Executive presence is absolutely crucial for advancement and success at a high level. It telegraphs that you are in charge and have what it takes to handle any situation. Maybe you are beginning to emanate a nascent form of executive presence, meaning you display executive presence qualities in certain situations. You might be inspiring and charismatic with your immediate team members, or persuasive with your clients, but less so when around senior leaders. Or maybe you’re starting from square one. Either way, these executive presence tips will help you reach the next level of success.
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Take command of situations.
Do you typically sit back and wait for your boss to assign projects and tasks to you? That’s the wrong approach if you want to exude executive presence. Instead, look for opportunities to take charge. On Monday morning, think to yourself, “This week, I will look for opportunities to take command of situations.” Start small and work your way up. For instance, if a coworker brings up an issue that is preventing a project from moving forward, say, “I think we can do something about that. If someone wants to do X and someone else wants to do Y, I’ll make sure we figure this out.”
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Communicate with power and conviction.
Practice how you’ll assert your views—or a decision—to the group. Speak boldly rather than hesitantly or apologetically. State a clear rationale and stand by it. Role-playing your delivery with a peer or friend may help at first.
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Make your competencies visible.
Become your own brand manager by making sure people know about your talent, knowledge, and—most importantly—leadership ability. Take those positive qualities and craft your personal brand, emanating those competencies in your work. Then others’ perception of your attributes will more closely match the reality.
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Take stock of your positive attributes.
You certainly possess a range of positive attributes and skills at this point in your career. Reflect on your key strengths so you can lean into them, enhancing others’ perceptions of you and building up your confidence.
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Surround yourself with people who support and challenge you.
Meet regularly, one-on-one, with people who know your professional goals and the personal growth you’re working to achieve. They’ll keep you accountable and give you great input. Once you’ve voiced your goals to others, it’s harder to push them to the back burner. Peers at your workplace, friends in other companies, mentors, and advocates all have valuable perspectives and tips on improving your executive presence to offer. Choose people who will tell you what you need to hear rather than just what you want to hear. Think of this as a “board of directors” for your career. They’ll help you understand how you need to grow in order to reach your goals.
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Nurture others’ ideas and personal growth.
Being a leader with executive presence doesn’t just mean promoting your own great ideas—it means nurturing others’ ideas and supporting their growth as well. In meetings, work to spark group dialogue, draw connections between ideas, and voice both positive and constructive input. Consider where you can mentor others, too. Focus on specific skills you have to offer.
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Seek out new perspectives.
Ask a colleague in another department to sit down and discuss an idea. Strive to learn from peers, leaders, and direct reports with different job duties. You’ll gain new insights about everything from business operations to potential new projects. And you’ll expand your influence by building relationships in the process.
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Cultivate outside-of-the-box ideas.
Too often, we self-censor our biggest ideas because they seem too unconventional. But those innovative ideas often lead to breakthroughs that change a company or even an entire field in very positive ways. Spend time exploring your unusual ideas rather than assuming they’re too “out there.” By doing so, you’ll mark yourself as an insightful and creative thinker.
Put these executive presence tips into practice, and you’ll see a difference in how others respond to you. As you make these actions part of your routine, you’ll see a permanent shift in how others view you. When they need a capable person to lead a project or team, you’ll be one of the first names—if not the first—that comes to mind.
Working with an experienced coach will help you implement these executive presence tips and other strategies for growing the executive presence qualities you are lacking. Contact Joel to start an executive presence coaching program focused on your needs or an executive presence training program for your company. You can also purchase his book for your employees: Executive Presence: Step into Your Power, Convey Confidence and Lead with Conviction.
