让我们面对现实吧，强势的领导并不总是那么受欢迎。但实际上，能够力排众议去做出正确决策却是检验一位领导是否合格的标准之一。

作为一位合格的领导，你需要有居安思危的意识。你的责任是做出决策，而不是人云亦云——即使有时你的想法甚至与团队背道而驰。面对机遇或挑战，你应该比任何人都具备在有限信息条件下迅速做出决断的能力。你还要依靠自己和在团队内已经建立的公正性来全力推行工作计划。而这一切就是领导力。

如果你总是扮演和事佬，你也许会在团队中很受欢迎，但你的领导力却会受到损害。最终，尽管你的人气非常高，你却可能已经失去了团队内重要成员的尊重。因为他们会最先意识到做出正确决断的意义，也会同样了解缺乏这种勇气的后果。

我正在负责一个覆盖四个不同市场的项目。虽然商业投资的获利会在不同时期显现，但我需要在投资的同时也从市场中获利。为了保证这个项目的执行，大量的当地资源被抽调，因此眼下大家对当地项目已经缺乏足够的关注。此外，每个市场都有定制化需求，但我的决策是为了加快项目速度需要尽可能减少这类诉求。

可以理解的是，每个市场都认为这种方式是“不公平的”。虽然平时我并不会这么做，但我已经为此召开了数十次会议，以争取每个人的理解和支持。但最终，我并不是为一个人或者一个市场负责，而是要为我们的公司、客户和员工负责。当你为公司的未来投入成百上千万美元时，你不能半途而废或屈从于外在压力，即使压力可能来自于那些你喜欢并尊重的人。当你全力以赴时，即便保持公正，人们也可能并不认为你是最杰出或最公平的人，但他们会尊重你，甚至最终会感谢你为了顾全大局而做出的艰难抉择。

不幸的是，任何领导都无法避免做出一些团队成员可能并不会喜欢的艰难决策。要知道这也是为什么公司会化大价钱雇佣高管的原因之一。所以，下次当你陷入一个让你寝食难安的艰难决策时，也许我下面的一些经验之谈会对你的处境有所帮助。

你要做的事：

• 坚信自己以及你做出决策的原因，这样你才能更坚定地去说服别人。重大决策更需要你的勤恳付出——你要对作为决断论据的数据资料有非常清晰的了解，同时理清你的思路。详尽的数据分析和你的远见卓识在你做出正确决策的过程中同等重要。

• 征求利益相关方、计划执行者和专家的意见和建议。这能确保你详细考虑了如何制定最好的决策、最好地传达决策并表明对所有相关方的尊重。但要记住，这并不意味着要做一个群体性的决策，以少数服从多数为原则，并将领导者的责任推卸给整个团队。我们要征询他人的建议，但你必须自己做出最终决策。

• 雇用有能力的人，并在工作中给予他们尽可能多的自主权。对于团队成员做出的决定，无论是否与你想的一样，都请明确表示你对他们的支持。因为你也会做出他们并不完全认同的决定，这才公平。

• 请确保你的工作能力，不然你会逐渐失去团队的信任。

• 请在道德标准下做出决定。否则，你会成为大家鄙视的对象，甚至被解雇。

• 坚持你的判断和原则。当你的决定一直是正确的并且成功地达成了目标，大家会开始喜欢你的。

千万别做的事：

• 不要自私。作为领导，你的事并不只关乎于你自己。事实上，在工作上你应该最少考虑自身。不要担心人们是否喜欢你，只管去做正确的事情。这种心态就像有孩子的父母们——如果你为了孩子们的茁壮成长考虑而做出一个艰难又得不到孩子认可的决定，孩子们在成长的过程中对你一定会有所误解。可当他们有所成就时，一定会感激你对他们的用心良苦。

• 当大家都认为已经做出决定时，不要再浪费时间对其反复讨论了。这不仅会让你的团队对你失去信心，还将造成你可能会被别人或自己的内在冲突所左右的负面印象。

• 不要避免艰难的决定或冲突。当你的团队都了解他们的领导愿意并且能够在需要时倾尽全力，这会使你、你的团队和业务都更加强大。相信我，有时候，我们需要放手一搏。

有很多优秀的人才能以群众领袖甚至啦啦队长的身份收获成功。也总有一些人见人爱的公司红人。当组织内部缺乏重大挑战、没有新的监管或行业限制、抑或是竞争不那么激烈时，人气的确可以在此时发挥一定的作用。但是，如果这些因素中的任何一种发生了变化，我会更中意那些有胆有谋、能果断地做出艰难决策的人。（财富中文网）

作者Annabelle Vultee是英孚教育成人英语培训中心首席运营官。

Let’s face it. Strong leaders aren’t always popular. The reality is that making firm, unpopular decisions is one of the true hallmarks of a leader.

