“Not only are bloggers suckers for the remarkable, so are the people who read blogs.” - Seth Godin

BOOSTER BYTE 44

Leaders (especially public LEADERs) seldom have the luxury of displaying an ill-considered impulse.

They are constantly in the public eye—if not the media’s, then the employees’, the board’s, customers’, investors’ or lenders’. A poorly timed outburst or a misunderstood reaction can unravel a reputation in an instant.

Part of being resilient is to control public displays of your first reaction to a question or an event. For example, wait for a few beats before answering what might at first appear as a reporter’s antagonistic question intended to ambush you into a newsworthy outburst. To the audience, your pause appears merely as the time taken to consider your answer—certainly acceptable, in fact, creditable. In those brief seconds, think about the meaning behind the question—what is the interrogator’s real purpose? Why would they ask such a question? What are they trying to get you to say or do? How does your answer fit into your cause, purpose and your Why?

Now that you’ve grabbed control over your first impulse to berate the reporter for asking such a blatantly destructive question, you can craft your answer around the conclusions you formed during your brief pause. Many adept LEADERs take the opportunity to get the audience on their side. They do this with a preamble. George, I can well understand why you ask. People want—and deserve—an answer. Transparency in everything this company does is important to us all—from the board of directors to our hardworking employees, valued customers and the community we serve. The truth is…

If you aren’t a public LEADER, this is still relevant to you. A poorly timed outburst or a misunderstood reaction can unravel not only a reputation in an instant, but also the trust of your team!

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