Page 53 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

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

Offer options. Don’t “bring a dead cat without a shovel.” You don’t
have to be the personal problem resolver; there are lots of people to do
that. You do have to be the leader who will listen, hear, persuade, and
garner support from coworkers to get disputes solved. Allow creative con-
flict. Get the opposing position. Be willing to spend “a period of time at
each other’s throats.”
Stand on your group recommendation. If one out of 10 times your
recommendation works, that is better than zero. And if you get two out
of 10 times, you’ve demonstrated 100 percent improvement. It doesn’t
take 10 out of 10 times. If you make a mistake, correct it. How you handle
a setback is watched as closely as the setback. You don’t always have to be
right, but you do have to act quickly to respond and redo.
When you solve problems, communicate it by telling people what
your group did to solve the problem. The biggest benefit of solving a prob-
lem is that you’re free to proceed to the next one.

Be Able to Take “No” and Be Able to Say “No”

First, understand that “No” is the standard answer or response from peers,
bosses, and subordinates for reasons of budget, time, to argue an unpop-
ular point of view, to test or challenge you, to be difficult, and sometimes
out of laziness. “No” is a complete sentence. It isn’t a complete answer.
Don’t take it as a matter of course if you believe that it could or should
be otherwise.
“No” doesn’t always mean “No.” More often than not it means
“Maybe” or “I’m not sure.” “Won’t” is different from “Can’t.” Unless you
come back and fight for it, your opponents figured they were right.

The word “No” means nothing to me.

Frankly, a quick “No” is better than a long “Maybe” because then
you can step back, find a way to reapproach, and change your opponent’s
mind; even though you may have to jump over hurdles to turn it into
a “Yes.”
Don’t react, but do respond. These are two different things. You
can’t tuck and run when told “No.” Keep asking in a pleasantly assertive
manner, with a relaxed smile, and an undisturbed tone of voice, “What if