is our inbuilt hate of dissonance that we will find ways of rationalising our behaviour to ourselves so that we reinterpret our actions in a more benevolent way. Think back to your student days and Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance theory for more on this. And for an up to date appreciation of the way in which we rationalise the inconsistent, see Mistakes Were Made But Not By Me.