Smiling leaders are in the lead.

Last week I bought some strawberries in a supermarket. When I got home I saw that half of the strawberries were rotten. So I returned to the supermarket and said to the manger: 'Half of my strawberries are rotten. Can I have some new ones?' The supermarket manager laughed and said that he could not help me. I smiled and went away. Happy never to come back.

'Laugh is fun, smile is happiness'

There is a difference between laughing and smiling. You laugh

• When you feel uncomfortable
• When you feel inferior and want to be superior
• When people expect you to laugh with them
• When you make fun of others

Smiling is very unlike laughing. One of the greatest examples of smiling for me is Nelson Madela. After his release from Robben Island after over 20 years imprisonment a journalist asked: 'Mister Mandela are you angry at the people who put you away for so long?' Nelson Mandela looked at the journalist and just smiled.

When you smile

• You confortable and show strenght
• You make others feel that you are superior
• You make clear that you follow your path unconditionally
• You leave others in their value

There is in my opinion one other important difference between laughing and smiling. Laughing is short term and loud, smiling is long term and silent. That makes smiling an important skill to master for leaders who think strategic and long term...

The next time you find yourself in a situation where people make a fool of themselves think twice about how you are going to react. One second can get you in the lead for a long time.

'Smile before you laugh!'

Do you agree?

Please leave a comment or a??

Join me on linkedin

(more articles below)