One of the important but often overlooked traits of a good leader is consistency.  There is absolutely no faster way of confusing and disheartening an employee than to place him/her* under a fickle and inconsistent supervisor.  I know, I’ve been there. 

Of the many areas in which it is important for you, as a supervisor striving to be a leader, to be consistent, the following three are perhaps most crucial.  First, a good supervisor strives to be consistent in his communication.  As a new supervisor or when you have new employees placed under your supervision, face to face interaction is of utmost importance.  So, try to balance your electronic communication with personal interaction, at least initially.  It will set the tone and earn the trust of those you supervise. 

 Second, a supervisor who desires to be a real leader will want to be consistent in his expectations.  Lay them out clearly.  Write them down, if you need to.  Whatever you do, don’t be a supervisor that is impossible to please because eventually those reporting to you will quit trying. 

 Third, supervisors that are good leaders understand the importance of consistent application of the discipline process.  Though this may not be your favorite part, you have to understand that disciplining an employee comes with the territory.  When it comes to disciplining, if I may offer just one advice, it would be this – conduct it in a private setting.  We’ve all been an unwilling party to a disciplining process gone bad, when either an uncouth parent or uninformed supervisor engages in a public display of humiliation, somehow thinking that they’ve just accomplished something.  In reality, they have instead embarrassed the one they chastised with no real change in behavior (who can focus on figuring out what behaviors to change when all they can think about is how to make themselves instantly invisible), evidenced their own incompetence, and forcibly entangled innocent bystanders in their mess.  You don’t want to humiliate an employee but to try and influence change when an employee fails to meet performance standards. The key to effective discipline is understanding that the focus of it is not to seek a revenge but to influence future performance.  You obviously will want to make sure that you know your company policy regarding how to handle discipline cases, including progressive discipline and escalated situations.

1. Arrest it before it gets ugly – step in, get in between, don’t hold back – un-confronted conflict festers and only gets worse, IT NEVER RESOLVES ITSELF.
2. There are two sides to every conflict – it takes two to tango – hear out both sides.
3. Be decisive but keep in mind that you are not inerrant – you can make wrong conclusions – so proceed humbly, ready to adjust your perceptions when new information becomes available.
4. Stay cool and neutral – don’t visibly side with one person or another until you’ve had a chance to consider both sides. There is no easier way to discredit yourself than to be perceived as partial by those under your oversight. 
5. Trust your instincts – Don’t dismiss your gut feelings. If you get the sense that someone isn’t being honest or that something isn’t adding up, you may be picking up on a mismatch between verbal and nonverbal cues. That probably has to do with the fact that our brain takes in over a 1,000 different bits of information per second, but we’re cognitively aware of only 80 of them, so TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.
6. Say little / do a lot – be a (wo)man of your word – if you say you are going to do something, do it. Otherwise don’t say it at all. It’s better not to say stuff at all, then to say it and not do it. If your employees know that you are all talk, they won’t trust you, and, as a leader, you’re only as good as the people under you. If your people trust you, they’ll do anything for you. There will be a team spirit. Tasks will get completed and deadlines will be met – well, safely, and on time. And guess who is going to look good to the upper management because of it? You. 
7. Be willing to give your people the benefit of the doubt – Oh, you know ‘ol so and so, he’s always doing this and that…, CUT THAT OUT!
8. Confront, don’t evade – be respectful, polite, but direct. People appreciate that much more than you realize. Some of my best friends in life ended up being those people whom I confronted when the situation called for it.
9. Be consistent – follow the rules without regard for who is involved, be it management, senior employees, seasoned employees, etc.
10. Learn from every conflict – when you see the same guy having conflict with several different people in your outfit, there’s the reason for it. He’s not going to be always the victim. Maybe he’s the quiet instigator. 
11. Practice what you preach – let your actions reflect your words.
12. Do what you know is right & don’t worry about pleasing everyone – you will never be able to get everyone to like you at all times. So don’t lose any sleep over that. As long as you try your hardest to do what is right, that’s all that is asked of you. 

 Oh, and 1 more thing – both the research and personal experience shows that if you consistently apply the above principles at your workplace, you will earn the respect of your people.