Click the image for details Why does your 'giant baby syndrome' act up when you see a domineering CEO? What do the five most common words middle managers use to describe senior leaders reveal? What do you do when the big boss doesn't want to talk to you anymore and throws a bunch of unanswerable questions at you? 1 The biggest proposal failure in my career was a routine project plan for Shanghai Vanke, because an unexpected person showed up at the meeting that day: the general manager of the Shanghai branch. Seeing the client's big boss walk into the meeting room, I believe most people feel the same as I did: immense psychological pressure and a bit of excitement, equaling 100% tension. At that time, I had mastered many client presentation techniques, such as using storytelling to grab attention, but it was this very technique that led to my Waterloo. The pre-prepared story had only just begun when the 'domineering CEO' interrupted mercilessly, saying expressionlessly, 'Just give the conclusion.' I was stunned, and there was an awkward silence for over ten seconds. By the time I snapped back and started formally, the big boss had already begun chatting with the person next to him, and continued throughout the entire presentation. The result was predictable: 'The plan is immature; go back and think it over.' Most employees, when face-to-face with a big boss two or more levels above them, cannot resist that intangible sense of oppression, causing them to underperform, much like how we felt facing a stern principal during school. I call this 'big boss phobia.' The question is, how does it form? Facing fear directly is the best way to deal with 'phobias.' Below, I will lead you into a hypothetical case to delve into the source of fear—the inner world of big bosses. 2 Plan A, a major project led by your department with collaboration from several others. After countless all-night discussions and rehearsal presentations, today it will be formally presented to the big boss. If approved, your department will become a star for company growth over the next two years, and project members' chances for promotion and raises will multiply. And you are a member of this team—both insignificant and indispensable. Moreover, in today's presentation, you will have a chance to speak for 5 minutes. Don't underestimate these 5 minutes; this is likely the first time in your life you'll have the opportunity to have the CEO, two vice presidents, three directors, and a dozen middle managers all listen to you pitch an idea. So remember one thing: these people's daily wage equals your annual salary. If you can't understand their way of thinking, then the loss you cause the company will be greater than ever before. 3 If you watch too many TV dramas, you might have these thoughts about big bosses: A tall, handsome, domineering CEO who exudes authority without anger, though not friendly at first, eventually discovers you as a future star and invests in your development. A wise, fatherly figure, like a lighthouse in your career, appearing just when you're hurt, warming your heart and guiding you through life's confusing paths. Unfortunately, in real life, neither of these scenarios is likely. A survey on executive personality shows that the five words middle managers most often use to describe CEO-level executives are: data-obsessed, impatient, aggressive, time-pressured, and terrifying. Thus, although big bosses' environments vary across systems, these five words universally represent their 'professional personality.' Moreover, the more formal the occasion, like a presentation, and the more they face lower-level employees with whom they rarely interact, the more their life personality is replaced by professional traits. These five words can be summarized into two points: a desire for total control and a cold, big-picture perspective. They correspond to two types of big bosses: professional managers who climbed the ladder from the bottom in large companies, and founders who started their own businesses from scratch. What does this mean? Let's return to today's presentation and see what trouble these two traits might cause you. 4 There's a popular book recently called 'The Land of Giant Babies.' It says: 'We are all oversized babies. We develop complex behaviors, and our needs for power, fame, achievement, and material goods can rise to high levels, but they are often a defense, transformed from two primitive simple desires unmet in infancy. One desire is: hold me; the other is: look at me...' In fact, when we encounter big bosses, our 'giant baby syndrome' involuntarily acts up, leading to two opposite behaviors: Some people panic, secretly hoping to seek comfort, sympathy, and help from those big shots—this is the 'hold me' complex. Others become overly excited, thinking they are the center of attention, eager for praise from those big shots—this is the 'look at me' complex. But if the CEO you face today is a typical professional manager, you should know this fact: According to a Harvard Business Review report, if a company's stock price falls within a year after a CEO takes office, the probability of the CEO being fired is as high as 83%, far higher than your chance of losing your job. If you've been in a large company for long, you'll notice that there are often middle managers who coast along for years, but rarely do you see long-term regional