Do They Pay You to Get Angry?

Henry Fogel, 18 year President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and an exemplary leader in every sense, saw the Orchestra endowment increase from $19 million to $160 million during his tenure. When speaking to leaders at the Executive Breakfast Club recently and asked how he dealt with unions, strikes and unexpected funding cutbacks he answered “When there is a problem, I am paid to fix it, I am not paid to get angry.”

Outstanding leaders understand that unexpected negative turns happen and how they respond directly impacts their team. We have all read about the disastrous reaction of a CEO and the spiral that ensued. Have you rehearsed in your mind your optimal reaction to a business disaster?

We can’t be prepared for every event, but all good leaders anticipate many scenarios and how best to address them. The power is knocked out, your largest client goes bankrupt or your warehouse floods. The Marines I work with shared one of their mottos with me “when it all hits the fan, you fall back on your training”. What type of “training” have you put yourself through?

When something unexpected happens, where do you first process it? Are you a top down reactor who analyzes in your head or does it start in your gut & move upward? Is your first reaction to tighten your jaw, hold your breath or do you impulsively verbalize your first thought?

Most times our body is aware of a critical event long before our brain is. Next time pay close attention to your body, to your automatic reactions. Becoming self aware of your response enables you to take control of your reaction before it impacts those around you. To use an analogy from those old westerns, think of cutting that downward spiral “off at the pass”.

In sports we are told to visualize where we want the ball to go. Coaches tell us to visualize crossing the finish line, winning the medal or achieving our peak performance. Great leaders visualize how they will handle those events, so when they are called on they don’t get angry, they excel at handling the situation.