You don’t need anyone else’s permission to succeed. You don’t need to build consensus. It’s nice when people agree with you and support you, though that’s meaningless unless it’s based on having mutually respected values with another person. What I suggest you do is gently exert your leadership, which is to say, be clear what you are doing when it impacts the lives of others, and live by example. A significant part of that leadership now involves listening, without challenging what you hear. If you do that carefully, you may notice that any position taken by another that angers or frustrates you is coming from some intersection of your own sense of injury. That’s the place to start the resolution process within yourself, and when you do, remember to not let it affect your confidence. What you are experiencing is part of learning leadership skills. That involves walking a straight and narrow path, but it’s essential that you not let others dictate your route. We all influence one another, and it’s clear that you’re being influenced by your social environment at the moment, though this much is essential to know: Leadership is not about popularity. It’s about respect, and that begins with self-respect. We can break that down to a few ideas. One of them is, do you have a clear enough understanding of yourself to not be swayed by the views of others? Can you listen to what people say, and take that information on board without being pushed around? You will likely find out this month.
This article appears in January 2013.
