I’ve often said that leadership is easy as long as everyone does what they’re supposed to do and nothing goes wrong. A piece of cake … right?
Most of us don’t like confrontation. Therefore, the easiest thing to do is to ignore issues rather than addressing them. As leaders, though, it’s our responsibility to confront the issues.
Here are a few reasons why:
- Overall Success – The organization’s success depends on the leader’s willingness to confront difficult issues and the ability to do it in such a way as to preserve or even build up the confidence of the individuals involved.
- Team Success – Make no mistake about it; the rest of the team notices whatever you, as the leader, are not addressing. They’re probably walking around every day thinking, “I wonder why [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] isn’t dealing with that?” When you confront individuals, you are saying to the rest of the team that you are paying attention.
- Individual Success – The long-term success of a team member is positively affected when we as leaders confront difficult issues. We’re doing the team member a favor by pulling them to the side and pointing out something that requires their attention. It may “sting” a bit for them, but later, when they’re being recognized for a job well done, they’ll thank you for your help and support.
- Leader’s Success – Finally, leaders who confront the difficult issues are, themselves, successful. After all, aren’t we as leaders ultimately evaluated on the overall success of our teams?
The next time you walk past something that’s not right or otherwise ignore a difficult issue, keep these 4 points in mind.