Genuinely?

A lot of it is.

Well.

Very pedestrian to downright "soft".

• Organize lawyers (the difference between an actual mafioso and a poser is whether they threaten to kill you or promise to bust you out of jail if you ever get caught)
• Give advice to the people under them. Up and including mental health advice.
• Philanthropy. A LOT of philanthropy. Both because it's useful and because being philanthropic gets you to the top so it selects for people who see others as being worthy of help.
• A LOOOOOT of very boring administrative work. Your #1 concern as a mob boss is finding a way to pay taxes on things that are legitimate.
• Extending from that: Creating and operating businesses
• Schmoozing with various institutions. Firefighters? Fuck yeah we're bringing pizza. Police? Yeah we got money for your ball. Local councilmen? Bro guess what I know JUST the guys to help fix up that bridge.

What you need to understand is that "hard" criminals are never important people. They're the run-off. The wastrels. The foot soldiers. Professional exec-level crime bosses are exceptionally courteous, studious and borderline obsequious because at the end of the day it's a business and not theater.

Mind you. They'll still wipe you if they feel the need to. But what makes you rise is not being the toughest asshole but the slickest most useful one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHzWk4jDtXs