Page 129 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

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

You can be that person in this picture—err, you have to be if you
want followers, because they share a similar idea.
Since you’re being read, give them what you want them to read.
Language is too slow in expressing complex thoughts or opinions, whereas
a physical impression happens in a blink. Nonverbal messages speak to
hearts, not heads. Words play a very small role in telling people about you.

In a matter of seconds, people either shut you out of or invite you into
their circle.
People above, below, and alongside you watch, listen, and follow
each move you make. Lots of minutiae are studied and discussed: the car
you drive, the shoes you wear, your hairstyle (or lack thereof ), and whether
you put your recycling in the right bin in the company cafeteria.

There was a photo in the newspaper of me with Bill Gates and the
governor. I noticed as I walked around office the next day that four
or five people had tacked it on their wall. It’s a smaller level of
Hollywood. Instead of paparazzi, it’s your employees following you.

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Sitting in a review, someone reached over and pulled a dry cleaning
tag off the belt loop of my pants that was hidden under my blazer.
The person was studying me so completely, he spotted it. His com-
ment to me, “Well, we know your pants are clean anyway.”

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You have to listen to what you say out loud. People take you very seri-
ously. I used to be quick-witted and sort of flip, but now I have to
preface comments so that people don’t commit suicide.

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If you elect to sit in the back of the room in an important meeting,
don’t talk to top management, and keep your head down so as not to
be a target, you’ll still get noticed, but for the wrong thing!
Theatrics are required in a leader. When things are not going well,
you can (1) show it or (2) not show it. There is play pretend needed as an