Don’t make your leadership goal to please everyone you’re leading. That path leads to failure.
I’m going to say it again because it’s always constant, and that is leadership is messy, and I want everything to be neat and well organized and beautifully designed, and I hate mess [….] The fact of the matter is people are messy, leadership is messy, and everyone has needs and wants, and sometimes the very things that one person wants and needs and loves, the very things that other people are outraged by. And so the one thing that I have to learn over and over and over again is not only is leadership messy, but I’m never, ever, ever going to be able to make everybody happy at the same time. Ever.
Debbie Millman on the Dare To Lead Podcast with Brené Brown
Make your leadership goal to see everyone, honor everyone’s needs, and then do what’s right for the group.
You can love everyone you lead, support everyone you lead, and still make decisions that will disappoint people. If you think you can do it without ever disappointing someone, you cannot be an effective leader.