Embracing the Highs and Lessons of a Leadership Journey

Leadership is a journey filled with highs and lows, wins and losses, and lessons learned along the way. For many, it's a journey that is fraught with uncertainty, self-doubt, and criticism (from yourself and others).

As a leader, it can be tough to navigate through the criticisms and accolade, but it's a necessary part of the journey towards becoming a better leader.

One person's leadership journey can be a rollercoaster of highs and lows. There will be times when you're called a hard ass, stoic, too direct, or even a hick (yes, these have all be laid upon me over the years). Conversely, you'll also be called a god-send, a blessing, smart, energizing, witty, and fun.

It's important to remember that leadership isn't about pleasing everyone, but rather about being true to yourself and leading by example.

As a manager, it's inevitable that you'll face criticism from those you lead.

You may have people quit their jobs, without notice, because they don't like working for you (yes, this also happened to me on the day before this employee was scheduled to be in another state for a huge event we'd been planning for a year).