Get Comfortable with Conflict

 



" Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off."

           - Colin Powell.


The primary responsibility of good leadership is the welfare of the entire organization or group, which means that some people WILL be angry at your decisions and actions.  This is unavoidable if you lead with integrity and honor.  

If a leader's primary goal is to get everyone to "like" them or to be "happy" all the time, they are building a system where we take those that are in our charge and "love" them into mediocrity.  This happens because the leader will avoid tough decisions, avoid confronting people who need to be confronted, and they will avoid rewarding high-performers because some people will be upset that they did not receive the same reward.  The leader will be met with cries of "that's not fair!", or "How dare they treat me this way after all the years I have given to this place?" and the like. 

However, by holding back on the difficult choices because you are trying to keep people from being upset, and by treating everyone equally regardless of their performance or contributions, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll make mad are the most committed, productive, and creative people in the school.

Great leaders have to communicate expectations directly and simply.  We have to embrace the tough conversations when performance is under par.  Folks are NOT going to be singing your praises after these conversations, but what would happen if you chose to avoid addressing it and just hoped that things got better?  Hope is not a strategy. 

I'm not saying that you should go out of your way to upset people.  There is no place in good leadership for being needlessly contentious.  However, making people mad goes with the territory if you are dealing with people directly and honestly and the welfare of the WHOLE is at the forefront.


Comments

  1. Mr. HarrisonSeptember 19, 2024 at 8:08 AM

    I agree with the entire message. The struggle I have with my leadership skills consists of several things. I believe it is crucial to communicate. Sometimes as leaders we expect our teachers or employees to "just know." We must make clear and precise expectations for all and for the benefit of student learning. I think our culture is getting to that point, but some still believe it is about their personal feelings or their well being, and not student learning, first. I do believe my staff knows I will be honest with them, regardless if it makes them upset. Sometimes the cold hard truth makes people better. "If you want something done, make a person angry."

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