6 Must-Have Executive Presence Skills

You’ve been asking and now I’m delivering...

I am going to share with you the best executive presence skills, 6 skills in fact, where you can begin having that all-important presence in the workplace and not just any type… the executive type, executive presence. 

What does it mean to have executive presence?

Having this ability isn’t something we can measure... but it is something you know exists.  It’s not quite as physical as Fabio riding in on his white horse…  but it is someone who walks into the room and you can feel their confidence, they inspire you, they’re capable, they listen to you, they are an expert in their field and you can just feel their leadership. This is what resonates with you that’s what makes somebody have an executive presence.

How do you build this and what are the traits...

So executive presence is important if you want to gain momentum and be ready for more and more opportunities.

The main characteristics of executive presence consist of 3 layers:

First:  The Pied Piper layer, where people are engaged and are eager to follow you.

Second:   Your peers have confidence and trust that you are capable and an expert in your field.  It’s not about knowing everything it’s about having the space and holding your presence that makes you a leader and that is an executive presence to your peers.

Third:   How do senior management experience your executive presence?  Because those conversations in the room when you’re not there will be the foundation of your career development.  All the talks about projects, opportunities, promotions they want to assign people to.  So you have to give them trust, confidence and inspiration that you are capable of doing the job.

This is why it is crucial to work on this, when you have everyone vouching for you and senior management in your back pocket, then that’s the golden ticket.

You have to work on these elements of executive presence it’s not always a natural trait so the best place to start is right here!

The 6 skills we are about to delve into here consider executive presence training in getting you on the right path to understanding and gaining the knowledge and skills you need.

1. Be Crystal Clear about Message, Value & Vision

Make sure it’s inline and you can articulate it. 

You need to be very clear about your message and forget about being vanilla you don’t want that you want to be the Gucci of flavours all wrapped up in gold leaf!

2. Brand

“What is a personal brand and why is it important?”

We ALL have a PB we may not know or understand it but it exists… 

In talking about executive presence and PB it is super important you shift your existing brand to that of a “leader” brand and ensure you control and know how people are perceiving you. 

This is perfect for illustrating just how you can show your authenticity and how to activate and promote this.

3. Communication Skills

How do you build relationships and trust with the main stakeholder groups? How can you communicate and ask open-ended questions?

With communication skills in the workplace one of the key factors is to be curious about them, make them front and centre.

Bad communication is not uncommon and it is also one of the main issues that arise for my clients who are a part of my program how to own your greatness, and my advice to them and you also is to absolutely make the conversation about them let’s face it you know you and the questions in your head so be curious and build relationships with others.

You may have to delve deep for this one but it will be worth it on your path to executive presence.

4. Listening Skills

Welcome to the school of hard skills!  Listening to people, understanding and being present in the moment is a difficult skill. 

Studies have shown that we have decreased our attention span from 12 minutes to 7 minutes, this means we have less concentration to listen to something we are engaged with and to make matters more challenging a whole heap of distractions also fighting for our attention. 

So question yourself are you able to be present when you are talking to peers and team members? The importance of listening skills is imperative and mastering those skills will set you apart.

5. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence isn’t the next sci-fi craze! It’s a highly important skill when you are aiming to have an executive presence.

It’s not just about understanding your emotions and managing them but understanding others and having compassion, a connection and understanding where they are coming from. 

Don’t be righteous, just forget about being right all the time and remember that it’s better to be nice sometimes.  

A lot of people are guilty of falling into this trap of being “right all the time” and argue the point to the very end over something so trivial but in hindsight why..? 

At the end of the day is it worth it, what are you gaining out of it all?  

Someone with great emotional intelligence will know and be able to manage this, be aware of their own emotions and how to regulate them AND be able to deal with someone who may be emotionally charged but that person can manage the situation.

Here is a quote and please read it a couple of times and absorb it...

“People don’t remember what you did or said, they will remember how you made them feel.”

With that in mind, you must understand your influence and how you approach every conversation that you have and the situation you are in ask yourself how am I going to make this person feel and how am I going to deal with this situation?

The thing is your influence is going to amplify and this is because people will feel connected, supported and understood, when you come from that place well that is true emotional intelligence.

When you facilitate an environment of emotional acknowledgement and manage without pointing fingers and judgment then you have reached the pinnacle of being emotionally intelligent and that my friend is bringing executive presence.

It’s not enough to just understand them, it’s also about realising what the triggers are, think about it when you’re in a situation where it’s calm your emotions will be calm (cue tweeting birds and sunshine, breath)...

Then in comes tight deadlines, impossible stakeholders, mountains of work… how do you manage those triggers, how do you understand those triggers?  Being able to manage and regulate these will assist in building your executive presence.  

6. Building Alliances

You need to understand these Relationships aren’t alliances!

When we talk about alliances we are talking about a handful of really good people who have your back, who will vouch for you, they will be in the meetings that you aren’t and they will connect you to job opportunities.  This is why it is important to have those alliances…

In my program, Own Your Greatness we look at the relationships you have built up and take it a step further by asking who of those people can be converted from a good relationship into an alliance.  But before this step can happen you have to ensure all your other steps are inline, your ducks are in a row.  

Well there you have it, the 6 key traits to get you building your executive presence.

If you want to work with me to build up your brand, your leadership skills, your influence or stepping up and into the career of your dreams.

Book in a call with me…  I can assure you it will not be a sales call so phew!

📲 https://www.newhorizoncoaching.com.au/call 

You have my word (pinkie swear) it will be a real conversation about YOU.  Establishing what your needs are, where you currently are in your career and most importantly where you want to be. 

Following this we can discuss how we will overcome any of the roadblocks, what strategies will help you and of course what working together will look like.