Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon

I'd been selected president after only six years of working life. I was afraid—afraid that I wouldn't' be accepted and afraid that would fail.

So I began acting the way I thought a boss should act. I straightened my tie and summoned my staff. One after another they trooped into my office, and I issued firm instructions about what was to be done.

What I was going through was, no doubt, what most of us experience the first time we find ourselves in the spotlight. I began behaving differently because I was acting out the role I believed I'd been given. I assumed that everyone expected me to be able to do everything better than they could, and that I should make all the decisions.

So I tried to live up to these expectations. People began hearing my voice more and more often. I had the solution to everyone's problems—as if I instantly had acquired wisdom along with this presidency. I made countless decisions with very little knowledge, experience, or information.

I knew that something was amiss, but I didn't know any other way to run the company. Then, one day, Christer walked into my office. Christer was one of the people who had suddenly been "demoted" by my management style.

"What are you doing?" he asked me. "Why do you think you became the boss here? To be someone you aren't? No—you were made president because of who you are!"

Thanks to his courage and frankness, Christer helped me discover that my new role did not require me to change. The company was not asking me to make all the decisions on my own, only to create the right atmosphere, the right conditions for others to do their jobs better.