Lessons. Some are pretty and fun.
Others are stripped bare and raw.
Brace yourself.
I learned an important lesson in leadership this past week.
Not about how to lead, not about who to lead...but about two types of people sure to encompass you as you lead.
They are, in no particular order:
- Backstabbers
- Ass-kissers
Both groups, while polar opposites, are dangerous and disproportionately counter-productive. And while unavoidable, they must be ignored at all costs as their mission in life is to throw you off course, and affect your potential to lead.
Backstabbers are caustic and toxic, and as that ol' O'Jays song went, "they smile in your face."
Ain't nothing you can do about them except eventually prove them wrong.
Trouble is, because of their ghost-like omnipresence, leaders may pay too much attention to countering their handiwork, which ranges from mischief and gossip to full-scale sabotage.
Ignore 'em.
Ass-kissers are equally as harmful, but because of their up-front niceties and ego-boosting, are seductive. Don't buy into it.
As the old saying goes, "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is." That goes for you, and me, as well. We ain't that good.
Ignore 'em too.
So, what's an aspiring leader to do?
Decide what your course will be, and what you profoundly believe in.
Then follow both.
Yeah, your course and beliefs may not work. There are no guarantees. But, at least you'll be following your path, unemcombered by the forks in the road trying to skewer you with their sharpened, poison-tipped tines along the way.
Uh...rough week?
Whatever gave you that idea? ;)