Uneasy lies the head...

... that wears a crown - King Henry IV. Reference.

I was watching the movie "The Queen" the other day evening. The one that got the Oscar for Helen Mirren in 2006. This quote is displayed at the beginning of the movie. It spun off a thought in my head. More because lately I have been discussing about leadership and responsibility that managers have to properly execute.

Today evening, I was speaking with another friend and he has gotten the responsibility of people management recently. He was talking about the power of being a manager with this kind of responsibility - more precisely, the power of getting things done for resources. And I was reminded of this quote again.

Here are 2 ways I see this situation. Let me put as 2 quotes - very similar sounding, but altogether different in meaning.

1. Lightly lies the crown on the head it rests.
2. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

Can you see a difference between the two?

The first one says, if you take your responsibility lightly OR you misuse your power, the responsibility is NOT going to stay with you.
The second one says, if you are in a responsible position, then you will always have some worry or the other.

Let us now read the 2 lines with specific reference to people management. And a whole new meaning dawns, a deeper understanding of what it means to be a "people manager".

It is an enormous power to possess - the opportunity to mentor, the ability to shape the career and therefore the future of your reportees. And if you misuse it - there are myriad ways to that - some day, if not immediately, you are going to lose it. It includes the responsibility, the faith of your people and your manager / customers. Responsibility may return. Faith, however, is very difficult to recover.

As for worries, c'mon, which profession does not have it. It is how you deal with it. If you learn to enjoy the profession, you will enjoy it anyways. Right?

So there...!