Hard to believe we are two weeks into 2019!\u00a0 As we clear our heads from the Christmas tinsel and New Year\u2019s resolutions\u2026we launch into the new year with high hopes and a clean slate.\u00a0 We have left the old year in the dust and pledged to make this year better.\u00a0 While there are many things you can change, sometimes, perceptions and \u201cold stories\u201d haunt your ability to break through to that next level you dream about.\u00a0 The way some people experience you, no matter what you do, will be a tough hurdle to get past.\u00a0 While I am NOT advocating that you don’t continue to develop in a positive way, at some point, with some people, you, as a leader, have to come to grips with the cold hard truth that not everyone is going to agree with you or like you or even want to be led by you.<\/p>\n
Next week the United States will celebrate the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King.\u00a0 In so doing they will omit the fact that before his death in 1968, King was well on the way to becoming more unpopular than he had ever been.\u00a0 If you all have read my writings in the past you know how much I admire Dr. King.\u00a0 This isn’t a dig at him…merely highlighting that if you have ever felt alone or unloved as a leader – you are in good company.\u00a0 At a meeting in Chicago in 1965, Dr.\u00a0 King was shaken after he was booed by young black men in the crowd: \u201cI went home that night with an ugly feeling, selfishly I thought of my sufferings and sacrifices over the last 12 years,\u201d he recalled. \u201cWhy should they boo one so close to them? But as I lay awake thinking, I finally came to myself and I could not for the life of me have less than patience and understanding for those young men. For 12 years, I and others like me have held out radiant promises of progress, I had preached to them about my dream \u2026and that dream hasn\u2019t yet been realized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Truth be told, In 1966, twice as many Americans had an unfavorable opinion of Dr. King as a favorable one. Life magazine branded his anti-Vietnam war speech at the Riverside church, delivered exactly a year before his assassination, as \u201cslander\u201d.\u00a0 Just a week before he was killed, he attended a demonstration in Memphis in support of striking garbage workers. The protest turned violent and police responded with batons and teargas, shooting a 16-year-old boy dead. The press and the political class roasted King. The New York Times said the events were \u201ca powerful embarrassment\u201d to him. The Providence Sunday Journal called him \u201creckless and irresponsible\u201d. He was back in Memphis supporting the strike when he was killed.\u00a0 In his final days, even with his passionate commitment to changing the status quo, he never again realized popularity by the masses.<\/p>\n
Shocking?\u00a0 Not if you are in a leadership position. Everyone wants to be liked – it\u2019s in our DNA. Nobody wakes up with the intention of being unpopular or even controversial.\u00a0 But for leaders, making people uncomfortable is sometimes part of the job.\u00a0 Although you may want your staff to see you as a great leader to be emulated, being the boss means doing what\u2019s right for the organization \u2014 and that sometimes means making unpopular decisions.<\/p>\n
Certain decisions or actions are misunderstood because people tend to\u00a0resist change.\u00a0 If you propose radical-sounding ideas about where you want to take the company, some employees may balk. They fear what they don\u2019t know, especially when they\u2019re unsure how it will impact their employment status. Regardless, the tough decisions have to be made. You can\u2019t assuage everyone\u2019s nerves in those situations, but you can gain each person\u2019s trust by taking smart risks and empathic actions. Here\u2019s how to make tough but responsible decisions:<\/p>\n
Take a long view of how the decision will impact your company. What seems like a good idea in the present may harm your organization a few years from now \u2014 and vice versa. Unpopular decisions should serve the overall vision for your business.\u00a0 Make sure it is creating new opportunities and that others are aware of what the value of those opportunities are.<\/p>\n
Consider your decision as a single, nonsequential event. The more variables you allow in the early decision-making stages, the more likely your vision will be diluted. Get clear on what you want to achieve and why you think a particular course of action is best. Then, strategize how to accommodate the potential obstacles.<\/p>\n
Be ready to lose something when you make hard choices because change can be volatile. However, your willingness to lose in the short-term could ensure your company\u2019s stability in the future.\u00a0 Allocate resources and be agile in your thinking as you move forward adjusting as needed.\u00a0 And remember…most of the great leaders failed AND learned from it.<\/p>\n
Truly effective leaders have a vision that others may not be able to see clearly. They take risks for the sake of the big picture.\u00a0 They are fearless in making difficult judgments. Successful leaders make the right decisions and will shrug off the popular opinion. These leaders challenge common ideas, but not without empathy in explaining the rationale to the team.<\/p>\n
When you are privileged to lead others, your influence can impact the trajectories of people\u2019s entire careers.\u00a0 That should not be taken lightly.\u00a0 However, as they see you succeed in you leading the effort toward the vision and making the tough decisions, the potential impact is that those around you could become more courageous in their own thinking. When done right, the best of you may bring out the best in others. The pain associated with enduring the hardships of leading others is offset by the satisfaction of making a positive difference for the people and organization you serve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hard to believe we are two weeks into 2019!\u00a0 As we clear our heads from the Christmas tinsel and New Year\u2019s resolutions\u2026we launch into…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n