6 Key Leadership Essentials - Part 5 Executive Presence
When THAT person walks into a room or enters a conversation you know it. They have that extra something that causes others to take notice. But what is it? Why can one person command a room without even trying and others hardly get noticed?
It’s called “executive presence”. It has absolutely nothing to do with a title, clothing, or financial status and everything to do with a person’s ability to inspire confidence in others.
Executive presence means inspiring confidence in your subordinates that you’re the leader they want to follow. Inspiring confidence among peers means that you’re capable and reliable and someone who can be counted on. And inspiring confidence among senior leaders shows that you have the potential for great achievements without sacrificing quality or compromising your integrity.
Is executive presence something you’re born with or is it a leadership trait that can be learned over time? Fortunately it is a skill that you can cultivate and build with dedicated focus and practice. While it may come easier to some than to others, it is a leadership quality that you cannot afford to miss.
So how do you build executive presence? Here are a four tips from the pros:
Build your communication skills. Leaders with executive presence not only articulate their thoughts and views well, but they are exceptional listeners. They are known to ask great questions and then use this information to explore new ideas.
Maintain your composure. Self-awareness and a clear understanding of how the situation surrounding you is affecting others it critical to controlling emotions and responding appropriately. People with a high degree of executive presence generally present themselves as calm, even-keeled, well-prepared, and in control.
Ensure your appearance isn’t a distraction. Remember the adage, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression?” Well it’s true. This doesn’t mean you have to dress like a fashion model or wear the most expensive clothes around, but rather, make sure your appearance is appropriate for the setting. When building executive presence neatness counts!
Up your “like” factor. People who embody executive presence have the ability to draw others to them. This is often accomplished by their knack of “staying in the moment”. By demonstrating that you are solely focused on the situation or person at hand and not distracted by things you could or should be doing, you show others that they are important and that they matter.
Although executive presence is often hard to define and difficult to pin down, it ultimately boils down to just a few key factors.
Your ability to project yourself in a mature, self-confident manner;
A sense that you can take control of difficult, unpredictable situations and manage them well;
You can make tough decisions in a timely way when it counts;
And, you can hold your own with other talented, strong-willed people and come up with win-win solutions that work.
On November 3rd at 1pm / EST we’ll be wrapping up our 6 Key Leadership Essentials All Great Leaders Know with a free, members only webinar. We’ll be recapping the highlights from our newsletter series and giving you an in depth look at the critical leadership skills you must command as you navigate in this brave new leadership world.
We haven’t yet opened registration to our Facebook and LinkedIn communities given the few seats remaining, so if you haven’t registered already I strongly urge you to register now. Seating is very limited, and we are filling up fast.
For those of you who are already registered – THANK YOU. Your seat is reserved and you will be receiving some downloadable webinar prep materials next week.
If you know someone who is not getting our newsletters, including their invitation to our currently closed member’s only webinar, we encourage you to invite them to become a subscriber. It’s not too late. Just forward them a copy of this newsletter and they can sign up at http://www.pssworks.com. We promise they’ll get in on the invitation list before we open it to our followers on social media.