One of the hardest lessons I learned as a new manager was this: leadership isn’t about keeping everyone happy.
Sure, gathering opinions from your team is essential, but when it’s decision time, it’s not about pleasing the majority. It’s about making the right call – even if it’s an unpopular one.
Being a manager isn’t a beauty contest. It’s not the “most liked” who wins.
When a few (or even all) of your team express their displeasure to some of your decisions, your response should be:
👉 Ah well
(Accompanied by a smile and a shrug of the shoulders. It worked for me; it’ll work for you.)
Good leaders make tough calls and you should know this early on: you’ll be disliked at some point. I was disliked by quite a few staff members during my manager days. But looking back, turns out the tough decisions I made at the time were indeed the right ones. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a struggle at the time; deep down every human being wants to be liked, right?
Truth is, the best managers earn respect not by trying to please everyone, but by being decisive and standing firm when needed. Also, people have short memories. That controversial decision you just made? It’ll soon be forgotten as it fades into the background of “business as usual.” Your staff will quickly move onto the next big drama at work.
And if your decision turns out to be wrong? Let me share with you another jaw-dropping leadership secret: it doesn’t matter. What matters is owning it. Admit the mistake, adjust course, and make the next decision. No leader gets it right all the time. It’s about having the courage to steer the ship in a new direction. Even if you bump into a few icebergs along the way.
Just try not to sink the damn thing 😂
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📞 Need help on developing the right approach as a manager or leader? Want better results for your team? Let’s chat – I’m here to help.
