I am not a perfect leader or manager. Neither do I aim to achieve any sort of perfection. What I aim is to go through my work day with common sense, some logical balancing act between empathy and urgency, expressing in a straight forward manner when deadlines are about to be missed, when SLA’s are breached, and when there is a need to challenge status quo.
Again, I have not figured it out how to be robotic about having critical conversations, confronting bad behaviors and dealing with emergency situations without being the human I am and being humane. While there are of growth opportunities for me to exhibit that near sophistry, I am very congnizant of the dislike from those who may not identify with my ways of working.
The realization that no matter what type of leader one may be, knowing when to seek help, managing through integrity, adapting, fostering innovation, building relationship towards business value, knowing fully that there will always be someone who finds faults in your methods, is sheer enlightenment. I am often reminded by what Thomas Jefferson said, “In matter of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
All those leaders who are criticized for being aggressive, competitive, decisive, penalized for personality, results-oriented, the ‘how’ of their delivery during crises, or not having tone monotony, you are doing it right. No one deserves to second-guess themselves when they are already being effective leaders. Because good leaders are work in progress but great leaders have the courage to be imperfect.
QUOTIDIAN BLESSING 