Thursday, August 23, 2007

Being Disliked

Found this tidbit on the Chief Happiness Officer, Kathy Sierra talks about being disliked:

Should you ignore the detractors? Diss them as nothing but evidence of your success? Should you just wave them off with a “just jealous” remark? Absolutely not.

Somewhere in their complaints there are probably some good clues for things you can work on. But if you start trying to please them all or even worse, turn them into fans, that could mean death. Death by mediocrity, as you cater to everybody and inspire nobody.


As a boss, I have some loyal followers and some not so loyal, dare I say reluctant, unrespectful employees. It's hard because accepting that some people just won't buy into you and your style is hard. You don't want to ignore them, but you can also let them ruin all that is good about you and your work if you focus too much. I like what Kathy says, though, that there are some good clues to work on. One book I read called this "mining the shadow". Finding gems of knowledge in your darkest parts.

2 comments:

Sierra said...

It is a tough line between being liked and getting things done. Kathy has a point in that not all criticism is dismissable. However,sometimes it is "just jealousy" or detractors trying to destroy the happiness of your success.
The trick is honestly deciphering which is which because everyone close enough to know and tell you the truth will be really biased one way or the other.
If there is something that is not getting you the results that you want, then I would consider that an area to work on. Other than that, it's just opinions and drama.

NicciN said...

I keep listening to Debbie Ford's podcasts lately. This reminds me of what she says often. 50% of people will like you and 50% won't, so why even worry about it since it doesn't matter what you do.

I think it is a very fine line, and I keep realizing that I just need to live in my integrity and the rest will work itself out. I can't please everyone, but I can do my best to do what is right for me.