The Management Lesson Of Kurt Cobain

Managers find their nirvana in their rapport with others.

Spotted on Twitter, this sentence from Kurt Cobain, the leader of the rock band Nirvana who committed suicide at age 27: “I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not.”

This is a very interesting idea when applied to management even if hate and love are not the feelings that are best suited to the professional environment.

Managers may need to change – or at least control – their personality in order to foster empathy with their teams and thus ignite them. Do they energize their troops by acting like someone they aren’t really? Sometimes. Is this unhealthy? Not if it serves the collective good.

However, it is undeniable that managers are more engaging when they are themselves, when their words and actions are in accordance with their own identity and values​​. We might not be at our best vis-à-vis others when we are fully ourselves but we are certainly more powerful in all areas – intellectual, emotional … – when we aren’t held back by any inner or external restraint.

Ultimately, the ideal manager is one whose harmony with his team – and the situation they manage – is strong enough for them to be themselves.