Elevating Your Executive Presence: Mastering the Five Key Elements for Professional Success
Insights from Evolve Career
As you move into roles of increasing responsibility, there are ever increasing expectations about the results you will deliver for the organization. The goals are usually very measurable and tied to your performance and that of your team. There are also expectations related to executive presence and your leadership style that are just as important and yet are often unspoken, not clearly defined, not measurable, inconsistent across stakeholders and not acknowledged when you do deliver on those expectations.
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Defining Executive Presence
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Before we offer a definition of executive presence, think of people you know who have executive presence. These people can work in your office, live in your community, appear professionally in the media, or be known to you in other ways. Thinking of a couple of these people, list the characteristics that make them have executive presence.
Pretty quickly, you can identify a very long list of characteristics. Some that I have heard include:
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Calm and composed
Self-confident
Knowledgeable about the organization
Warm and approachable
Able to handle tough, stressful situations with grace
Humble and rely on others (their team, etc) who have more expertise
Empathetic and compassionate
Clear and strategic in their communication
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As you look at the list here as well as the list you created, you can see that these characteristics represent “how” those individuals get results. They also demonstrate those characteristics so consistently that it creates their personal reputation, or personal brand.
Here are a couple of definitions of executive presence to consider:
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The combination of personality and character traits that make a dynamic executive and confident leader while inspiring others to be assertive in their roles. Reference: Indeed.com
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A persona that lets everyone know that they are in CHARGE, CONFIDENT, and CAPABLE of leading others. Reference: Study.com
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The Five "C's" of Executive Presence
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In our experience there are five key ingredients that together make up Executive Presence. All these elements are important and all can be enhanced with intentional steps.
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Composure: how you act
Communication: what you say and how you say it
Confidence: how you project authenticity
Credibility: what you know or can do
Composition: how you look
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Composure: How you Act
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Composure is a state of being calm and in control of your emotions. This is a critical skill for executives who are facing new challenges every day. It is also a large component of emotional intelligence. If you are self-aware of how you naturally respond to sudden changes or disappointments, and you are able to regulate your natural reactions and appear confident and calm under sudden stress, you are exhibiting composure.
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Composure is how you
Show up emotionally
Interact with others
React to challenges
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TAKE ACTION: Consider, how do you naturally respond to sudden changes or disappointments? Do you get angry, frustrated, panic, raise your voice, look to blame others? Although this may be a reasonable reaction, depending on the circumstances, these reactions will not help you identify a solution or lead your team towards a solution.
Here are three ways to regulate your emotions in a stressful or emotional situation:
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Step back from the situation and reframe it in a way that changes the emotional impact. (example: I’m having a really bad day, so tomorrow is sure to be better!)
Practice mindfulness regularly and deliberately pay attention to your thoughts and feelings and recognize and accept them (example: I’m feeling scattered because I have too many things to do, and through deep breathing and imagining all the “to do’s” floating down a stream, I’m less panicked and I can identify strategic activities that will allow me to prioritize).
Keep your emotions to yourself rather than expressing them. This strategy can work effectively, but in the long run can cause emotional damage if you bottle up your feelings and don’t address them. You may have a greater emotional reaction than is appropriate in the future if a similar event occurs.
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Identify the circumstances that cause you to have an emotional reaction – these are called “triggers”. If you are self-aware of your triggers and the situations where you may have more of an emotional reaction, you can recognize when you may need a coping mechanism to remain composed.
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Communication: What you Say and How you Say it
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Leaders who can communicate clearly and confidently can inspire others to action more quickly than a leader who is hesitant, changes direction, and is indecisive.
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Communication is:
What words you use
What tone you use
What your non-verbal cues communicate
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Effective communication can be demonstrated in small groups, large keynote presentations or in facilitating a meeting. It can take many forms based on the circumstances. And, more recently, virtual teams require even more effective communication to deliver results.
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TAKE ACTION: In order to evaluate your communication skills and the impact on your executive presence, watch a video recording of yourself. It is easier to record yourself in a meeting setting with so many meetings being held virtually. Notice your word choice, cadence of speech, tone, and non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and posture.
Is there anything that you would like to change? One way to address your communication style in a virtual setting is to place a sticky at the top of your computer with reminders for yourself, such as a different word choice, a specific tone you want to employ, or some non-verbal reminders such as a reminder to sit up straight and smile.
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Confidence: How you Project Authority
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Authentic leaders are those who behave consistently with their beliefs or values. They provide inspiration and confidence when they speak authentically. For you to be an authentic leader, you must:
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Believe in what you do
Do what you believe in
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In order to believe in what you do, you must first have a clear understanding of what you believe in. These are your values. They come from your experiences and influences and is the starting point for all authentic leaders.
If a leader communicates that certain values are important, but behaves in a way that is not consistent with those values, their team and key stakeholders may not have a clear sense of direction without the leader’s constant input. In addition, if the communicated values are intrinsically important to the team, the team members can be frustrated with behaviors that are not consistent with those values and lose motivation or leave the company.
For example, if an organization communicates that they deliver a patient-centric experience, but the leader makes financial decisions that put the patient experience at risk, then the team may not be inspired to implement the tactics necessary.
Leading from your values consistently allows you to show up each day confidently as your authentic self without having to think about how to act.
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TAKE ACTION: Identify your top 3-5 personal values. If it helps to have a list of values to select from, here is a resource for you. Are you in a role where you can act consistent with your values? If so, how has that helped you show up as an authentic leader? If not, what could you change in your work environment so that you can lead consistently from your values.
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https://jamesclear.com/core-values
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Credibility: What you Know or Can do
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​Credibility comes from inspiring trust by demonstrating honesty and integrity. Over time, you can build expertise in a field or in a company and show that you have credibility in that area. Throughout your career, you are likely to change roles or change companies and suddenly you do not have the same level of expertise that you once had because the situation has changed. Those with the strongest executive presence understand they must build credibility over time and cannot claim expertise when it has not been earned.
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Credibility is:
How you show expertise
How you show knowledge
How you show character
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​TAKE ACTION: Identify how you show your expertise to your peers and key stakeholders. Is it credible or are there other people who are more of an expert than you in your company? Consider how you could leverage other experts, or those with more knowledge to build up your credibility and move the work forward.
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Composition: How you Look
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The last of the five key factors, but certainly not the least, is composition or how you look and how others see you. The care you put into your external appearance communicates the care you put into your work and is often the first impression that people have of you. Your appearance may impact the other four C’s: your credibility, your confidence, your composure and even your communication.
Your appearance incorporates:
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Attire – appropriate to your role, organizational culture and occasion
Grooming – hair style, skin care,
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Mannerisms – etiquette appropriate for the situation
Assets
Branding
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If you want to influence how others see you, then you must be extremely "intentional" in managing these observable attributes.
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TAKE ACTION: Here are some activities you can do to address your composition.
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Get honest feedback from a peer. Ask a friend, mentor, or spouse if your look matches your professional brand.
Update your wardrobe with a few power outfits while preserving some staple items and purging dated clothing every 3-5 years.
Practice regular self-care to make you feel good on the inside, as well as the outside. Make appointments to get your hair and nails done. Consider getting a facial or a massage. Plan these visits regularly by booking your next appointment when you leave your last one.
Get a good night's sleep on a regular basis.
Plan your wardrobe for the next day to make the morning smoother and more productive.
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