Working as a manager automatically places you in the line of criticism and dissatisfaction.

Working as a manager automatically places you in the line of criticism and dissatisfaction. Your first mistake may be trying to please everyone or, on the other hand, excluding some, and therein lies the real crisis. Over time, you come to realize that the choice is not between pleasing or excluding, but in doing what is right, even if it pleases no one.

But if only things were that simple.

Among your team, some will resent what is right, others will accept it, and some won’t even care, and so you’ll learn that doing the right thing isn’t always enough.

Then comes an even harder trial: striving to always be right is a difficult task, nearly impossible. And even when you do get it right, how often will you find yourself unable to implement it? Not because of your own limitations, but because those above you in the management hierarchy have placed ceilings that cannot be crossed.

This is one of the hardest experiences you may go through in the world of leadership. And you’ll learn that the solution does not lie in being forceful, but in staying close to people, by explaining circumstances, offering apologies, and even asking for forgiveness when needed.

But amid all these difficult equations, remember this:

You may be forced into management, bound by its responsibilities, but never be forced into injustice. Never take people’s rights.

That is a grave mistake, one that is hardest to come back from. Everything else may be forgiven… except being unjust.