{"id":7005,"date":"2020-11-09T20:34:38","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T02:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottcochrane.com\/?p=7005"},"modified":"2020-11-09T20:34:38","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T02:34:38","slug":"how-to-be-a-tough-leader-without-being-a-jerk-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/09\/how-to-be-a-tough-leader-without-being-a-jerk-3\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Be a Tough Leader Without Being a Jerk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You can be a tough leader without being a jerk. In fact, to be authentic, you must.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All too often, being a tough leader is confused with simply being a jerk. But if you want to see your leadership impact grow, you need to know how to be tough without the \u201cjerk factor\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere along the line, what it means to truly be a tough, resourceful and resilient leader came to be construed as being merely insensitive, uncaring and boorish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, to be seen as kind, understanding and thoughtful has come to be seen, at least in some circles, as being weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, to be clear, not every nice person is an effective leader. But the idea that toughness can\u2019t be expressed through kindness is utterly without merit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can be a tough leader without being a jerk.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It simply takes these prerequisites\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Understand what \u201ctough leadership\u201d really is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tough leader is simply someone who is committed to achieving results. They possess relentless focus and a strong desire to move people towards a shared vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not a license for rude behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Understand that all leadership requires humility and respect.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every person you encounter, every day, is worthy of being treated with respect. And when you begin with a respectful attitude, respectful behavior is sure to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Understand that a focus on results does not run counter to treating people well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a fallacy to think that the leadership prize is awarded merely for crossing the finish line. What counts is to bring as many people with you as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that means treating them well along the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Understand that to be kind does not mean to be indecisive.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can be a clear and decisive and still be kind. It simply means to be considerate; to recognize that even the most difficult of decisions can be communicated in a way that acknowledges that some people may be upset by your call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make the call. Explain it with grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep your eyes fixed on your goals. Remain focused on the outcomes you want to achieve. Do everything you can to keep the team aligned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And do it all with a sensitivity to the feelings of those you are leading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you do, you will be a living example that you really can be a tough leader, without being a jerk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You can be a tough leader without being a jerk. In fact, to be authentic, you must. All too often, being a tough leader is confused with simply being a jerk. But if you want to see your leadership impact grow, you need to know how to be tough without the \u201cjerk factor\u201d. Somewhere along…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[769,738,478,1016,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-2","category-effectiveness-2","category-featured","category-integrity","category-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7006,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005\/revisions\/7006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}