Have you noticed that some people just seem to progress through the organization quickly while it may take others longer? So what do those fast movers do differently? When they run into challenges, they figure out what isn’t working and try something different. One of the key traits that successful people have is executive presence. They are intentional about their career plan, ask for what they want and go make it happen. They are driven, influential and display confidence which makes people want to work with them or have them on their team.
This article called “Executive Presence is an Inside Job” by Mary Jo Asmus talks about what Executive Presence is and to be able to build success with it means really working on yourself. The word presence itself is defined as a way of being in that moment. If you have received feedback that you should work on your executive presence, then start by reflecting on what you are doing and what should you be doing more of to reflect this presence to others. Observe your behaviors and be self-aware to ensure that you are continuing to focus on that each day. Find a mentor who is good at it already and see what you can learn from them.
Continue to build your executive presence and get in front of senior leaders to show them what you can do. Volunteer to do something that gets you exposure and provides opportunities to leverage what you have learned. Work with a coach or a mentor to continue to refine these new skills and see how quickly it gets you noticed.