Page 109 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

90 • CEO Material: How to Be a Leader in Any Organization

hire or recruit the best and brightest candidates, train, develop, manage,
and motivate—all of which make up the number one downfall of CEOs
today.
You basically inspire people to move mountains happily at their own
will for you.

When I ask very successful CEOs about leadership, many respond
with some version of “I don’t know what that is.” When pressed, they’ll
come up with something pretty standard, such as “being able to focus,
set direction, and get a bunch of people to go in that direction.”
Regardless of the table shape or size, there is always one person who
sits at the head.

From my conversations with CEOs, I can dependably define respon-
sible leadership as knowing what to do, doing what is needed at the time,
and getting others to help because they trust you.
To be such a person, you have to be a stellar performing follower
first. Then you must be lucky enough to have a leader of your own to
learn from in the form of a boss, boss’s boss, parent, mentor, coach, or
business friend. You can learn from a good one, but you can learn from
a bad one too—meaning what not to do. (Such lessons sometimes stick
with you longer because they are more painful.) By osmosis, conversa-
tions, and experiences, you comprehend what’s involved: You learn to
understand and motivate other people.

After you do your time and you understand what it takes, you’ll earn
the right to make calls of your own, and you have to step forward
with a leap of faith.
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Karma kicks in, and your turn comes around.
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If you don’t have the confidence to do it, you’ll be a lackey. If you
haven’t paid your dues as a follower but think you know everything,
you’ll be a B.S. artist.