Someone said to me just recently that I was like the hammer;
not the nail. They explained their analogy with some detail …
in almost a poetic way. I never heard it said quite that way,
but I took it as a compliment.
As the leader of an organization, you’ll get your fair share of criticism. If it’s a fair criticism, you’ll heed their words and make adjustments accordingly. If it’s an unfounded criticism … if it’s petty
or just someone that likes to point out the defects in others,
well … you learn to suck it up.
Of course, when you’re running a company — any company — you have to get things done. If not, then you’re just standing still and you’ll get run over by the oncoming traffic. Every morning when I come to work, I am sometimes faced with dozens of issues and problems. Sometimes the problems are small details; other times not. They all have to be addressed just the same. So yes, in this sense, if every one of those problems are nails, then yes, my job is to hammer those nails so they cannot hurt anyone.
The lesson I have learned over the years is this: when a compliment is thrown your way, own it, embrace it and accept it. Be gracious to the person delivering that compliment and say, “Thank you, I sincerely appreciate that.” This validates the other person’s appreciation of the goods or services you provide and it validates their appreciation of you as a person and completes the circle of human interactions and goodwill.
Patricia Wenskunas