Joe Altieri is the CIO at RiteScreen and the Inventor of FlexScreen, the cutting-edge innovation revolutionizing the window industry.
Leadership isn’t glamorous. Motivational speeches, grateful teams and energizing collaborations are a part of it— sometimes. But more often than not, leadership is like that Rolex watch—so appealing but so incredibly expensive. University of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart shared three very wise and insightful points about leadership that I think seasoned leaders don’t talk about enough and young or aspiring leaders ignore to their peril. Here’s how I interpreted them:
1. ‘You will have to make hard decisions that negatively affect people you care about.’
When you’re in a leadership position, you’re entrusted with making decisions that serve the greater good—even if that means hurting someone you genuinely like or care about.
Leaders who take the easy path and let a bad situation continue because they don’t want to make any waves can expect an eventual tsunami of resentment. You can get away with tipping the scales for a difficult or incompetent (but very loyal) person a few times, but it won’t take long for the grumbling to start among the faithful, hardworking employees who see the injustice with striking clarity.
Action Step: Stay steadfast in your decisions. Do what you can to lessen the blow for the people who will be negatively affected, but don’t neglect or put off doing the right thing. The short-term discomfort is far better than the likely long-term pain of shirking your leadership responsibilities.
2. ‘You will be disliked despite your best attempts to do the best for the most.’
We all want to be effective AND liked, but the reality is that someone will always be unhappy or disapprove of your decision or direction. That is unavoidable. The goal must be to base our decisions on effectiveness—not popularity. And that’s harder than it seems.
When I was building a company, I made choices that prioritized innovation and long-term growth. Sometimes, that meant saying “no” to things others thought would be beneficial or necessary. Some people didn’t like it. Some still don’t. But leadership isn’t a popularity contest, and the last thing you want is a room full of “yes” people. If everyone always agrees with you, it’s time to check yourself. That red flag almost always means one of two things: They’re afraid to voice an opinion or have relegated themselves to the reality that it wouldn’t matter anyway. In either case, the leader is missing the mark entirely.
So what can you do? Surround yourself with people who understand your heart, even if they don’t always agree with your decisions. Communicate clearly and often. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. People may not like your choices, but they’ll most likely respect you for being consistent, honest and mission-driven.
3. ‘You will be misunderstood and won’t always have the opportunity to defend yourself.’
The sooner you accept that you will be misunderstood—a lot—the better your leadership journey will be. Every leader will find themselves in the hot seat regularly. The first instinct is usually to defend and protect yourself, but that’s a losing long-term strategy. The people who aren’t you have no idea what it actually takes to be you, and no amount of explaining will help.
Of course, if you can set the record straight, do it. But don’t obsess over it. Unless the misunderstanding threatens to lead to long-term team or corporate damage, let your trusted inner circle handle it while you stay focused on the main objectives. The vast majority of the dust-ups will die down quickly with very little consequence, and if you have surrounded yourself with the right people, they will let you know if your intervention is necessary.
What’s the action step here? Rise above the fray. Resist the urge to strike back, keep moving forward with the company agenda and remember that it is always wise to overcommunicate, especially when tensions run high. Success, progress and wins tend to naturally quiet the discord. The common saying about war and sports perfectly applies to business, too; the best defense is a good offense.
Leadership costs something. It costs comfort, ease, and sometimes relationships. But remember that you’re not just building “something.” You’re investing in and building people. You’re shaping culture and moving things forward. Sure, the weight of leadership can feel like a massive burden at times, but that’s when perspective is critical.
So, think of it like this. We get to do something that can be life-changing for so many. We get to empower and lift others up and lead people toward their full potential. We get to make a difference and, hopefully, make the world a better place. And that, my fellow leaders, is a rare privilege that is definitely worth the cost.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
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