7 Paths Blog

Unlike Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the current President of Liberia, I’ve never been jailed because of my leadership. I have had people angry enough at me that if, in the moment, they had the power to jail me, I suppose they would have.

I’ve been criticized many times. Occasionally it’s been deserved because I’ve made my share of mistakes. Many times, however, the criticism has come from the physiological response individuals have had to healthy and wise organizational changes I’ve proposed and/or advocated.

As I’ve grown older as a leader I’ve come to understand that people often have physical responses to change. It has to do with the amygdala, the part of our brain that by-passes the thinking part of our brain to save our skin. Have you ever slammed on the brakes without thinking to prevent an accident? That’s the amygdala.

Leaders are often criticized by people trying to slam on the brakes.

While others’ amygdalas are firing out of control, a leader remains calm. Here’s an excerpt from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s memoir, This Child Will Be Great:

…the inability to tolerate criticism is a troublesome trait in any human being, but especially so in a leader. If you are a leader, you are going to get hit. You are going to get hit verbally sometimes with some very harsh words; you must be prepared to take criticism, to stand still and just let it pass over you without resorting to retribution or revenge. Being able to “take it” is part of the price of leadership…

Too often people, in their eagerness to stand and shout “Follow me!” neglect to consider the downside. They do not, for instance, consider the possibility of ostracism. But the truth is that if you want to lead and be hailed, you need to prepare to be ostracized, because surely you will be at some point in your career.

Leaders’ amygdala’s work in the same fashion as other people’s. The difference is that good leaders can stand still because once their amygdala starts firing, they return to calm very quickly. Freedman has some great suggestions for returning to calm within six seconds.