A little self analysis...

You know, sometimes what you say without thinking is the most telling thing.

While at work the other day, I stumbled into a huge mess of errors and miscommuication by the entire team, that had resulted in a problem. When I called the person who would be responsible for sorting it out, I started the conversation with, "You're not going to like me for this, but..."

Wait, what?

I didn't create the problem. I didn't ignore the problem, and let it get worse. I was actually almost finished resolving the problem, and just needed approval.

Beyond that, why would asking for help result in someone not liking me? Why would I assume that being the bearer of bad news would result in dislike or contempt?

Those who know me would probably say that I don't really care what people think, and that I'm very opinionated, but the fact is, I walk around day to day nervous that people won't like me based on my actions, opinions or beliefs, especially in a professional environment.

I really ought to work on that.

Reality check of the day: People will dislike you for ignoring the problem so that you don't have to be the bad guy. People don't dislike you because you are dealing with a problem and need their help.