The Best Leadership Advice I Ever Got

I love to present. Love the Big Show, the Dog & Pony, the Old Razzle Dazzle ’Em. Occupational hazard for marketing folks, I guess, but it’s something I’ve always enjoyed and (not coincidentally) done pretty well.

Early in my experience leading teams, I had just given such a show, revealing a big new initiative to a company-wide audience with great fanfare and focus. I was on my game and the meeting went great. Afterward I approached a more seasoned executive for some “feedback,” meaning I wanted him to tell me I was awesome.

“Boy, you’re really great at that, but I know how you could be 10 times more effective,” he said.

Bruised but enrapt, I said, “How?”

“In any room,” he said, “there are a handful of people who are really key to moving the room as a whole. Before a PowerPoint presentation, you should invest some time getting those key people on board with your idea. Then you can go into the meeting already knowing you have their support when you reveal your ‘big idea’ to the larger audience. By getting those 10 people on board ahead of time, you’ll be dramatically more effective when you present, and get dramatically more buy-in when you’re done.”

Then, he hit me with a piece of advice I’ll never forget:

“Leadership isn’t about what you can do in…