“He may be too nice a guy to fix things via challenging others.”

We’ve all seen it, the person who lets sub-optimal situations fester, the supervisor who tolerates poor performance, the individual that accepts shoddy work. All too frequently, they (and others) give themselves a quasi-pass, offering up the tired old excuse that they are “too nice” to take competent action, to respond effectively.

Call it anything you like but please don’t call it nice. It is very NOT nice, not nice to those who need to grow and raise their standards (including themselves), not nice to those depending on them.

It can be many things: sometimes there is a component of laziness; setting and maintaining high standards is hard work and when you do, others will hold YOU to them as well. There can be an insecurity/anxiety factor: will people still like me? (irrelevant, that question is rooted in “other esteem” not self-esteem; much more important: do they RESPECT you?). Also a fear factor: many people lack the self-confidence to initiate healthy confrontation so they never grow, live their lives stunted, emotional/spiritual/professional miniatures of their fullest potential.

Closing Quotes:

“Strong leaders cannot tolerate weak leaders above them.” – Tom Krause

“There are many forms of sabotage; one on the most insidious is the soft sabotage of low expectations.” – Unknown

“Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy; forceful execution of even a poor plan can often bring victory.” – Sun Tzu

“Stress and anxiety at work have less to do with the work we do and more to do with weak management and leadership.” – Simon Sinek, ‘Why’

As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier