Critics are those who want to give you an earful, to tell you what’s what, but won’t get their hands dirty to help you improve anything. They only shout from the sidelines and write emails from a safe, detached distance. Their goal is ultimately to shame you in front of anyone else who might be within earshot, to boldly display your faults to yourself and the world while declaring themselves the winners.
Friends are those who will tell you hard-to-hear truths — perhaps even the very same truths that the critics see — yet are with you in the thick of it. They speak to you quietly, in confidence, not to shame you before the world. Friends kneel down with you in the dirt, removing the debris, scrapping away the rocks, tilling the soil with you where something new might grow.
Critics believe in “truth.” Friends believe in you.
Critics want to be right. Friends want to be in relationship.
In leadership, the critics come naturally. They’re just part of the package.
Friends are hard-won. They don’t come as easily, but they are worth whatever the opportunity cost might be.
