Still, attentive listening pays dividends. One CEO told me about a time when his company was locked in a struggle with a state agency over the purchase of a large tract of forest land. Rather than just leaving the matter to lawyers, the CEO made an appoint ment with the head of the agency.
At the meeting, the agency head launched a tirade of com plaints about the CEO's company, and how the land needed to be conserved rather than developed. The CEO simply listened at tentively for fifteen minutes. By then, he saw, his company's needs and those of the agency could be made compatible. He proposed a compromise where the company would develop only a small por tion of the tract, and put the rest into a conservation trust for per petual protection.
The meeting ended with the two shaking hands on a deal.
BLINDED BY THE PRIZE
She was a partner at a huge law firm who drove her team crazy. She micromanaged, constantly second-guessing them, rewriting reports that didn't meet her standards even though they were per fectly fine. She could always find something to criticize, but noth ing to praise. Her steadfast focus on the negative demoralized her team-a star member quit and others were looking to move later ally in the firm.
Those who, like that too critical lawyer, have this high achieving, super-focused style are called "pacesetters," meaning they like to lead by example, setting a fast pace they assume others will imitate. Pacesetters tend to rely on a "command and coerce"