Recently I was speaking with a member of my Board of Directors about a sales challenge he was having.

When he managed the sales team, they performed well, then he hired a general manager who was supposed to run the team and sales plummeted and the culture of the team became one of entitlement.

Diving in to the issue it was clear that the general manager is a ‘nice’ leader.

What do I mean by this?

‘Nice’ leaders are liked by everyone because they avoid the tough conversations and let people pretty much do what they like. But they aren’t respected. They don’t get results.

‘Fierce’ leaders, on the other hand, are cruel to people and get things done by brute force. They burn team members and don’t instil the right behaviours when they aren’t looking.

‘Bold’ leaders practice courage and compassion. They say what must be said and they do it in a way that respects the person.

If you have ‘nice’ managers or ‘fierce’ managers, then I would wager a lot that you are going to be constantly dealing with people and performance issues. If you’re putting up with them then you are the main problem because you are being ‘nice’.

If you are committed to exceptional results in your business this year, then perhaps it’s time to be bold and to create the team that you need.

You will get the results you deserve, either way.