How to be a leader in a crowd, not a follower

How to be a leader in a crowd, not a follower

People who respond first to a presentation or happening, without looking around to see how everyone else is reacting, are men and women of leadership caliber.

Cool cats clap first

You are sitting in an auditorium with hundreds of fellow employees listening to the president of your firm introduce a new concept. As you’re slouching anonymously in the audience, you think your expression is invisible to the man or women at the podium. Not so! As a speaker, I guarantee you every one of my colleagues sees every smile, every frown, every light in every eye, and every emblem of extraordinary human intelligence flashing back at him or her.

Likewise, the company president making a presentation anxiously surveys his corporate jungle and, from the pusses peering back at him, senses which employees are sympathetic and which are not. He also knows which in the sea of faces floating in front of him has the potential to be a heavy hitter like himself. How?
Because heavy hitters, even when they do not agree with the speaker, support the podium pontificator. Why? Because they know what it’s like to be on. They know, no matter how big or little the cat at the front of the room is, when giving a speech he’s concerned about the crowd’s acceptance.

Technique #1
Lead the listener

No matter how prominent the big cat behind the podium is, crouched inside is a little scaredy -cat who is anxious about the crowd’s acceptance.
Big winners recognize you’re a fellow big winner when they see you leading their listener in a positive reaction. Be the first to applaud or publicly commend the man or women you agree with (or wants favors from).

When the company big shot delivers his last line, carefully contrived to bring the crowd to its feet or employees to acquiescence, do you think he is unaware of who starts the trickle, or the riptide, of acceptance? No way! Though his head is down while taking a bow, with the insight of a McCarthy-era spy, he perceives precisely who inaugurated the applause, precisely how long after the last words were uttered, and precisely how enthusiastically! Being the first to put your hands together, being the first to jump to your feet, and, if appropriate, being the first to shout “bravo,” gets you big cat status with the tiger who was talking.

Be the first clapper no matter how small the crowd, no matter how informal the talk. Don’t wait to see how everyone else is going to respond. Even if it’s a small group of three or four people standing around, be the first to empathize with the speaker’s ideas, the first to mutter “good idea.” Its proof positive you’re a person who trusts his or her own instincts.