A character has to win the respect of an underling, and has to do it fast.
There are lots of variations on this. A student who's ahead of the pack. An actor or crew-member who's worked with people way more professional than you. Or a situation where you've been promoted and the people under you think the job should have been theirs.
You need these people to respect and work with you. You need to accomplish this fast. How?
[A few things I've learned since utterly failing as a high-school teacher at age 15:
1. Never emphasize that something is going to be easy, even if it will. It leads to people taking the work and you lightly.
2. Make it clear that you respect the capabilities of the people you're working with, and that you take them seriously and appreciate their contribution.
3. Enlist your most problematic elements in maintaining order. "Hi, [most anti-authority student.] We'll be working with a lot of younger kids and people with less experience today, and I'll be really strapped for help. Would you mind helping me keep the peace?"
4. Shock and awe. If there's a way to swiftly demonstrate competence in the thing you're leading them into, be it writing fiction or speaking Chinese or beating everyone at chess, do it. And do it as fast as possible.
5. If there is a way to dress the part, do it. If you can't dress for success...walk in like you did anyway.
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