Why Stability is Hard to See but Critical to Success

One of the most difficult things to recognize in leadership is stability. We are conditioned to pay attention to noise, drama, and action, but in construction leadership, true excellence is often quiet.

I want to share an example from within our own organization. We have one of the best humans on earth, Carol Zamora, who serves as our acting director of operations at Lean Takt. Carol represents the essence of what Jim Collins described in his research about level five leaders. While level four leaders are often extroverted, vocal, and charismatic, level five leaders are typically humble, quiet, and unwaveringly committed to their organizations and people.

Carol embodies that level five leader. She takes every system she touches, whether finance, marketing, people development, training, or meeting structures, and makes it flow. She organizes it, makes it visual, applies lean principles, eliminates waste, and then continuously improves it. The result is stability.

Here is where the challenge comes in. Stability is invisible. When operations are stable, there is no drama, no chaos, and no noise. From the outside, it might look like nothing is happening. A leader who does not understand lean principles might even question whether someone like Carol is contributing enough because there is no visible busyness. But what is really happening is that things are working so smoothly they do not demand constant attention.

This lesson applies to construction projects as well. A stable superintendent or project manager does not create drama. They are not constantly firefighting. They are quietly guiding the flow of work, maintaining systems, and creating conditions for people to succeed. The danger is that organizations can overlook or undervalue these stabilizers. Instead of recognizing their excellence, leaders might think they are not pulling their weight and either overload them with unnecessary tasks or even replace them with someone noisier.

The result of that mistake is destructive. Overextending a stabilizer ruins their ability to keep things in control. Rewarding firefighters and drama creators encourages chaos and instability. The squeaky wheel gets the grease is an old saying that we have internalized, but in construction, rewarding the squeaky wheel is exactly the wrong move.

We love action in our personal lives. We enjoy action movies, thrilling plots, and constant excitement. But on a construction site, action is the last thing we want. Busyness, firefighting, and chaos are symptoms of poor systems, not signs of effective leadership. A project that finishes strong is one that is stable, systematic, and, yes, even a little boring.

The challenge for leaders is that stability is hard to see and even harder to reward. It takes discipline to look past the noise and value the quiet performers who keep everything flowing. It requires a mindset shift to see a calm operation not as inactivity but as mastery.

Think about your own organization, your projects, or even your family life. Where are the quiet areas where things seem uneventful but consistently succeed? Could those be your stabilizers? On the other hand, where are the chaotic areas demanding constant attention? Are they truly saving the day, or are they firefighter arsonists who create chaos just to solve it again and stay in the spotlight?

The squeaky wheel might get the grease, but if the squeaking continues week after week, then the problem is not being fixed. It is only being fed. Leaders must be willing to stop incentivizing squeaky wheels and instead invest in stabilizers. Stability is what allows us to finish projects predictably, lead people effectively, and build organizations that grow without burning out their teams.

It may not look glamorous. It may not grab attention. But stability is where success lives.

On we go.

Key Takeaway
True leaders recognize that stability often hides in silence. Reward the stabilizers, not the squeaky wheels, if you want lasting success.