It’s easy to talk about the benefits of leadership, but very few people talk about the cost of leadership.

There’s a price to pay, and unless you’re willing to pay it, you’ll never be truly comfortable in a leadership role:

You will have to make hard decisions that negatively affect people you care about
You will be disliked, despite your best attempts to do the best for the most
You will be misunderstood, and won’t always have the opportunity to defend yourself

For each of these costs, I’ll interpret it for the business leadership context, and give some examples of how it plays out. I’ll also give you four tips for embracing the cost, so that you willingly pay the price of leadership, rather than trying to bargain or avoid it.