Career Brand Management, Image, Personal Branding
Executive presence is the skill set that enables individuals to inspire confidence and project authority, particularly in leadership roles. Often viewed as a mysterious quality, executive presence is not an innate trait but a skill that can be developed and refined over time.
In its simplest form, it represents the ability to instill trust among subordinates, peers, and senior leaders alike. It’s about demonstrating that you are the leader others want to follow, can be relied upon, and possess the potential for significant achievements.
Understanding executive presence is crucial for career advancement. Opportunities such as promotions, high-visibility projects, and key assignments often arise in your absence, and the confidence inspired in decision-makers can greatly influence these pivotal choices. The more significant the opportunity, the more essential executive presence becomes.
1. Appearance, Poise, and Confidence
Your appearance plays a crucial role in how others perceive you in a professional environment. First impressions matter greatly, and the way you present yourself can significantly impact your credibility and influence.
- Dress for the Occasion: The way you dress underscores the importance of presenting yourself in a polished and appropriate manner. By dressing well, you not only align yourself with the organization’s culture but also convey respect for both yourself and your colleagues.
Being Fit and Well-Groomed: Although beauty is subjective, research shows that attractiveness can influence career outcomes. However, executive presence is not solely about looking like a model; it’s about demonstrating your commitment to health and well-being. A fit and well-groomed appearance signals discipline and self-respect, which can enhance your executive presence and make you more approachable.
Poise and Confidence: Poise is an elusive quality that combines charisma and authority, enabling you to project confidence even in challenging situations. Individuals with poise exhibit an “easy self-possessed assurance” that naturally draws others in. True executive presence requires authenticity, meaning you feel comfortable in your skin and focus on fostering connections rather than seeking to dominate. When this self-assuredness is paired with appropriate verbal and non-verbal cues, it becomes magnetic, attracting people toward you.
2. Effective Communication
Effective communication is a cornerstone of executive presence. The way you speak significantly influences your ability to connect with others and command respect.
- The Sound of Your Voice: Your voice is a crucial tool in your communication arsenal. If your voice lacks clarity or authority, it may be beneficial to invest in voice coaching to develop better pitch and breathing techniques.
- Commanding the Room: Leaders with executive presence excel at making strong first impressions and establishing a connection with their audience. They skillfully incorporate storytelling and anecdotes into their presentations, making their communication relatable and memorable. Avoiding filler words enhances their credibility and reinforces their authority.
- Body Language: Non-verbal cues often convey more than words. Research indicates that only seven percent of a message comes from the words themselves, while 38 percent relies on vocal tone, and a staggering 55 percent is determined by body language. Therefore, maintaining an upright posture and using open hand gestures can significantly enhance your presence.
By mastering these elements of communication, you can greatly enhance your executive presence, fostering meaningful connections with your audience.
3. Gravitas
Gravitas is a fundamental aspect of executive presence that encapsulates how you act in the workplace. It’s not about adopting a diva-like attitude; it’s about embodying qualities that inspire trust, capability, and respect.
- Showing Grace Under Fire: Individuals with gravitas excel at maintaining composure during challenging situations. They project calm and resilience, quickly bouncing back from setbacks and openly acknowledging their mistakes.
- Being Assertively Decisive: Assertiveness means articulating what you want clearly while remaining open to others’ perspectives. Assertive leaders make decisions without being overbearing, effectively influencing their peers.
- Speaking Your Truth: Gravitas also involves the courage to express your views honestly, even when they diverge from popular opinion. This requires a willingness to offer constructive feedback with discretion and care.
- Emotional Intelligence: High emotional intelligence is essential for effective leadership. It allows you to inspire and nurture relationships with team members, fostering trust and respect.
- Strong Personal Branding: Authenticity is key to gravitas. Presenting the genuine you—complete with quirks and imperfections—makes you relatable and strengthens your leadership style.
The Benefits of Executive Presence
In summary, executive presence is a multi-faceted skill set that includes appearance, communication, and gravitas. By actively developing these elements, you can enhance your ability to inspire confidence, project authority, and cultivate trust among colleagues and superiors. Moreover, executive presence elevates your professional image and significantly impacts your career trajectory, opening doors to new opportunities and leadership roles.
Ultimately, the benefits of executive presence extend beyond personal success. It fosters an environment of collaboration, respect, and empowerment, enabling you to lead effectively and inspire others. By mastering executive presence, you position yourself as a leader others want to follow, paving the way for a successful and fulfilling career.
If you’re interested in exploring this topic further or are looking for a keynote speaker or workshop, I’d be happy to help.
Whether it’s personalized advice or a tailored presentation you’re after, feel free to get in touch to discuss how we can work together. Contact me today!
