"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great." ~ Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks, A League of Their Own)
I don't happen to subscribe to the "do it because it's hard" philosophy. But I'm front-and-center on doing the work in spite of it being hard.
Being responsible to and for other humans is a big ask. As a leader, parent, coach, politician, etc., people have varying degrees of effort and success. Some folks in these roles are actively horrible while others surpass all expectations.
People who are effective in what they do address difficult situations rather than avoid them.
In the workplace, avoidance can look like ignoring a situation, blaming a policy, or delegating and forgetting it.
The joy in leadership is being able to help people succeed. People who are achieving are generally happy and engaged. If a leader needs to change how they approach Person A compared to how the approach Person B, it can be hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
If a person in charge is only able to experience the world as it affects them, their leadership skills could use development. When a leader can step outside themselves to serve their people in ways that make sense for THEM, it helps the individual and the team at the same time.
What's a situation where you change your approach to people based on what they need?
Photo by Gene Gallin on Unsplash