As a strong leader you make the hard calls when it’s easier to remain status quo. You take the responsibility to make decisions on your own instead of by consensus—sometimes in opposition of the consensus. You make decisions faster and with less information than anyone would like, because the clock is ticking on a risk or opportunity. You rely on yourself and the equity you’ve built with your team to carry out the plan. This is leadership.

If you don’t make the tough calls, you might be popular, but your leadership will suffer. And eventually, although you may be liked by many, you won’t be respected by your best people. They’re the ones who will be first to recognize the value of solid decision making, and the first to notice the lack thereof.

I am leading a project right now that impacts four different markets. The benefits of the investment will materialize at different times, but I am making the investment all at once and charging the markets at the same time. Vast resources have been mobilized away from local projects for this initiative, so there is little capacity at this time for local programs people feel strongly about. Further, each market wants to customize certain components, but my direction is to minimize the customizations in the interest of speed.

It is understandable that each market feels this is “unfair.” I have fielded dozens of meetings soliciting everyone’s buy-in (if not understanding), which I don’t always get. Ultimately, though, my responsibility is not to a person or a market. It is to this company, our customers, and our staff. You can’t go halfway or bow to pressures of others (even those you like and respect) when you are investing millions of dollars into the future of your company. When you go all in, in spite of “fairness,” people may not think you are the nicest or fairest person, but they will respect you and hopefully even come to appreciate the tough choices you are forced to make for everyone’s benefit as a whole.

Unfortunately, no leader can escape tough choices that will impact team members in a way they don’t like. It’s part of the “this is why they pay me the big bucks” bucket. So, the next time you are staring down a decision that puts knots in your stomach, perhaps my do’s and don’ts for strong leadership decision-making can help.

Do’s:

• Do believe in yourself and how you came to your conclusion so you can communicate your decision(s) with conviction. Big decisions require diligence. Know the data that backs up your decision. Clarify your vision. Both data and vision are compelling and equally powerful if delivered well.

• Do solicit input and advice from stakeholders, executers of the plan, and experts. This ensures you’ve thought of how best to make the decision, how best to communicate the decision, and shows respect that is due those involved. Remember: this is not the same as consensus decision-making, which requires everyone to compromise on a potentially lesser quality decision and defrays the responsibility of the leader to the entire team. Seek advice, but you make the final call.

• Do hire strong people, and give them as much autonomy as you can. For every decision that someone else could appropriately make in their role, make it clear you support their decision, regardless if you would or wouldn’t have made the same one. This empowers others and builds equity for when you make a decision they aren’t in favor of.

• Do deliver quality work, otherwise you will completely lose credibility and your team’s trust in the future.

• Do always make ethical decisions. Otherwise, you deserve to be disliked—and fired.

• Do be consistent. If your decisions are usually right and you get things done, people will start to like you (maybe).

Don’t:

• Don’t be selfish. Your job as a leader is not about you. In fact, it’s about you the least, so stop worrying about if people like you, and do the right thing. It’s a lot like a parent with kids. If you are tough and make unpopular decisions as they grow up—choices that prepare them to be great human beings—kids will for sure not like you many moments along the way, but in the end they will love you for shaping them into incredible people.

• Don’t bring up the same decision for discussion over and over when everyone already thinks the decision is made. It makes others lose confidence in you and creates the impression you can be swayed by others or your own internal conflict.

• Don’t avoid tough decisions or confrontation. It makes you, your business, and your team stronger when everyone knows their leader is willing and able to take a fight when needed, because, well, sometimes it’s needed.

There are brilliant folks out there who have been successful as consensus leaders and cheerleaders. There are colleagues everyone loves and wants to vacation with. And when there are no major challenges within the organization, no new regulatory or industrial constraints or very little serious competition, popularity can work. But if any of those dynamics change, all day long I would prefer someone with the stomach to make the tough calls with decisiveness and speed.