Congratulations, you’re now a member of the C-suite, or well on your way to becoming one. It’s not just what you think, say and do, it’s how you think, say and do it. At this stage, transitional founders, experienced CEOs and other senior executives come to me to help them work on their executive presence to support the next stage of their leadership development.

Let’s dive into:

What is executive presence?

Defining executive presence is difficult. Like US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous definition of pornography, you just know it when you see it. That said, let’s attempt a definition so we have something to hang our thinking off:

Executive presence is a set of traits and behaviours which enable you to influence others and inspire the confidence in them that you are the right person for the job.

That’s not very specific and every executive is different, which is why I take a coach-approach to helping clients define what executive presence means for them. Co-curated with senior executive clients during coaching conversations, below is a selection of traits and behaviours to inspire your own thinking about what executive presence means, with a focus on:

• Managing your C-Suite peers, Board members and external stakeholders (like investors and the media).
• Managing those that report into you, including your leadership and management team, and employees.

How can you improve your executive presence?

1. Define your leadership style

Leadership is an improvisational art. You must react and change constantly to different situations, but it’s important to have the self-awareness to know what sort of leader you are. If you don’t have clarity on what your own leadership style is, it’s very hard to articulate it to others.

• What do you value? What are your principles? How do you want others to see you? What sets you apart?
• What is your personal brand? Your elevator pitch?
• As you move into a more senior leadership position, it’s an hour well spent to sit down and ponder the answer to questions like this. You can do this alone, or with a coach.
• To prompt both introspection and action ask “what sort of leader am I now, and what sort of leader do I want to be in the future?”

2. Tell your own story.

Humans are wired for stories and compelling narratives. As well as articulating the vision and strategy for the business, how do you articulate your own story? What do you reveal to others, on a larger stage? 

3. Over-communicate

Good communication requires repetition. Research shows that leaders are 9 X more likely to be criticised for under communicating than over communicating. Those who say too little come across as unclear and uncaring. When you’re tired of your message, it’s probably just starting to land.

4. Be direct, clear and concise

Don’t ramble. It’s no good having great ideas if you can’t articulate and communicate them in a way that is clear and compelling to others. Leaders take people on a journey. They need to be able to easily understand in what direction they are going and what the plan is to get there.

5. Remain cool, calm and collected

Don’t panic, or lose your temper. Leaders don’t get flustered easily. They don’t fly off the handle. They maintain a cool, calm composure even if they’re vexing or deeply concerned inside. Great leaders are thoughtful and deliberate, not impulsive and reactive.

6. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”

In a complex world, it’s impossible for leaders to have all the answers. Calibrate your confidence. If you don’t know the answer to something, don’t be afraid to admit it and empower your team to help you discover the answer.

7. Dress like a leader

This is a loaded topic. Steve Jobs opted for a black roll neck. Mark Zuckerberg wears the same style T-shirt every day to avoid decision fatigue and boost productivity. Brian Armstrong, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, now regularly dons a suit and tie, presumably in an effort to enhance the reputation of the industry. 

But these aren’t representative samples, for obvious reasons. The topic of what women should wear, for example, is far more contentious, as Sally Hegelson and Marshall Goldsmith note in their book How Woemn Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back:

For decades [we] have been asked what women can do to convey a more powerful leadership presence. Questions tend to focus on the cosmetics: the right clothes, a firm handshake, a confident tone of voice, whether a woman should carry a purse, even whether plastic surgery can be helpful! Yet decades of exposure to a wide range of extraordinary leaders have shown both of us that the key component of leadership presence is the opposite of cosmetic: it lies in the capacity to be fully present for a task for a conversation, for the moment, for an opportunity. Present for your larger purpose in the world.

What makes you feel confidence in your own skin, and present for your larger purpose in the world? That’s probably a good guide to your work wardrobe.

8. Demonstrate strategic & systemic awareness

Move beyond technical expertise

At a senior level there’s an implicit assumption that you know the detail. You’re not paid to focus on it. So, whilst you might have a great answer to a hard question levelled by a senior stakeholder, let others speak to technical challenges. Demonstrate executove presence by shifting the focus instead to issues of strategy, people and culture, governance and risk.

Organisation-first direction of travel

If you’re the CEO, it goes without saying that you need to frame communications and direction of travel in terms of the overall business strategy. But so do other senior leaders. When communicating upwards to senior stakeholders, frame activities in the context of the whole organisation, not just the part of it that you are responsible for:

• How will the business as a whole benefit from the project or initiative you are leading?
• How do your activities align with the broader business and people strategy?
• Particularly at Board-level, what help and support do you need to execute? How can they use their high-leverage to best help you?

Demonstrate systemic awareness. Senior leaders are able to see the system, both internally within the business and externally in terms of what the market, your competitors and macro-environment is doing. You need to be able to understand and articulate how your team’s activities will solve overarching business challenges, and contribute to the overall vision and mission in an ever-changing environment.

Great leaders embody executive presence in a way that is unique and difficult to define. They have the inner-confidence to make their style and presence their own. But rest assured, it doesn’t come easy.

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