Have others fear you, and I will have no fear.
All kinds of performance practices have a certain register of power or solemnity.
We admire people who work hard, who are objective and thorough. We detest office politicians, toadies, bullies, and pompous asses. We abhor ruthlessness. The way up our ladder is open to everybody. In promoting people to top jobs, we are influenced as much by their character as anything else.
I don't walk into a room with an authoritative stance. I tend to be a little more submissive, even though I think I have a certain amount of strength. So, it's tough for me to play authority without feeling uncomfortable.
The way I dress and carry myself, a lot of people find it intimidating. I think my whole career can be boiled down to the one word I always say in meetings: strength.
A lot of fights in my life have been avoided through confidence and demeanor, so that's pretty masculine also.
A thick stick in one's hand makes people respectful.
That disapproving look was back in her eyes. Her teacher face. The one that could make you squirm from ten paces, even if you were innocent. And I hadn't been innocent for years.
To impress the idea of power on others, they must be made in some way to feel it.
The key to winning, as always, was looking as if you had every right, nay, duty to be where you were. It helped if you could also suggest in every line of your body that no one else had any rights to be doing anything, anywhere, whatsoever.
