People forgive results; they punish ugliness. If you want influence, keep your public face separate from the mess that produces outcomes.
Delegate unpleasant tasks. Use intermediaries. Let “policy,” “process,” or “necessity” carry blame when possible. When trouble appears, ensure the heat has somewhere else to land: a messenger, a rule, an already-disliked figure, a volunteer who accepted the role.
Clean hands are not innocence. They are strategy. When you look composed and fair, accusations are harder to believe and mistakes are easier to survive. Perception is a shield.
This does not mean avoiding hard choices. It means controlling how hard choices appear. If you must act harshly, keep the act distant, the explanation brief, and the tone calm. People often tolerate severity when it looks impersonal. They revolt when it looks personal. Keep your hands clean, and you keep your position flexible.