I used to shy away from conflict. When conflict would emerge in my team, I would withdraw in hopes that it would resolve itself, or I would try to smooth things over.

Leadership is easiest when things are going well. The true test of your leadership, though, is when things are going wrong.

Without leadership, people are more likely to withdraw from problems. Withdrawing means taking the safe path and sticking with the status quo.

You will be the leader others want to follow when you stay with the discomfort of conflict. Leading through your discomfort requires courage. The cool part is your team will feed off your courage as it will amplify their courage.

With leadership, people will stay in the discomfort of their challenges and find ways to move forward. They will innovate and eliminate problems, rather than avoiding problems.

With leadership, people will increasingly gain the confidence to lead themselves. I cannot think of a better way to help a team succeed than to have them lead themselves.

You’ve got this.