Executive Presence: You have the SKILLS, now you need a STRATEGY!

I know you. You’re a go getter. You go get it and bring it back on a pallet. You bring home the bacon and the eggs with a side of mimosas! You are incredibly skilled and capable, however, too few people recognize you for such. This has me thinking out loud that it is time for a strategy!

Now I also know what you’re thinking. What has happened to Dr. “servant leadership is the only viable leadership strategy” Faulkner with all the trimmings of humility and being other-centric?!? Trust me, I am still here, and, by the way, it still is! That’s the point and perhaps my different take on establishing an executive presence strategy since in my version, it is predicated on the belief that if you focus on adding value FIRST, the recognition will follow!

As a review, what does it mean to have Executive Presence? According to Jun Medalla of Business Insider, these traits line up as:

• Composure – being self and other aware.
• Connection – the able to not just communicate but to connect with others.
• Charisma – the ability to influence others where you are!
• Confidence – in your abilities and comfort in your interactions.
• Credibility – simply knowing what you are talking about.
• Clarity – the ability to communicate purposes and passions so that everyone understands
• Consideration – for others and their perspectives.

ALL of the above can be learned and practiced and I would wager you got the basics covered! Remember, a confident presence is more about who you ARE versus what you DO or SAY. So far so good? Of course, and that is more than half the equation and as I often say, if you truly do your best, it will always be more than good enough!

But we still need a strategy to move forward. I recently reviewed a book by Paul Warriner called the Recognition Book: 50 ways to stand up, stand out, and get recognized. Combined with some of my own ideas, a strategy focused on building executive presence is built on 3 key foundations:

Who you ARE – I referenced this in the above discussion. Know who you ARE in terms of your unique personal brand which is made up of your style, personality, knowledge, expertise, etc. I often encourage individuals (and organizations) to create a unique and memorable brand by answer the following three questions.

• What do you VALUE?
• What do you DO BEST?
• What do you want to be KNOWN FOR?

How you treat OTHERS – treating others with courtesy and respect is an incredible impact multiplier. It’s just classy! I recognize that some ultra-competitive ladder climbers may experience short-term gains, but inevitably they will flame-out, mainly because their teams will leave them and no one wants to work with them. At the end of the day, it is the ladder builders who eventually get noticed and rewarded for their efforts. Always remember that no one is successful unless a lot of other people want them to be!

The VALUE YOU PROVIDE – this is where we really get into the “how to’s” of a strategy and Warriner provides some great ideas:

•        Take on organizational volunteer and community engagement roles
•       Meet an unmet need within your team. Some extra work that everyone knows needs to get done but no one has yet to step up for.
•       Represent and network on behalf of your organization – this can be at an event, presenting at a conference, serving on a board or community organization on behalf of your organization.
•        Mentor and help on-board others. Remember, executive presence is a 360 proposition, including not just senior leaders but peers, younger team members, and other stakeholders.
•        In turn, be willing to be mentored and coached. Many organizations have internal mentoring programs and spending time with a senior leader will provide invaluable insights.
•        Stay relevant and current by investing in your own professional and personal growth.
•        Be fully present in prepared for meetings giving everything and everyone the attention deserved.
•        Be constructive and positive when others are being negative, sarcastic and cynical. Trust me on this one, leaders worth following are looking for true believers!
•        Contribute to discussions and feedback forums in a solutions-oriented manner. Even if a good idea has been presented, add to it!
•        Walk through the room slowly. This is a habit proposed by author and leadership expert John Maxwell. Essentially, when he is about to speak in front of a large audience, instead of hiding out backstage somewhere, he walks around the crowd introducing himself and thanking them for attending. In a similar way, instead of just running into your office first thing in the morning or sitting down at a meeting, say hello to folks and introduce yourself to newcomers.
•        Present and carry yourself well. This speaks to the traits of what executive presence is but I often heard that you should dress and comport yourself for the job that you want not just the job you have!
•       Be punctual – these days one of our most valuable commodities is time and nothing lets someone know you value them as to when you value their time.
•        Share credit and take responsibility – how you handle yourself when things go well and even when things go bad will say a lot about you and people will notice.

Now you may be thinking, “hey, I do a lot of this already” and that’s the point. Building executive presence does involve a strategy but it is not one that is contrived and manipulative. It stems from who you are and what you do. The premise is along the same lines as John Maxwell’s book on Influencing Others. Essentially how we build influence is NOT by being manipulative or conniving, but by being just a really good person!

One final note about why you should focus on building executive presence – mainly because a lot of people need you to! Believe me, there are far too many ladder climbers out there being the squeaky wheel representing their own narrow interest. We need the ladder builders to have a seat at the table so that they can advocate for their teams, tell senior leaders what they need to hear, propose solutions that are right versus just expedient, and make things better because that is what leaders worth following do!

As always if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite you to contact me.

Yours in leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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