By Jennifer D. Kluge
Jan. 21, 2010
As the CEO of your company don’t you just love it when you walk into a work function and the employees get quiet, or look a bit scared? Some days it’s just darn funny, other days it’s annoying. The funniest thing is when you are having a conversation with someone at a networking event and you hand them your card and you see this “aha” moment of the person you are speaking with. They actually change before your eyes because of your title. What is a CEO to do with this mini-celebrity status?
How do we get rid of the fear of the CEO in the room? Should we get rid of the fear or better, leverage it for results. Nope, not me, manipulating people because of rank is not the way to go. It makes CEOs scarier.
I wish there was a way to “just be” and allow others not to judge you for your title. As you are introduced as the CEO, you just know that people are judging you. “I wonder how they got the job, I wonder if they are any good, I better not mess up with what I say, I wonder where they live….” Annoying, I know.
Nobody cares that you earned it. Nobody cares you mortgaged your home to start it. Nobody cares that you gained 40 pounds doing it. Nobody cares you lost sleep, weekends and time with your family. If it’s a family business, good luck you’re always the “family member.” There aren’t any pity parties for CEOs, it’s part of the turf. So now what?
Well the answer is simple, just get it done. Results. More than anything else a CEO is judged by the results he/she derives and how fairly they treat people in getting it done. But it’s still pretty funny watching human dynamics in a corporate setting.
