“There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.” ~W. C. Fields
In the midst of that humorous quote there’s a leadership truism. When faced with “bull”, call it what it is, immediately and with assertiveness. Letting things slide, because you’re too shy, afraid, or just plain nice will keep it happening much longer than you would like. If you’re not careful, by the time you confront someone who’s been behaving outside your expectations, they might just say “Well why didn’t you say something early?”. That will show them the flaws in your leadership, and let them know that they can push you a bit before you do something about it.
Confronting someone when you not only have positional power, but the power of “what’s right” on your side will almost always have you coming out smelling of roses, and the misbehaving party smelling of, well, the tail end of the bull.
Speaking of bull…
Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com
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