I realize it is Tuesday! Will get these scheduled for Mondays going forward.
Do you really need Executive Presence to advance your career? If you look around your department, your company, or even your industry, it seems the answer is clear. Not really. There are plenty of successful, hard-working, and well-compensated leaders who seem to have zero Executive Presence. You acknowledge their skills in other areas, but you wouldn't trust them to lead you out of a paper bag and certainly not into battle.
What is going on here? Are you missing something? Who are the leaders who hand-picked this leader to lead? Who are the people who choose to follow them? Is everyone else seeing or feeling something you just can't figure out, no matter how hard you try? Who is right, you or them? As it turns out, and as I was surprised to learn, both.
Two Mistakes
As I struggled with these questions, I realized the answer was based on two principles that I failed to grasp. The first principle is related to the true nature of Executive Presence. It's not about being the best talker, having the most gravitas, or monologuing like a leader in a movie. That's just window dressing and as I like to remind myself,
The trappings are just the wrappings.
What Executive Presence is really about is "the ability to inspire confidence that you can lead in a given situation." That's it. All you need for Executive Presence is for people to believe you can get the job done. And with very few exceptions, that is why those leaders get the job or rather, the opportunity to do the job over someone else.
"I'm just not seeing it, Joe. They don't feel like a leader to me."
I hear you. Sometimes we can have a totally different experience of someone than others do. This is a good segue into the second principle. Executive Presence is not some universally recognized attribute that you carry around like a birth mark or a tattoo. Executive Presence is a feeling one person has towards another person. It exists in the space or energy between two people.
This is why it is perfectly understandable that you may not find someone to have Executive Presence while others do. Perhaps they don't live up to your preconceptions or desires for a leader. Perhaps you haven't seen them in enough situations. In any case, the people who put them where they are, assuming they did so while being ethical, picked that leader because they believed he or she could get the job done.
Once you start seeing Executive Presence in this clear light, a whole new world (cue Disney’s Aladdin music) becomes available to you. Instead of comparing a leader against your ideals, you can expand your thinking to understand how they are inspiring confidence in others. Sometimes, it’s just that you were not aware. Sometimes it is something that you do not value, but others do. In any case, understanding this is the key to your own Executive Presence.
The Shift
So the next time you are baffled by the seeming lack of Executive Presence of a leader, take a step back and take a fresh look with this framework in mind. You may be surprised at what you learn.
Remember, your Executive Presence sets the ceiling of your success.
Learn more
This article was adapted from the new leadership book, Unlock Your Executive Presence: Feel like a Boss. Find it here, along with other books from the Unlock Your Leadership series.
Joe Kwon, the Connection Counselor is a leadership coach and keynote speaker who helps elevate careers by unlocking the ability to better connect with yourself and others. Contact him if you'd like his help.
To find out more and to access free leadership videos, podcasts, and guides, go to www.connectioncounselor.com.
Image by Galyna Greiss via Unsplash.com
Given everything that’s happening around the world these days, from rampant corruption and violence to growing discrimination, poverty, and social unrest, it’s all the more important for businesses and companies to establish a good brand presence. Chron emphasized how a good brand presence will help organizations build the loyalty of customers. In addition to this, well-executed branding strategies also help raise awareness, enhance credibility, and make it easier to launch new products.
There are many ways an organization can cultivate a good brand presence -- one of which is creating strong connections. That said, here are some tips on how businesses can establish a good brand presence by engaging its audience through various means.
Move with clarity
As with any other endeavor, the key to building a good brand presence is having a clear set of goals. Moving with clarity not only creates direction and guidance but also establishes standards that will measure progress. These things will be highly instrumental in curating a branding strategy that embodies the values of your company, all while touching the hearts of your audience. Additionally, as explained in our post ‘How to Make All the Right Moves So Everything Runs Smoothly’, being as unambiguous as you possibly can, makes it easier for your brand to stay connected with your audience and your employees. After all, moving with as much clarity as possible helps your potential clients to have clear expectations of what your brand can offer.
Establish yourself as an authority
More often than not, customers are hesitant to engage and interact with brands that are unfamiliar to them. And unfortunately, this creates a sad cycle where businesses can’t build a brand because people don’t know them, and people not knowing them is a result of not having a well-known brand. One of the ways to establish yourself as a legitimate business is to register your business as an LLC, as there are several benefits you can glean depending on the state you establish your business in. In this case, when forming an LLC here in New Jersey you enjoy the same protection as a corporation along with the tax benefits of a partnership or sole proprietorship. And by becoming an official company within the state, business owners have reported feeling increased support towards their brand by their local community.
This legitimacy also allows you to have access to the wealth of resources that the state provides to businesses in New Jersey aiming to market to wider audiences. In some parts of the country, choosing the right business structure can be as important as maintaining a reliable and highly professional image. For instance, entrepreneurs based in Ohio can easily gain a following if they perfectly embody such values since the prevailing mentality in the state is “buy local in Ohio.”
Collaborate with others
We’ve all heard of the adage “No man is an island” and believe it or not, this also applies to businesses. As a budding business, one of the foolproof ways you can establish a good brand presence is by collaborating with reputable brands. Forbes explained that these organizations can serve as mentors to your growing brand and introduce you to their audience. In most cases, such partnerships can also result in knowledge and idea-sharing, as well as brand exposure and awareness. While networking and collaborations are highly encouraged, it is important to first ensure that, of course, there is no conflict of interest between you and the other brand, so as to ensure a harmonious partnership.
Be responsive and easy to reach
In a world where the main channels of communication are social media platforms and instant messaging apps, it isn’t surprising that customers expect brands to be just as reachable as their friends and family. There are many ways you can live up to this expectation. One of the most popular methods is by doubling down on social networking sites. An example of a brand that cleverly utilizes such sites is Azazie from San Jose, California. Bridal boutique Azazie leverages Instagram by asking their brides to share their experiences with the brand and tag the shop on their every picture. Such a strategy not only showcases how reachable Azazie is but also enables the organization to harness the power of social proof through testimonials and personal images from clients.