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There is no doubt that leadership is hard, but there are certain circumstances which can make leadership easier than others. Having a good, solid support team can help, as can having experienced mentors. Having said that, there are certain struggles that all leaders will face, regardless of experience level. Here are 5 common struggles that all leaders encounter.

1. Being the Middle-man

All leaders will have subordinates that count on them in addition to superiors they answer to. In many cases, a leader’s superiors will have an agenda that is contrary to the needs, wishes, wants and desires of their subordinates. It often falls to the leader to have to execute the wishes of their superiors to the displeasure of their subordinates. There is no way around this, but leaders who survive and thrive generally find a way to make their peace with the fact that you literally cannot ever please everyone. Leadership is simply a constant juggling act from which there is no escape. That’s the job.

2. Control Dramas

Every leader has an ego that must be constantly held in check if they are to be effective, but everyone they lead will also have both an ego and an agenda. In some cases, a leader may have been promoted over someone else who is equally or even more qualified. This can sometimes lead to resentment and a wide range of conflict. Sometimes a leader is brought in from outside rather than promoted from within, which can also cause resentment. Leaders need to know how to smooth ruffled feathers and sometimes even treat subordinates as peers without losing the respect of other subordinates. It is a delicate balancing act that almost all leaders will eventually be called upon to master.

3. Making the wrong decision

No leader is ever going to get it right 100% of the time and even great leaders are lucky if they are right about 75% of the time. Eventually, every leader is going to have to learn how to deal with the consequences of making a bad choice or poor decision. One of the worst things they can do is refuse to admit they made a mistake. The error itself may lead to a loss of trust from their team, but how long it takes to regain that trust will depend largely on what choices they make after the fact.

No matter what leadership struggle you face, it will all help you in your journey to becoming a better leader.