Having the courage to tell people what they don’t want to hear.

Being a good leader takes courage and respect. You have to be willing to tell people things that they don’t want to hear. This includes telling someone that reports to you what he or she needs to improve on. Sometimes this is easy because the person is open and wants to hear your insights. Sometimes this is more difficult because not only does the person not see what they are doing wrong, he or she actually thinks it is something they do well. It is easy to give up on a conversation because you know the other person is not taking things well. Rather than soften up or change course and just tell them they are doing fine, draw on your courage to tell them what is necessary.

Be sure to balance this courage with respect. The manner in which you deliver feedback is crucial. Anyone can go off and yell at someone for poor performance. But this is not the kind of message that you want to deliver. You want to make sure that you are showing a genuine interest in the person and in their improvement. You are not attacking the person; you are working with them to correct or change behavior.

Unfortunately some people work their entire career for leaders who are unwilling to tell them what is necessary. Their leaders have let them down because they never understand what they need to do in order to succeed. Don’t be that leader that lets mediocre performance skate on through. Give your team members your respect by giving them honest feedback.
You have to be willing to favor people respecting you rather than liking you. No one likes to hear what they are doing wrong, but in the end reasonable people will respect you for telling them how things really are.