I have hired and been hired.
Promoted people and been promoted.
Developed people and been developed by others.
I have fired — and I have been fired.

I have succeeded. I have failed.

And I have helped others through both.

Each side feels different and teaches us something the other side cannot.

It is easy to talk about difficult decisions when you are the person making them. It feels very different when the decision is about you.

It is easy to talk about career opportunities when you are offering one. It feels different when you are the person hoping to be given the opportunity.

Neither side automatically makes us wiser.

But experiencing both can make us more thoughtful.

Perhaps that is one of the gifts of a long career. With time, you collect more than experience. You collect perspectives.

And when you remember what it felt like to sit on the other side of the table, you may listen a little more carefully, explain a little more clearly and judge a little less quickly.

Leadership always has two sides.

We grow stronger when we learn from both.

Learn Every Day.