Size and weight surely count in sports. Who ever heard of a 5-foot NBA superstar or a 90-pound weakling playing in the NFL? To take charge in business, however, it’s not physical size that counts, but rather how one leads, starting with projecting a strong presence that demands others stop and listen.
In most cases the CEO is the catalyst at bigwig board meetings that include heavy hitters with egos too large to fit in the room. In the typical meetings that drive day-to-day operations, when there’s not a five-star executive to keep the process moving, it takes someone with a few extra aces in his or her hand.
Most successful organizations have some very smart and effective managers who make things happen. Sometimes these midlevel folks and even newbie bantamweight rookies, who may not possess the confidence or feel empowered, can take control when peers get together to work through the issues du jour. As a senior leader or CEO, it is your responsibility to take the time to equip them to take charge.
Frequently this is done “unofficially,” to provide a bit of an unexpected twist to the proceedings from a less-than-obvious participant you’ve chosen, and allows the untested to gain hands-on experience at taking the helm.
It is important that your newly crowned undercover agent understand what is to be accomplished and the ultimate takeaways you expect. At the same time, you must energize and embolden whomever you appoint to take the lead. This in itself inspires confidence and empowers a lower-level manager to almost instantly become assertive, particularly if he or she is new to the organization and concerned about over-stepping bounds. Sometimes a little nudge is all that is needed to point a budding leader in the right direction.
This won’t happen just by whispering glittering generalities in your vicar’s ear or through osmosis. Instead, you must provide your undercover representative with a few substantive tidbits and findings about the subjects to be covered that have yet to be revealed to the troops. These utterances are likely to impress the others in the gathering, garner immediate credibility and focus everyone’s attention, helping to bring to fruition the desired end results of the meeting.
You don’t always need to be the gorilla or elephant in the room. As a leader you can influence what transpires without even being present with a little coaching and counseling. It is also an exceptionally effective technique to give an up-and-comer a taste of how to advance a process which makes them more valuable to you, the organization and themselves.
Remember, a top executive’s job is to accomplish important objectives through others and build and develop a team by mentoring and tutoring along the way. Turning a lightweight into a heavyweight also provides another source of personal satisfaction for the boss. ●
