Leaders who have naturally strong executive presence are born with a gift they share with co-workers. But what is executive presence and can it be learned? It’s not easy to describe and define. It’s a term used to identify the persona, characteristics, tone, attitude, confidence, and impressions that make an executive look and act like one. Words to describe it include: confident, calm, decisive, professional, focused, commanding, intelligent, influential, motivating, inspiring, charismatic, powerful, courageous, and sophisticated.
My favorite quote regarding executive presence comes from motivational speaker and author, Jim Rohn: “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”
While there are many behaviors that can look like executive presence on the outside, there are many internal values and principles that are as important as behaviors, if not more so. For example, an executive can have a confident, charismatic, commanding presence, but due to perceptions of his being dishonest or having selfish motives, others may not trust him. The latter can completely undermine the former and have significant impact on perceived executive presence, or lack thereof.
Executive presence is one of the most important ingredients in successful leadership. It is also the quality most pursued in executive development. The following will unwrap executive presence from the outside in, so current and future leaders can learn how to strengthen and develop their own.
Defining Executive Presence
Appearance: The first impression people make is based on outward appearance: how we act and dress. A leader can appear to have executive presence by speaking confidently and authoritatively; standing straight; and dressing the part.
Professionalism: Executives are expected to conduct themselves professionally, in a business-appropriate manner. This includes focusing on business while at work, speaking articulately and appropriately, managing emotions, being respectful and polite, and exercising good judgment.
Motivating/Inspiring: Leaders are expected to be motivating and inspiring to bring out the best in their employees. Motivating others requires understanding what motivates each individual and seeking ways to provide that. Examples include positive feedback, new opportunities, visibility, public recognition, to name a few. Leaders can inspire by having a positive, can-do attitude, being supportive, and sharing a vision about future potential accomplishments and opportunities,
Priorities: Executives are expected to make business decisions based on the following priorities: 1) what’s best for the company; 2) what’s best for the department; and 3) what’s best for an individual or themselves. Executives who make decisions based primarily on what’s best for themselves or their careers will diminish their perceived executive presence.
Emotions: Executives must make decisions based on information, not emotions. Inappropriate displays of emotion can have a profound impact on one’s reputation, effectiveness, and career. Anger in the workplace can make an individual look threatened or defensive. A leader who keeps his cool in difficult situations not only looks confident and in control, but breeds confidence in the organization.
Integrity: Executives must maintain integrity by being honest and ethical. This includes: never lying, always admitting when their wrong, and not being afraid to say “I don’t know” or “I know, but I can’t discuss it”. A perceived lack of integrity can be hard to overcome and can significantly hurt one’s executive presence.
Discretion: Executives are expected to manage sensitive information well. This includes not sharing confidential organizational information and sensitive personnel information. It also includes not starting or contributing to rumors.
Humility: One of the most quietly powerful and respected traits of an executive is humility. Humility gives the impression that an executive has the company’s best interest in mind, not his or her own. Executives should be confident about the decisions they make, but remain humble about who they are and what they’ve done.
Influence: One of the most powerful skills an executive can have is influence — the ability to produce an effect without direct command, action, or exertion of power. It is the ability to sway the thoughts and actions of others based on trust, respect, intelligence, capabilities, and connections.
Authenticity: People want to work for leaders who are real, not fake. Executives who lead without losing sight of who they are build credibility and trust. Employees want the ability to connect with and relate to leaders as people.
Working to Achieve Executive Presence
Now that executive presence has been defined and its components unwrapped, you can identify and focus on those components you want to develop or strengthen. Executive presence takes work both without and within, and the outside is often easier to fix than the inside.
Remember, on the outside you can work on your appearance and professionalism by looking clean, sharp, conservative, and professional. Your posture and demeanor should be upright and open. Your verbal communication should be clear, concise, articulate, and unemotional, while having the right volume and appropriate emphasis. Nonverbal communication should be attentive, respectful, and unemotional. These are all behaviors that can be practiced and developed.
On the inside, it’s our thoughts that drive some of our behaviors, and they can lead to the perceptions others have of us. For example, emotions such as anger often come from defensive thoughts. We’re afraid we look bad. We’re insulted because others didn’t follow our advice. We don’t want others looking better than we do. We’re afraid to be wrong or found at fault.
There are a few key principles that can help us change our thoughts and behaviors to positively influence perceptions.
- Focus on the business and the employees, not yourself. This will help with motivating, inspiring, priorities, emotions, and humility. By taking the focus away from yourself, you will be less defensive and will shift your focus to what’s right for the company and your employees. Constantly remind yourself “It’s not about me”.
- Do the right thing. This will help with integrity, discretion, and influence. Be honest, be trustworthy with sensitive and confidential information, and don’t spread rumors.
- Be yourself. This will help you be authentic. Often when we’re working on new behaviors and skills, it can feel like we’re trying to be something we’re not, or we’re trying to change who we are. Changing our behaviors does not change who we are as people. Our values, interests, and personalities remain the same. Don’t be afraid to let those be seen and let others get to know the real you.
- Focus on being a positive role model in the decisions you make. Whether leaders realize it, they are being watched and their behaviors imitated by their employees. If you think about the behaviors you expect of your employees, you should practice those behaviors as well. Basically, “practice what you preach.” If you use social media during meetings, your employees will think that’s acceptable behavior and do it themselves. If you lose your temper and yell at others, your employees will think they can do the same. If you’re a positive role model, you can grow your executive presence and help the next generation do the same.
Executive presence is a complex combination of skills and behaviors many of which are not easy to develop. Executive presence requires self-awareness and feedback to determine the opportunities for growth and development, a change in how you think, and practice in new behaviors. It can be the most powerful skill you can have as a leader, and a gift for the organizations and employees you lead.
