Comfort.

Who doesn’t like comfort?

“Hey, look at that,” we think, “this will be a comfortable day at the office. A couple of one-on-ones. Nothing serious to discuss. Almost routine.”

Nice. “Life is good as a leader,” we continue thinking, “I must be leading things really well!”

Somewhere along the way, we teach ourselves to avoid discomfort. We do so because we associate discomfort with failure.

What we forget is that comfort has another side to it.

Comfort keeps us, the employees, and the organization in the same place.

Leadership requires a different kind of comfort: Being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Years ago I went through a very uncomfortable time in my organization. I had to fire a person who was incredibly popular there. But after a good period of time of setting expectations and encouraging her to address a part of her job, I didn’t have a choice.

People were upset.

Her colleagues had a lot to say.

And they weren’t expressing compliments.

It was an uncomfortable period.

And as a leader your defense is almost zero. All is private.

But I knew it was the right decision. And the employee also knew that because we had talked about it many times.

I could have chosen to let the possibility of all that discomfort guide my decisions and look for a different path. And of course these thoughts popped up in my head. But I did not go the comfort route.

And looking back I did my task as a leader.

When the possibility of discomfort sneaks up on us – as it tends to do – we can either give in or face the music.

Facing the music requires courage.

The courage to act in accordance with one’s beliefs, especially in spite of criticism.

 As a leader you’ll be criticized.

As a leader you’ll be challenged.

As a leader you’ll be uncomfortable.

Be with it. Listen. And choose and act according to your beliefs. Be like those little birds that even chase a bird of prey away. Be uncomfortable, be courageous.

Please let me know when you acted in accordance with your beliefs in spite of possible discomfort or criticism.