Silence The Critics!
Criticism is a one of those words that seems to cut most people like a knife. Although the knife doesn’t seem as sharp when we put the word “constructive” in front of the word criticism; none-the-less the word still seems to pierce.
When I was growing up my mom would always tell me: “Son, you can’t control or worry about what people say… you can only control what you say and what you do.” Later on in life, as a young leader I had a mentor that would always say “If you’re doing something worthy of people taking shots at you… they will. I would much rather have a leader that people don’t always understand and who are occasionally criticized, than a “leader” that no one ever talks about.” I’ve heard my pastor say something like “If you want to find the leader, look for the one with the arrow in their back!”
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes criticism is necessary. It’s important to have the people closest to you speak candidly into your life and seek wise counsel from those who will shoot you straight. It’s important to view criticism as neutral… “It Is What It Is!” This neutral mindset allows you to be comfortable with, “Eating The Meat and Spitting Out The Bones!” If you don’t want to be criticized, I have some advice for you: Say Nothing, Do Nothing & Be Nothing! If you want to silence the critics, be yourself and do the right thing.
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” ~Theodore Roosevelt
I don’t ever want to find myself in the place with those “Cold and Timid Souls.”
Silence The Critics!
Share Your Thoughts?
In my opinion there is nothing better than reading a good leadership book, finding a great leadership quote or having a leadership epiphany throughout the day. Leadership is everywhere and it really and truly drives everything. I don’t care what line of work you are in, or whether or not you work at all… everything rises and falls with leadership.
Organizations tend to live and die by their Policy and Procedure Manuals. There are policies and procedures for literally everything. Just think about your organization and the number of policies and procedures that guide what you do. Some policies and procedures are written, while others may simply be spoken or understood organizational mores.
Trying hard, working hard and managing can often times be confused with leading. Leadership is about leading people and creating a natural movement. Leaders lead people, managers manage things. A leader should be in the business of creating a culture of movement, a culture of action and a culture of success.
We have all worked for various types of leaders with various types of leadership gifts; however every once and awhile we get to work for that leader whom we would follow anywhere. One of the ultimate compliments an employee can pay to their leader is “I would work for you or follow you anywhere!” This doesn’t mean that it’s all about that leader, it simply means that particular employee was bought into how that leader carried the organizational vision and how that leader impacted them personally.
