Welcome to another Ask Katrina. Today’s question is:
“Katrina. I’m a new exec and I want to show up and exec correctly. What are the components of executive presence and how do I apply each one of them for success?”
We all want to be successful in our careers.
Here at Legend Leaders, that’s what we teach you to do, right?
We help you achieve the professional success that you desire so that you can have the personal freedom that you deserve.
We know we want to achieve professional success, but how do we get there?
As a new executive, it makes logical sense that we want to show up and display that executive presence.
That’s part of that learning curve that we talk about all the time; as a first-year executive, we’re surprised that it takes 12 months for the typical first-year executive to generate consistent results.
Part of that growth comes from figuring out how to show up and display executive presence.
Let’s define what that looks like so you know how to deliver executive presence.
There are three critical components.
The 3 Components of Executive Presence
You’ve probably heard them, but let’s talk through them together.
The first is communication.
How are we communicating?
Am I showing up and communicating confidently?
It’s not arrogance.
There’s some humility, there is what I call humble confidence.
We say to ourselves, “I’m going to show up, I’m going to share what I’m here to share, I’m not going to overstep, I’m not going to talk about areas of the business or ideas that aren’t mine to share, but I’m going to confidently communicate what I know, I’m going to know how and when to communicate it. And I’m going to show up and serve through my communication.”
Now, there are other components of communication that go in with that not only the tone, not only the pace, the words that we use, right, there’s typically a rule, written or unwritten, in the corporate space that talks about the fact that these are the words you can use these words you can’t use.
Communication is critical, not only in how we show up and do it but also in the words that we use in the way in which we show respect.
Remember, as an executive, the key method that for getting things done is communication and we influence.
If we’re going to show up and be the executive that we’re meant to be, we have to effectively communicate.
The second component that comes into executive presence is the way that we dress.
You’ll notice that the majority of the time when I make videos for you, I’m dressed at least reasonably professionally.
That has been ingrained in me throughout my career.
We all have different definitions of professional dress.
As we continue to change as a country and a culture, the definition of professional dress has tended to change.
The key is that you’ve got to understand how your organization and, equally as important, your industry defines professional dress.
So get a copy of your company dress code and familiarize yourself with it. I know large organizations have dress codes based on position and now that you’re an exec, you need to know what that looks like for you.
The third piece of executive presence is what they call gravitas.
It’s essentially your personality an how you personally show up.
How you use your gifts and your talents that are uniquely you to fill the role.
Now, this is probably one of the hardest things for us to talk about, am I right?
We can clearly learn the rules around communication and professional dress, but this . . . it’s a little gray.
It can be tough to discern at times.
I hear the question a lot, “How do I show up as me and what’s safe to show up as me why what can I share?”
We bring our whole selves to work every day.
For some people, that’s a great thing for some people, that’s probably a risky thing.
But nevertheless, it’s how you show up.
It’s your personality brought to life into the role.
It’s why, as an executive, you can look at other people and identify behaviors and personality traits that could be risky for that person in a leadership role.
When we’re showing up and our personalities put us at risk, that can be a problem.
So how do you know how to show up and be this person that is appropriate in the space?
What I would tell you is to look at the core values of the company.
What are they asking you to do?
How are they saying you should show up on a daily basis?
What I would say is if those core values align with your personal internal core values, you usually are not going to have a problem.
If your values don’t align, that’s where it could be risky.
If you are in doubt, get a mentor and talk through this with them to clearly define how you can bring your whole self to work and not put your career at risk.
If you want to connect with someone outside of your organization, please schedule a call with us, and let’s talk through it together.