Every great leader is widely disliked. I’ll admit this is a bit of an overstatement, but there is a rather strong thread of truth in it. All we have to do is look at a few now-widely revered people from history: Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jesus Christ. They are recognized as great leaders and teachers but were widely disliked at various times.
Abraham Lincoln was hated for constantly changing generals, refusing to give up his vision of a united country, and eradicating slavery. Winston Churchill was exiled from political leadership before World War II because of his position on the status of India, his criticism of Chamberlain’s appeasement policy, and his advocacy of rearmament. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated because he turned the values that America stands for against the white supremacists and Jim Crow. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified for his vision of building God’s Kingdom here on Earth and spreading earth-shaking notions of human dignity and forgiveness.
I don’t know if comparing our leadership challenges to theirs would be helpful. However, studying how they were ultimately effective and eventually admired (and, for Jesus Christ, worshipped) is instructive.
But first, why could you become disliked in your leadership tenure? It’s doubtful you are facing problems and challenges of the same intensity, though I know it may certainly feel like it. There are two reasons.
Reason number one: You want to be popular and keep everybody happy. That’s actually the best sign that you are a lousy leader. All your efforts will do make everyone unhappy sooner rather than later. keeping everybody happy. Politically, you may survive, but you will be ineffective. If part of leadership is having followers, and it is by definition, then you won’t have any followers, only employees. And these days, people will abandon poor leaders like this. You can avoid this.
Reason number two: You can’t avoid this one as a leader. You will have to make decisions on difficult issues. Issues that rise to your level are, by definition, difficult and complex. If they weren’t, the problem would have been resolved before reaching you. That means the question or issue is hard and there are good arguments on both sides, so it’s yours to decide. You listen and make a decision that you believe to be best. You make decision A. The people on side A think you are brilliant and a genius. The people on side B think you’re an idiot. They may be correct because they have good arguments.
That’s just one decision. The next issue, problem, or situation rises to your level. It’s still hard because there are good points on both sides. This time, you make decision B. Now, side B thinks you walk on water, and side A thinks you’re an idiot. Again, side A has good arguments so they may be right.
By the fifth, tenth, or one-hundredth decision, you may have alienated everyone in the community you lead. A school superintendent told me that a person in that position angers about ten percent of the stakeholders yearly. His approach and recommendation was to realize that after about five years, you may have to think about moving to the next position. That may be a reality in some situations, but I don’t think that would mark one as a great leader.
So, how do you, as a leader, go from good to great? How can you effectively persist over the time it takes to implement a vision and transform an organization?
The greatest leaders cast a vision, communicate it, act decisively over time, and persevere through difficulties. And there are always difficulties. The leader’s number one job is to establish the vision for the organization, communicate it effectively over and over, and then have the people in place to implement it.
Let’s look at Jesus Christ as a leader. His vision was clear: “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” He communicated that vision through parables in a way that inspired people to follow him. He chose his apostles to implement his vision through them. Undeniably, they were not what we consider leadership material, but he “qualified those he called” to serve.
Jesus made enemies but also attracted large crowds and many other followers. However, many of those followers fell away because, once they understood what was being asked of them, they could not align themselves and their lives with what he asked them to do.
This brings up a key point: Do not compromise a vision for the sake of numbers. Keep the courage to endure when people abandon you. Even Jesus’ apostles abandoned him. Don’t take your eyes off the vision. All too often, we as leaders sacrifice our vision because of numbers: the number of followers, the number of customers, the numbers on the bottom line of profit and loss statements, and the number of the share price.
Abraham Lincoln’s vision was also straightforward: Maintain the union and eradicate slavery. He knew that if the states in rebellion were permitted to secede or the Union lost the war, slavery would prevail. No president was a better communicator, able to get ordinary citizens to see the value of keeping the country united and why slavery had to be eradicated. Read the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address to remind yourself. Poetic verses often resonate, and Lincoln knew how to use them.
Nevertheless, Lincoln had to withstand enormous pressure. The war went badly for the Union, and he had to muster the courage of his convictions. He also had to be decisive to maintain the vision. He fired his generals because they would not implement his vision to prosecute the war. He got the general he needed once he came to Ulysses S. Grant. But the pressure on Lincoln was no greater than when he put Grant in charge, yet Grant was the leader Lincoln needed.
Winston Churchill also understood the value of a clear vision communicated poetically. He had read Mein Kampf and knew that Adolph Hitler was dangerous. But in the run-up to World War II, he was in political exile. As he returned to political leadership, becoming prime minister as the war had already commenced, he put forward a vision of what England and the Western World had to do to defeat Hitler. Like Lincoln, he knew the importance of the moment, and he knew how to communicate. The vision he cast with the “We shall fight on the beaches . . .” speech delivered to the House of Commons motivated the English people to act, including more leaders and citizens in the United States.
At a very young age, Martin Luther King, Jr. laid out a Bible-based vision that also incorporated the principles of equality and freedom enshrined in the United States Constitution. He could persuasively convey the vision in sermons and speeches that, like Churchill, motivated people to act. Unfortunately, some of those motivated to act acted against him, ultimately assassinating him. He knew that was a real possibility and maybe even thought it likely, but he kept the courage of his convictions.
Most likely, none of us will face the opposition and circumstances used as examples here. However, every leader has to stand for the vision they cast and muster the courage to maintain those convictions.
So, be a better leader yourself:
- Develop and articulate the vision for the organization you lead.
- Surround yourself with people who will implement it.
- And, if you are so inclined and capable, think about communicating the vision with a poetic voice.