"Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same..."

One of the toughest things that I have experienced in my professional career as I have transitioned into leadership roles is that I can no longer leave some of the most difficult decisions to someone else.  It is a fact of life, leaders frequently are called upon to make really tough, and at times unpopular, decisions.  There is absolutely no getting around the fact that you can't please everyone all the time - at times, making the tough decision, even if it's the right decision, can make members of your organization very angry and frustrated (usually their anger is directed towards the leader who made the decision!).  Major Richard Winters, one of the main characters in one of my favorite television series, "Band of Brothers" once said, "If you're a leader, you lead the way.  Not just on the easy ones, you take the tough ones too."


Dan Rockwell, who writes a blog called "Leadership Freak"", says "The way you make unpopular decisions is as important as the decisions themselves."  Leadership is more about humility, transparency, and integrity than it is about making decisions.  He goes on to list several tips on how to be respected, even when making a difficult and unpopular decision.  Here are some of my favorite ones:


1. Adopt a relaxed, gentle, welcoming demeanor.  Breathe deep.  Smile.  Gentle eye-contact.
2. Be a learn-it-all, not a know-it-all.
3. Reject the trappings of position and authority.  When you pull rank, they close down.
4. Include others as early and as often as possible.
5. Share information prolifically - secrets lead to fear and manipulation.
6. When you can't share information, explain why.
7. Answer public concerns quickly, directly, and publicly.


One additional caveat, even when you follow these tips, you as the leader will still be subject to criticism.  Here, I have found that the Stoic philosopher, Epictetus was exactly right.  Whenever he was criticized, he said, "If that person really knew me and my flaws, they'd have said something much, much worse."  In other words, take the criticism for what it really is - feedback on how to improve the next time you have to make a difficult and potentially unpopular decision.