Are you being Kind...or "Nice"?
It’s not your fault, but somewhere along the line, society mixed up being kind vs being “nice”, especially when it comes to those of us in the “helping professions”.
However, when you’re acting from a place of “nice” leadership, you focus on solving immediate crises and dodging the hard conversations, without any thought to the deeper issues, or the deeper wounds they create.
A “nice leader” overworks themselves, overthinks their challenges and overwhelms their team in the interest of keeping everything comfortable and safe.
The path of “nice” leadership is tempting, but it will mire you in doubt, dysfunction, and drama. And worse, “nice” leadership leaves the deeper problems unsolved, and your school or library no closer to achieving its mission.