Client Question: “My manager told me that I need to work on building more executive presence. My manager had a hard time explaining it to me, so I am not sure what that means or how to begin building that for myself. Where should I start?”
Executive presence is a term that isn’t always easy to define and so people will generally say that the person has the “it” factor. Not being able to describe or define it for the person who needs to build these skills makes it pretty difficult to take actionable steps to get it.
Whenever you hear the “it” factor, it is usually reserved for movie stars or people in music groups. People just say they have “it” without a whole lot of explanation. Somehow it is just understood, but even in those industries, it is hard to define. A really good example of someone who has the “it factor” would be Justin Timberlake. You could say that he has been preparing for his career his entire life, so of course he would make it. That isn’t true for everyone. Many others have done similar things, but they don’t make it to the top. Why did he make it when others did not? He has confidence, talent, belief in himself, he looks and acts the part. These are similar traits that leaders need to move into executive roles.
An article that is helpful on this topic is Tips for Developing Executive Presence by Jennifer V Miller. In the article “Sylvia Ann Hewlett, the founder and CEO of the Center for Talent Innovation and author of Executive Presence, defines executive presence as how one acts (gravitas), speaks (communication) and looks (appearance).” The underlying factor to doing all of these things well is having confidence and belief in yourself. “Belief in your abilities leads to confidence. This in turn creates the positive energy you need to speak and act in a way that builds others’ trust in your competence.”
If you don’t believe it yourself then you can’t sell your ideas, your credibility or your potential to someone else. If you are struggling with believing these things about yourself, the article suggests that you can “Share your positive truth out loud with a trusted mentor or colleague to practice what Dana Theus calls “believing it out loud.” Practice saying it in the mirror or video yourself until you can say things with confidence and they just comes out naturally.
Believing in yourself is is also about the presence that you have and how you present yourself to others. Amy Cuddy who has a famous TED Talk on Presence shares that “Presence reveals itself when you believe your story, likening a lack of belief to “trying to sell something you don’t believe in”. Yet, it’s not about “faking” your abilities. Rather, as Cuddy says, it’s about “believing in and revealing the abilities you truly have . . . and shedding whatever is blocking you from expressing who you are.” Belief in yourself leads to more confidence, which in turn gives you presence.”
So let’s start with some simple action steps. Now that you know more about what executive presence looks like, do you know some leaders who have the “it” factor? What can you observe and learn from them? Think about the perception that people have of you. How are you showing up in during both calm and stressful situations? How are you handling these situations and what are others taking away from your communication, body language and decision making? Are you projecting confidence, dressing for the job you want, speaking up and setting yourself apart from others? What do you want your leadership and others around you to see and say about you? “No matter how you (or your organization) define executive presence, keep in mind that it’s a group of traits and behaviors that starts with you and emanates outward to create a perception of your ability to lead under any circumstance.”
Here is another blog on Executive Presence:
Do You Have the “It” Factor to Help You Get Ahead?
Are you working on building your executive presence? One of the areas of focus in the Powerful Leadership Mastermind is helping you leverage your executive presence. The power of a mastermind is there to help you move forward with the help and support of a group. Would you like to hear more about the Powerful Leadership Mastermind group that is just getting started? We have a few spots left for the group which meets every other week on Tuesday mornings.
The group is led by me and my partner (and cousin) Kim who are both ICF Certified Coaches. We are offering an introductory rate to join and we are looking for people who are motivated to make a change in their personal or professional lives. If you would like to learn more about it and join the group you can click on this link: Powerful Leadership Mastermind or reach out to me.