Is it better to be a Yes-man or stand by your convictions.....

I’ve never really been one for the ‘yes-men’ of this world, or should I say ‘yes-person’.  You’ll know the ones I mean, always leaning toward the individual in the room with the most say, rather than standing by your own values.  One person I recall (name removed to protect the innocent) described them as ‘Lester Piggott’ as they’ll ride any horse.  This approach will lead to a ‘safe’ environment, but the downside is that you’ll seldom advance and if you did it would not be by your own creation, only the direction of someone else.  One area that plays a part in this is ‘self-belief’.  Confidence comes in many forms, some can close multimillion £/$ deals and struggle to present in an open forum while others can base jump off a high rise building but then run a mile if they see a spider crawl up a wall.  At the end of the day, you need to back yourself if you believe you have the capability.  Some may argue that this could fall into the area of the Dunning Kruger effect, but if you’re in a management or executive position then you’ve more than likely made a difference somewhere/somehow and isn’t it the duty of someone in responsibility to generate profitable and sustainable growth?  If you find yourself reading this and resonate with the notion of keeping your head down, why not take a chance and stick your head above the parapet once and a while and see if you can create something that's yours, which will inevitably stimulate or even reignite a sense of passion and belief in oneself.  If you feel like you can’t, then perhaps you’re in the wrong place.  

I believe that being able to stand up and say ‘I did that’ with an imaginary puffed out chest and a sense of pride that fills your happy cup to the brim is better than looking back in anguish having not given it a go.  Not only this, but it can be infectious too, which will motivate the people/teams around you and command a higher level of respect.  At the end of the day it comes down to the question: do you want to be a leader or a follower?  Only you can answer this question.  For me, I’ve never really liked lamb.