Career coach and trusted confidant to Silicon Valley's top talent via CaffeinatedKyle.com. I help people find jobs they LOVE.
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Attitudes toward professionalism are changing as many companies and workers are abandoning traditional notions of what it means to be professional. Instead, people are focusing on personal branding and how you present yourself in the workplace, and recognizing the important roles of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Whether you’re a new manager or a seasoned leader, building your executive presence can help you get ahead in your career.
But how exactly do you develop it? Here are three strategies you can use to hone your executive presence.
1. Get clear on your definition of executive presence.
Definitions vary when it comes to discussing executive presence; a Google search for the term returns approximately a million results. It's vital to find out what it means to you. I certainly appreciated hearing Mita Mallick, head of DEI at Carta, speak about this concept at a recent human resources conference. She said, “I struggle with the term 'executive presence' because for most of my career, I was told I didn't have much of it. And yet, none of these managers could define what it meant when I asked for further clarification. It was a vague term for me, also associated with gravitas and ability to command the room and how I was dressed or looked.”
Mallick decided to reclaim the concept for her own, deciding that it meant a leader's ability to be an inspiring force who can coach and develop their teams successfully. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to determine how you want it to show up in your career.
• What is my understanding of executive presence?
• How do I want to show up and be seen as a leader?
• How will my leadership skills help me stand out from other candidates?
The process of defining executive presence may also include reading articles and books, listening to podcasts and watching TED Talks on the subject. Consider speaking with industry colleagues and mentors to deepen your knowledge and understanding of the topic.
2. Learn the art of powerful questions.
An often-overlooked aspect of executive presence is the ability to ask the right question at the right time. This skill is what moves conversations and businesses forward because you're influencing through powerful coaching questions. To master the art of coaching, you must learn how to ask open-ended questions that can't be answered with a yes or no. You also need to really listen to the responses.
An assignment I often give my coaching clients is to spend a week only asking questions during meetings. These managers and executives are often surprised by how much more effective they are as leaders when they shift from advising to coaching. They tend to realize they’re able to delegate more and drive results faster by empowering employees to find the answers within themselves, rather than feeding them the solutions.
3. Create a regular feedback cadence.
Feedback is a useful way to develop your executive presence, but you can’t expect people to provide you with unsolicited feedback. You need to ask for it and be specific with the type of feedback you want. Ask targeted questions about your communication skills, personal brand and how people perceive you.
Please know that collecting feedback doesn’t need to be laborious or stressful either. You can develop a habit of asking for feedback during one-on-one meetings with your manager, peers and direct reports. You can also ask for input after presentations. The goal here is to elicit ongoing feedback that will help you improve your executive presence and influencing skills.
At the same time, know that not all feedback is created equal. You’ll want to consider whether the person has your best interests in mind before integrating their feedback.
Building Your Executive Presence Takes Time
Developing, honing and mastering your executive presence is a lifelong journey. But you can begin to find it by getting clear on what professionalism means to you. Then, lean into the art of asking coaching questions and empowering your team to find the answers. Finally, develop a process of asking for regular feedback on how you present yourself in the workplace. You’ve got this!
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