The hard work is finding the collaborative edge in the battle of confrontation…

I’ll be the first to confirm that life is not fair, things never go the way you hope, nor are all opportunities seized upon. That is all to say there are always plenty of reasons anyone to complain, and as such a constant drum beat of many to their dissatisfaction of the current situation as they see it. But that doesn’t mean that hope is lost, and it obscures the many whole toil behind the scenes to build a better future.

Every problem is an opportunity. Regardless of fault or factual state of a situation, everything involves and is controlled by people. So at the core of every problem is a person or group of people. When was anyone ever won over to your side through anger, frustration, embarrassment, or any other negative approach. How many memes of managers vs leaders need to be illustrated before it’s obvious that collaboration not confrontation is the key ingredient to progress?

When you utter the phrase, “I can’t work with that (person or people)”, it is you admitting your failure, not you identifying the limitations of others. There is always middle ground, no matter how small, and it is only the limits of your own creativity and determination that curtail the opportunities found there in.

Not every personification of great leadership is demonstrated by charging into battle, or winning the big fight. Many great leaders are simply obscure individuals who chose daily to not give up on the hard problems, to not give up on disagreeable people, and simply keep working to build progress however small each day. The future is built by those who have the fortitude and foresight to never quit the hard problems…despite the unending drumbeat of negativity.