Angles

Your sadness might be caused by another person’s insecurity.

Your fear might be caused by another person’s boldness.

Your silence might be caused by another person’s loneliness.

There are different angles to the same story. And the capacity to appreciate more than one of them will help you get past whatever it is that is holding you back.

The friend complex

When you raise through the ranks, keep in mind that your role, responsibilities, relationships shift.

It is mainly a journey you have to do alone. And you can’t make up for it by pretending you are still friend with everyone. Your words have a different weight. Your messages have a different weight. Even your ideas and opinions have a different weight. The best you can do is embrace this fact and act as it is expected by your new role.

Instead of cracking an ambiguous joke, shut up and listen.

Instead of sharing your pain and frustration, own other’s pains and frustrations.

Instead of giving your opinion on every topic, ensure that others can give theirs.

The friend complex is dangerous for founders, executives, managers. Whether you resist to it might make the difference between being alone and being lonely.

Closer

When you can’t stand somebody.

When you have problems with them, can’t figure out what they stand for, have concerns about their agenda.

When you had an argument, can’t see eye to eye, really can’t understand.

When they are so different they annoy you, unnerve you, dishearten you, hurt you.

The only real thing to do is to be even closer to them. If you care about the relationship, of course.