Business Owners Are Villains Right?!
One of the most shocking things I have learned as a business owner is that sometimes people must villainize you to make a choice for themselves.
For YEARS I have struggled reconciling this. I have given a lot of my mental and emotional energy to trying to fix this and make sure no one villainizes me again. Over the last couple of years I have learned that this “villianization” is part of leading a business. This can apply to owners and managers alike.
The more I tried to fight it, the worse it became.
The reality is, my responsibility is to protect the business at all costs and therefore it takes care of the people inside of the business. This is a heavy responsibility because there is absolutely no possible way to make every person happy.
In this capitalist society, we as business owners are the FACE and representation of capitalism to our teams. A dear friend of mine pointed this out to me last year and it forever changed me. Whether or not I like capitalism, I am a cog in the wheel too. In order for people to reconcile this burden of “work” that most of us have to carry, often the reaction must be placed on the owner of the business. It is hard for humans to separate a leader of an organization from the capitalism it represents. This has kind of broken my heart at different points because I have always valued taking care of my team in the best way possible…
I will often hear stories about me that are news to me! I used to be devastated and I wanted to “right” the record when I heard untrue statements about me or my business. The thing that I have learned is…the truth always comes out…even if it takes time. The main thing that has helped me through this (other than sometimes chainsmoking cigs haha), is having relationships with other owners and managers that I deeply respect and then learning they too go through this. Worrying about every untruth and trying to “right” them is a waste of time. Focus on what is in front of you and love the people in your care. Don’t give your energy away to people who do not deserve it.
What other people say about you even as a business owner, usually says much more about them than it says about you.
I have elected to continue to go high even when other people go low(Shout out Michelle Obama!). I have decided to leave small fights for small fighters and let my actions and beliefs speak for themselves.
I have made great strides in this area and I know you can too if you are struggling. You can push “mute” on the things you hear about you. If you know in your heart and soul that you are always improving and you are always looking out for the best for your team, that noise outside of that is just noise.
This is true of every leader at some point. Sometimes it takes a while for this to come to the surface…but it will eventually show itself to you. When it does, know you don’t necessarily have to “right” it…you can let it go and focus on what is in front of you, not what is behind you.
They will get bored after a while- trust me!
So much love to you out there! You aren’t alone.
Remember…small fights are for small fighters!
Melanie
xxo