Tough Love
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Tough Love
I am fascinated by the many paradoxes of leadership and have written about them many times. A paradox is when you can hold two apparently opposite views at the same time and still consider them both to be true.
- Scott Fitzgerald said ‘The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function’
One of the paradoxes of leadership which seems particularly challenging today is the ability to both care for the people in our charge, nurture them and develop them, while at the same time providing enough rigour and discipline.
Steve Jobs once said “My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.” This is difficult to square with 21st Century practices, but it is exactly the same paradox that every parent has to find a solution to, and many do.
I don’t think the answer is balance. Balance implies equal amounts on both sides and we won’t have to think long to imagine people who need more nurture and less discipline and vice versa.
I think the secret lies in intent. The lived experience is different when we understand the intent behind the actions is to help us be better and when we do we can often ask for permission to challenge and push for higher performance. To exercise tough love
So the questions for this week are;
- How well do you handle any of the many paradoxes of leadership?
- How clear are your intentions about some of the decisions you have to make?
- To you?
- To others?
- The best leaders learn to become more self-aware and self-reflective, what are you doing to speed that journey?
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Many successful business owners eventually hit a wall on growth and struggle to climb it alone. When you work with me you get a fresh perspective, a solid plan, and customised coaching so you can grow and scale your business safely and at speed.
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