Executive presence is the ability to project confidence, competence, and leadership. It is a critical skill for anyone who wants to be successful in their career, especially those who aspire to executive positions.
While some people may seem to have executive presence naturally, it is a skill that can be developed and learned. Here are some tips for building executive presence
5. Underlying drivers of executive presence
Gravitas drivers: Executive Presence by Sylvia Ann Hewlett
Inner
Presence
Gravitas
Weight of character reflected
in interactions with leadership
Executive Messaging
Crafting and delivering impact
generating messages
Appearance
Grooming, dressing and mannerism
to be reflective of the role
Emotional
Presence
Executive
Presence
Why is it so important?
Ask people for inputs
Creating value, specially in consulting is a function of both creating it and communicating it in a way that it creates an impact.
Credibility is built on competence and trust.
Competence is our knowledge. This may be technical skills, experience or knowledge. Competence is how ever secondary. Trust is an equally if not more important element for building credibility. Consider this, you need to go to a doctor and there is one who has a lot of certificates and degrees. There is another doctor who is recommended by your friend. Which one will you go to? Trust is important in growing business.
Creditability is a step towards building a trusted relationship
Each of you is already good at it. Isn't it. That is why you are here.
We are here because of something called Moment of truth…. What are moments of truth…Lets find out
Let us look at the drivers of executive presence
The first key driver is Gravitas. This is the weight of character. The term originates from ancient Greece where people who occupied positions of power needed to have Gravity.
The second driver is communication . This includes verbal communication, written communication and body language.
The third driver is Appearance. The way we look. Being comfortable with self, Non distracting in image and Dressing for the role we want become its key drivers.
We shall get deep into each of them but before we do that, shall we take a short break…. Lets be back in 10 mins please. Thank you .
Moments of truth are critical moments where what ever we have created will be so to speak be bought. This may be a pitch to our leadership, critical communication with our client or with an influencer. These are the points where we are in the spotlight and the pressure to perform is high.
What are some of your moments of truth?
Group Activity
Let us do an exercise. In teams of 3, let us i3 moments of truth that we may have, what are some of challenges we have when communicating in those moments and how may we over come them
Invite a few answers. Use the examples shared in the subsequent sections while sharing examples.
