Page 152 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Develop Others to Take Your Job • 133

Small caution: With an attitude of giving acceptance, you will get
burned. You can choose to view it as spending your entire career being
pleasantly surprised—or sadly disappointed—by people. You can fear it, or
as with making mistakes, you can learn from the experience.

The worst part was living with the disappointment of putting faith,
time, and money in people who don’t perform or leave my company
for a job across the street.

In a conversation just before he died, author Norman Cousins
coached me to “Develop the ability to trust people. Do not be overly
disappointed in your trust, even when misapplied. You must not let dis-
appointment from anyone deprive yourself of all the wonderful things
out there.”

This is a little speech I repeatedly give myself: I’m not bothered by
those who attack me as long as they are open and impersonal in their
stand. I’m always willing to forget differences and forgive detractors.
I have no grudges and accept that I’ll have enemies as well as friends,
disappointments as well as achievements. I accept the unfairness of
life with grace.

To minimize them disappointing at the outset, tell people how
important the business is that they are doing. Make clear the importance
of their work in the business. Explain how together you’ll help to make
it all even better and more worthwhile. Praise them when their work
deserves it; correct poor work similarly.
To help people prepare to take your job, set a good example. You
need your people to have first-hand exposure in how a leader gets pulled
up from above and pushed up from below.
Act with confidence, and do what you can to maintain the self-
esteem of others to build their confidence. Live and work with integrity
so that others emulate and see that “good guys do win.”
Manage and lead with an optimistic perspective. Set goals for your
job, for now and in the future.
Constantly communicate what you know, are learning, have ques-
tions about, doubts, and need to know more about. Set up a system to
give and receive from up and down. Establish communication processes
that work in your job, your culture, and your organization.