heads; they either get promoted quickly or get marginalized. In the game of power, despite their calm appearance, their inner panic and helplessness are no less than yours. Therefore, they prefer to test you rather than help you. Psychologists have confirmed this: those at the top of the power hierarchy, compared to lower-level employees, have less empathy and value strength over morality. Of course, most current management theories come from Western management practice. From my observation, executives in Chinese companies don't tend to display that oppressive power; they prefer something else—logic. So, if during your five-minute presentation you appear as an employee with 'strong logical speaking and organized work,' you're more likely to give the boss a sense of security—ha, you've discovered their secret: many of them are also 'giant babies.' 5 So, if we perform well, will they appreciate us? Probably not. If the CEO you face today is a founder with an entrepreneurial background, they firmly control the company and aren't too worried about losing power, but their minds are occupied by other things. What? Investor interests, market share, major shareholder relations, government relations... Remember one thing: even though your team has put months of effort into Plan A, it's just a small item on the big boss's agenda—if not Plan A, there's Plan B. This reveals a profound reality—high-level presentations are the big boss's meetings, their decision-making tools, not your performance stage. If you harbor thoughts of seeking credit, you'll describe your work process in detail, but that information is garbage for their decisions, and they'll get angry or distracted. Even if they don't call you out, they're thinking: 'I don't care how you did it; I just want to know its significance, OK?' This is also the lesson I learned from the Vanke proposal failure. In those so-called 'good atmosphere' meetings, you're just playing the clown to temporarily relieve their boredom; your story has no value. They allow it only because their time isn't valuable. Once the big boss appears, you'll be ruthlessly kicked off the stage. The sole purpose of a high-level presentation is to let senior management quickly understand the situation and make swift decisions. Your mission is to provide information, analyze value, list actionable items, and make next-step requests. Remember, after 'Ten steps to kill one person, leaving no trace for a thousand miles,' comes 'After the deed, wipe your clothes and hide your name.' Of course, for your team, you still need to take responsibility, which requires understanding your role first. 6 In this high-level presentation, all the important figures are present, and you have a chance to speak, making you quite proud. Well, you're likely one of three roles: Supporting role, extra, or stunt double. Don't underestimate the village head; even the project leader of Plan A isn't the protagonist. In a high-level presentation, the protagonists are the always 'great, glorious, and correct' senior executives. All your performances are to enable the protagonists to make a cosmic-truth-like decision in the final act. Let's analyze your role specifically. 'Supporting role' means you're the lead speaker up front, while the project leader behind you interprets the facial expressions of the 'great ones,' adjusts the presentation approach and goals, and, yes, covers for you. 'Extra' means you're responsible for explaining a technically complex part, with the goal of making the lead speaker's conclusion more substantiated. But usually, the project leader's biggest worry is that you get too excited, dragging the big boss into technical details, prompting him to say something like 'verify again,' which would ruin months of the team's work. Well, you might think neither of these roles fits today's presentation; your content is relatively independent and complete. Okay, 'congratulations,' your role today is 'stunt double,' which could turn into a 'control group' at any moment. When the project leader isn't sure of the big boss's intentions, your content serves as a probe. If the project leader notices the big boss showing signs of distraction—frequent phone checking, frowning, whispering, glazed eyes—or if he doesn't want to talk to you anymore and throws unanswerable questions, he'll decisively skip your part. 7 Of course, high-level presentation opportunities are still precious; they allow you an early glimpse into the real decision-making process. If you get this chance, don't be shy; start from these three aspects:

  1. Build confidence: Only by experiencing such high-pressure situations multiple times can you learn to complete your tasks with a calm mindset.
  2. Show your logic: As mentioned, 'logic' is one of the few abilities that works across all large Chinese companies.
  3. Learn from the big boss: Learn their almost ruthless efficiency, how they use power to influence others, how they control the meeting room, and their social skills. Finally, we should also reflect on our attitude toward authority. Being too dependent or too resistant is a 'giant baby mentality.' A truly mature attitude is to follow your inner code of conduct and become a person with strong will, only then can you earn respect from others, including big bosses. Source: Workplace psychology WeChat public account: 人神共奋 (ID: tongyipaocha) -END-