Leadership Briefs

THE EMoTIoNAL PRICE

Not everyone will be supportive of the fact that you are the leader, nor will everyone be supportive of how you are leading. Once committed to the role, you become the target of someone’s criticism, challenge, gossip, and rumor. It is not a question of if but when:

» CRITICISM is the disapproving attitude from team members who assume they know more and know better.

» CHALLENGE is the defiant attitude of the team member who wants your position as leader and will disagree with most of what you do and how you do it.

» GoSSIP is the somewhat truthful ideas that are inappropriately shared about you publicly and privately.

» RUMoR is the false information someone has conjured up to imply that you are over your head and may not know what you are doing.

The reasons for these dissenting attitudes and behaviors vary. Some are jealous that you were selected and they were not. Others are competitive and cannot stand to be a team member rather than the team leader. Some may bring negative baggage from the rest of their personal life. Those issues interrupt their ability to effectively follow as a fully engaged member of the team. Individuals may come with one or more of the psychological descriptors of personality disorder. Regardless of what you do to respond to their criticism, you will never come close to satisfying their insatiable need to mark you as the bull’s-eye on their professional target of dissent. Team members may not agree with the philosophical premise of your vision, mission, values, and strategy. Others may not fully understand the predictable problems inherent in the current stage of organizational development during this season of company life.