As Antonio Villaraigosa and Robert Iger settle into their new posts, they’ve been trying to make nice, as anyone beginning a new job wants to do. There’s lots to work on remembering everyone’s name, figuring out how the phones work, taking home reams of background material, and trying to smile at nearly every turn.

These are not ordinary jobs. They’re probably the two hottest chairs that L.A. has to offer: mayor and CEO of Walt Disney Co. And everybody is watching.

For Villaraigosa, making nice means showing the city that he’s available anytime, anyplace whether it’s riding the subway on the morning of the London bombings or appearing over the weekend at the opening ceremonies of the Lotus Festival. For Iger, it means cutting an unexpected deal with the prickly duo of Roy Disney and Stanley Gold that will have Disney coming back to the Mouse House as director emeritus (nice gesture, meaningless title) and in return, having the two drop their lawsuit over the way Iger was selected.

At this point, it’s hard not to feel good about these guys. They’re working all hours, reaching out to all sides, and assuring their constituents that the dysfunctional ways of previous administrations are over. (Iger must be more diplomatic because he doesn’t officially replace Michael Eisner as chief executive until this fall.)

Of course, Eisner and Villaraigosa’s predecessor, Jim Hahn, are not tough acts to follow. Their leadership skills were so vacant these past few years that most any replacement would be a step up. It’s always better to succeed someone who was loathed rather than loved.

There’s another advantage that both Villaraigosa and Iger share: low expectations. Or is it indelicate during this honeymoon phase to remember that both guys had empty suit reputations through most of their respective careers and found themselves in the right place in the right circumstances when it came time to advance Villaraigosa, thanks to an election schematic that left him with a ready-made coalition and a crippled opponent, and Iger, thanks to a couple of timely hits on ABC (“Desperate Housewives” and “Lost”) that suddenly lifted Disney’s stock and earnings outlook.

But let’s not hold that against them. How someone got to a leadership position is often an unreliable measuring stick of how well they’ll fare. And these initial days notwithstanding, the real measurements will not be based on something as calculated as a photo op or shareholder settlement.

As with any leader, it’s about carrying out a long-term agenda while still having time to put out the unexpected brush fires. It’s about listening not just to what people say but how they say it. It’s about developing contingencies before they’re even needed. It’s about having a staff that doesn’t keep you in a cocoon. And, of course, it’s about never letting them see you sweat.

But what about the early indicators? For Iger, watch what happens with his apparent efforts to cut a deal with Steve Jobs to have Disney extend its distribution agreement with Pixar Animation the one that got derailed because Eisner didn’t get along with Jobs. It’s in the interest of both companies to do the deal and with Eisner out of the way, Iger can focus on numbers, not personalities.

For Villaraigosa, watch how he handles the city’s budget. Faced with a possible $1 billion shortfall over four years beginning July 1, 2006, the new mayor noted in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that departments would have to “start scaling back a bit.” For a city that is essentially run by those departments and run badly those are fighting words. City Councilman

Bernard Parks has sensibly called for the consolidation of departments and a new fee on trash collection, but those steps will not be especially popular. Let’s see whether the new mayor will be prepared to do the right thing, even if it costs him some political capital.

That will say a lot more than a ride on the subway.

*Mark Lacter is editor of the Business Journal. He can be heard every Tuesday morning at 6:55 and 9:55 on KPCC-FM (89.3).