The more visible you become in veterinary medicine, the more criticism will come with it.
People will question what you say.
They will question what you post.
They will question your decisions.
Some will disagree with you.
Some will talk behind your back.
Some will wait for you to make a mistake.
And some will follow you just to see what they can criticize next.
But remember this:
Nobody watches you this closely when you are doing nothing.
When you start speaking up, people notice.
When you start leading, people react.
When you challenge old ways of thinking, not everyone will be comfortable.
And when you become visible, you also become easier to attack.
That is part of standing in front.
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LEADERSHIP IS NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST
You cannot expect everyone to agree with you.
You cannot expect everyone to like your style, your decisions, your opinions, or the way you communicate.
Leadership is not a popularity contest.
If you want universal approval, leadership may be the wrong place to look for it.
A profession cannot move forward if everyone is afraid to speak because someone might get offended.
Yes, listen to criticism.
If you are wrong, correct yourself.
If you can improve, improve.
But learn the difference between criticism that helps you grow and noise that only wants to distract you.
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NOT EVERY CRITIC DESERVES ACCESS TO YOUR PEACE
Not every rumor deserves a defense.
Not every insult deserves an answer.
Not every critic deserves access to your peace.
And certainly, not everyone criticizing you deserves the power to decide your direction.
So let them talk.
Let them screenshot.
Let them gossip.
Let them watch.
They may not like what you are doing.
But somehow, they are still waiting to see what you do next.
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WHILE THEY ARE BUSY DISCUSSING YOU, KEEP BUILDING
While they are busy discussing you, keep building.
Keep organizing.
Keep speaking.
Keep teaching.
Keep helping.
Keep moving the profession forward.
Because leadership comes with one uncomfortable truth:
The moment you become visible enough to make a difference, you also become visible enough to become a target.
So stop measuring your direction by the amount of noise around you.
Measure it by the work you are actually doing.
And if the noise gets louder?
Maybe it simply means you are no longer standing quietly in the background.
You were never meant to lead from the shadows.
Dr. Geoff Carullo is a Fellow and the current President of the Philippine College of Canine Practitioners.
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