Last week, the NFL proved once again that pro football is America’s passion, holding the sports world’s attention for three days as thirty-two teams continued building their roster.

This year, the draft was held in Philadelphia, “The City of Brotherly Love”. But if you tuned into the live coverage, you probably noticed the people in attendance were anything but “loving”.

Every time NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell came onto the stage to announce the next player chosen, the fans booed him so loud and long, it was hard to hear what he was saying.

How did Roger Goodell respond? Whether the constant booing bothered him or not, he didn’t show it. He accepted it. By now, it seems like he fully knows that “it’s part of the job”.

At what point did you learn that being “unpopular” is part of being a leader? More importantly, at what point did you to accept it?

Chances are your kids taught you this lesson the first time you really held your ground at home. Or maybe it was for something you said or did with your team at work. Regardless of how you learned this lesson, congratulations!

Leadership is hard. If you’re doing it right, you already knew that.

Here are three traits all leaders need to possess consistently in order to be more effective:

1. Have wisdom to make the right choice.
2. Have courage to do the right thing.
3. Have self-control to be fair while carrying it out.

Yes, being liked is important, but being respected is essential.