Executive Presence Model

The Executive Presence Model is your roadmap to leadership success. It breaks nine behaviors into three powerful categories that fast-track career growth. Master the model and you’ll become one of the most influential executives in your organization.

The Executive Presence Model takes the mystery out of leadership. It reveals the key traits and qualities of executive presence, showing exactly what executive presence is and how to build it, starting today.

With the Executive Presence Model, there’s no guesswork. It’s a proven framework to accelerate your growth. For the fastest results, partner with an executive presence coach and bring the model to life in your work.

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Apply the Executive Presence Model and Your Leaders Will Learn How To:

  1. Radiate Gravitas: Be confident, commanding, and charismatic.
  2. Act with Authority: Be decisive, bold, and convincing.
  3. Express Themselves Fully: Speak (up), be insightful, and clear.

Executive PResence: Step into your power, Convery Confidence & Lead with Conviction.

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The 3 Domains of the Executive Presence Model

Within this model for executive presence, there are three key domains of executive presence:
• Gravitas
• Authority
• Expression

Each of these domains encompasses three competencies that you can work to develop which are outlined below. (Executive presence coaching can be your secret weapon in mastering each of these domains!)

GRAVITAS – 1st Domain of the Executive Presence Model

Having gravitas means that everyone from your direct reports to senior leadership sees you as confident, commanding, and charismatic. The root of the word means “serious”—your words, thoughts, and actions carry weight. When you speak, people stop and listen. They can feel your effect on themselves, others, and the room. You capture their complete attention because they know your words have impact.

Further, you don’t give your power away. Even when speaking with higher-level people, you see them as equals. You treat them as colleagues rather than feeling intimidated by their status and holding back your opinions. As a result, they see you as an equal too.

  • You also inspire confidence in your subordinates, coworkers, and superiors. Why?
    You help subordinates tap into their sense of their own potential to do more, be more, and achieve more than they thought possible.
  • Peers find you trustworthy, respect the quality of your work, and know you’ll guide the team to success.
  • Superiors rely on you to produce excellent work, expand your influence, and go above and beyond what is asked of you. They know your work reflects well on them too.

AUTHORITY – 2nd Domain of the Executive Presence Model

You show you have authority by being decisive, bold, and influential. Every time you act with decisiveness, boldness, and influence, you earn another notch in your leadership belt, giving you a foundation of authority. Your authority doesn’t stem from your position or title. Rather, it’s something you’ve earned.

In this model, authority doesn’t mean demonstrating power, control, dominance, or supremacy over others—or acting as a dictator who uses a command-and-control style of leadership. Instead, it means that people naturally view you as a bold and competent leader and are glad that you’re in charge. Modeling the three core traits of being decisive, bold, and influential will show that you’re sure of yourself, and for good reason, leading other people to implicitly trust you as a leader.

EXPRESSION – 3rd Domain of the Executive Presence Model

The three traits that make up the domain of expression include speaking up, being insightful, and communicating clearly. Each time you speak up, show insight, and communicate clearly and effectively, you enhance others’ perception of you as a leader.
Expression is all about how you convey your thoughts, ideas, and insights. Here are three aspects of expression that you need to master as a leader.

  • First, you need to actually speak (up) to make your thoughts known—and not just within your group, but throughout the organization.
  • Second, when you communicate, what you say needs to be insightful and elevate the conversation. You need to have a point of view worth hearing. That means taking time to reflect and finesse your thoughts, so you can bring your best ideas to the table.
  • You also need to be clear, succinct, and to the point when you communicate. The fewer words you use, the more confident you sound. Practice punctuating your most important words or points by slowing your cadence.

As you master the three domains of executive presence in this 3×3 model, you’ll find others’ perception of you changing significantly. Your coworkers, subordinates, and leaders will approach you for input on their ideas and buy-in for their projects, because they know you have influence. Use your executive presence wisely, supporting ideas you believe in and mentoring people to success, and you’ll demonstrate that you have truly earned the opportunity to serve as a leader.

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Articles

25 Must-Read Articles on
Executive Presence

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