Why Leaders Should Smile Wide In High-Pressure Moments
When Lila Snyder began cheerleading at the University of Miami (Fl), she learned a crucial lesson: Sometimes leadership means showing up with confidence, even when you’re still finding your footing. Snyder, who cheered for the school’s 1991 national champion football team, learned in real-time that she not only had to have the skills for the pressurized job, but she also had to appear like she was enjoying the moment—even when that wasn’t how she felt.
“You look scared to death,” her coach told her during the National Championship game in front of 100,000 fans and a televised audience.
“I am scared to death,” she admitted.
His reply stuck with her: “Your job is to act like this is fun.”
That’s when the light turned on for Snyder, who in 2020 was named the first female CEO of Bose. Cheerleading became her proving ground—not just for performance, but for poise.
“There’s a part of me that, as you’re taking these risks and failing, you’ve got to act a little bit like you belong there,” the groundbreaking CEO explained in a recent interview. “Even if you don’t feel it inside. You build confidence by doing that.”
Raised in Toledo, Ohio, Snyder enrolled at Miami as an undergrad. Cheering for the high-performance team, which was packed with NFL prospects, gave her a rare behind-the-scenes view of what winning looked like. She saw it wasn’t just a matter of talent. It was also a factor of chemistry, toughness, hard work—and confidence.
Slowly but surely, she settled herself. While the job may have been daunting, Snyder knew in the back of her mind that she would solve it. That’s just who she has always been. Growing up, she prided herself on a love of finding solutions, whether that was coming home eagerly to begin the day’s math homework or when she was working with her father in the garage, fixing cars and appliances.
Today, uncomfortable situations are nothing for her to worry about. In fact, she has long sought them out. “The framework that I liked to use when I was earlier in my career was at least once a week to do something uncomfortable,” Snyder said. “Ask to meet someone, ask someone for feedback, raise your hand to do something. Do something that makes you feel a little bit anxious and a little bit uncomfortable.”
The moment you feel settled or satisfied is the moment you begin to let your edge dull. Winning is a result of preparation and of never slowing down. “Championships,” Snyder said, “are won in the offseason. I saw the work that went on in February and March and April. To consistently win at a high level, you have to keep your foot on the gas and you can’t have those letdown moments where you say, ‘We’re going to take it easy for a little while.’”
Internalizing those rules helped her once she left “The U.” After Miami, Snyder went on to earn her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at MIT. Then she rose up the ranks of the business world to find herself as the first female CEO at the iconic audio company, Bose. But for those who know her, that success is no surprise. Throughout her life, she has always been willing to ask questions and to listen closely to the responses she received.
The same is true for another CEO, Amway’s Michael Nelson. An avid runner who grew up playing baseball, Nelson says it’s crucial for business leaders to ask questions—especially when evaluating themselves. When you’re a leader, it can seem crucial to have an unflinching vision for the future. But Nelson thinks differently. “A company has to ask itself if you are happy with the culture and values you have within the company,” he said in a recent interview.
Pro baseball player Cal Raleigh does the same thing for his game. In the offseason, Raleigh told ESPN’s Mina Kimes, he evaluated himself like another catcher might. He wondered what pitches he would call to try and get himself out. Then he’d practice accordingly. “You have to learn the game from the other side of the ball,” he said. “[Then] apply it to your own self, as well. How would I get myself out or how would I pitch to myself?” That way, the 2025 MLB MVP candidate said, you can make yourself better.
Snyder agrees. It’s crucial to look in the mirror. And sometimes when you do, you have to show off those pearly whites! “I learned how to put myself out there,” she explained. “And you have to figure it out. Talk about being uncomfortable! I was uncomfortable almost all the time.”