Why I Lead: Believing in the Underdogs
I love leading. I love managing. I love helping people step into roles they didn’t think they were ready for. I especially love giving chances to the underdogs. The ones other people pass over. The ones with gaps in their résumé or chips on their shoulders. Because when you hand them the right opportunity and back it up with support, they shine. And watching someone rise like that? That’s the part of leadership I live for.
But let’s not sugarcoat the rest. Leadership is not always a cakewalk. It’s not all breakthrough moments and grateful team members. Some days it’s tight smiles and deep breaths. Some days it’s managing someone who flat-out doesn’t like you. And not just “we don’t click” but the kind of tension that radiates off every Slack message and lingers on every Zoom call.
The Challenge of Being the Bigger Person
You can do everything right. Be clear, be kind, be flexible, be fair. And still, someone will have a problem with you. It’s inevitable. And if you’re doing big things, if you’re building something real, it’s going to happen more than once.
In your personal life, it’s easy to cut those people out. You can unfollow, unfriend, delete, block, ghost, whatever. Peace restored. In business, it’s not that simple. You don’t always get to hit eject. Especially if they’re technically doing their job, client-facing, managing a department, or if you inherited them. Whatever the reason, you’re stuck with them for now. So you have to figure it out.
You’ll have to smile when they roll their eyes. You’ll have to listen when they complain. You might even have to sit through a full-blown rant while mentally counting to ten. And you cannot lose your cool. You have to bite your tongue. Not for them but for the rest of the team. Because when you lose control, you don’t just lose your temper. You lose credibility. And in leadership, that’s hard to get back.
The Inner Work No One Sees
And listen, I’m guilty of not keeping it together sometimes. I’ve snapped. I’ve let frustration leak out when I should’ve swallowed it. I always look back and realize I need to do better. That’s also part of the leadership work, not just managing others but yourself.
There’s this tricky balance that no one teaches you. You can’t make decisions based on just one person’s negativity, but you also can’t ignore it completely. Sometimes even the difficult ones have a point. They just don’t know how to deliver it without throwing a grenade first. And your job is to listen through the noise and find the part that actually matters.
I’ve had people on my team who didn’t like me, didn’t trust me, or didn’t believe in what we were building. And I’ve had to work with them anyway. I’ve had to show up and still lead with clarity and confidence. I’ve had to vent privately and come back the next day like nothing happened because that’s part of the job.
Leading for the Impact, Not the Applause
You’re not going to please everyone. And you shouldn’t try to. That’s not leadership, that’s performance. You have to lead well enough that the team, the majority, can grow, thrive, and get the job done. You need to build a culture that supports the ones who are here to do great work, not cater to the one who always has something to complain about. But even still, you have to listen. Sometimes the complainer has a valid point. And as much as you want to ignore it, your responsibility is bigger than your pride.
Here’s the part that makes it worth it though.
For every person who makes you question your patience, there’s someone else who makes you remember your purpose. That one person you took a chance on. The one with the unconventional background, the one who wasn’t polished or “perfect,” but had potential. And now they’re running with it. Building confidence. Growing their skills. Showing up like they were born for the role.
That’s the magic. That’s why I do this.
I’ll always be the one to loft up the underdog. I’ll always be the one to hand someone the mic when the room keeps overlooking them. But I’ve also learned that leadership means holding it together when it would be so much easier to walk away. It means knowing when to have the hard conversations and when to let someone rant without reacting. It means making peace with the fact that not everyone will like you, and that’s okay.
Because this isn’t about being liked, it’s about being effective. It’s about moving the business forward. It’s about leading your team, all of them, through the good and the gritty.
So no, it’s not always a cakewalk.
But if you’re in it for the impact, it’s always worth it.