Image, Personal Branding
Executive presence is an unwritten competency for leaders and in today’s economy, it is a must if you want to accelerate your career. Studies* among 4000 professionals show that executive presence constitutes 25% of what it takes to get promoted and equally important skills and qualities.
If you want to be a leader, you have to look like a leader and it goes beyond the appearance. Your presence has to combine those four elements:
- Appearance: How you look
- Behaviour: How you act
- Communication: How you communicate
- Gravitas
How you look – the appearance
Your appearance is a door to your success. Your outer presence simply reflects your qualities. Polished look, neat grooming and attention to details makes a positive impact and creates trust. You appear reliable, organized, tasteful. It is not the most important quality, but it is a good start.
How you act – behaviour and nonverbal communication
The minute you walk through the door you make an impact. Your body speaks volume and before you get a chance to introduce yourself, your posture, movements and gestures are noticed. Handshake, tone of voice, face expressions add to the first impression you make. The way you conduct yourself and your manners are part of the picture. If your body language supports what you are saying, you are doing really good.
How you communicate – verbal communication
Being able to express yourself clearly and in a nice manner, presenting facts and figures, but also being able to have small talk are a key to being listened to. If someone enjoys conversation with you, you are winning the game.
Your values – gravitas
Whether you are an entrepreneur, CEO or manager, people around you are looking for what constitutes you as a person and what brings the value to the group. They are looking for your ‘gravitas’. The ancient gravitas were authority, dignity, devotion, power and virtues.
Along with the skills required for the job, you need to be able to present your gravitas. In every action you take and the word you say, people have to see those values. It is important that you emphasize your positive traits and characteristics. This what makes you stand out, and this is what constitutes a leader. Recognition of your gravitas builds a respect for you and people naturally starts being attracted to you.
If you want to be a leader you have to make people follow you, you have to appeal to them on many levels. The executive presence is a competency that you can learn.
*2012 Report made by Center for Talent Innovation (CTI)
Image, Personal Branding
Your image is a very first thing that is available to others and is immediately evaluated and judged. Even if you truly believe you care more for someone’s values, personality and character, you also judge others based on their appearance. It happens instantly and subconsciously. It is not about rational reasons, but about emotions and impressions. It just feels right or not.
Your image reflects who you are, not only your personality and lifestyle, but also your values and goals. It is a way of communication and says about you much more than you may think. Reflect for a minute on your image…
- Are you easily approachable or rather to be avoided?
- Do you appear confident or shy and timid?
- Do you look trustworthy or irresponsible?
- Do you appear competent and intelligent or inadequate and irrational?
There is no one right image. There is no good or bad image. There is an image that either supports or doesn’t your career and personal goals. Your image matters because it can help you accelerate in your professional and private life. And the image is much more than the appearance. It is also about how you act and communicate. It matters because it is about You.
As an entrepreneur or a corporate executive, you are the business card of the company you represent. And before anyone does business with you, they must first like you and trust you. Now think, does your image and the first impression you make actually can attract people. Can it open them to you, to spend time with you, have a conversation? How likeable are you? How do you make people feel around you? How do you want them to feel?
Image matters because it is about trust. From the first impression you make, you must take responsibility for the way you are perceived. And you are the only person that is in control of it. If your outer presence reflects your qualities, then it is extremely important that your appearance supports the message of authenticity, honesty and reliability.
Image matters because it is one of the pillars of your personal branding. And if you feel confident about the appearance, you feel confident about your actions and you are more willing to take on challenges. Look good and feel good is a simple recipe for success. And it is not about the clothes you are wearing, but the general impression you make.
The image is about the outer presence, while the personal branding is all about the value. Your image is like a packaging for the product, it is either attractive or discouraging. And before people check what’s inside, they have to judge the product by its look. You have a choice to have a great packaging or a poor one. You decide what you communicate via your image. That’s why it matters…
Body Language, Communication, Image
Body language impacts how others perceive you. What really matters, it is not what you say, but how you say it and, most importantly, how your body conveys that message.
According to the research studies – words, tone of voice and body language – account differently when it comes to our perception of another person. And while we like to think that it is the content that matters, only 7% accounts for the words. The tone of your voice is more important 38%, but the real focus should be on body language which accounts for 55%. Your message is only as strong, as convincing is your body language and tone of your voice.
Your body language also reveals how you feel and think about yourself. The way you enter the boardroom or the meeting, can make a good first impression, build credibility and trust if you feel good and confident. Your posture, your walk, speed of movements, hand gestures can show your confidence and high self-esteem.
5 tips on body language to make a good first impression
Posture
Good posture makes you look confident, shows good energy and health. Remember to keep straight, roll back your shoulders and keep your chin up. Try to avoid crossing arms, while it may be simply a comfortable position but it may be taken as you are not open to the conversation.
Walk
If you walk confidently, you will be able to build instant credibility and the reaction to you will be noticeable different. Try to keep a moderate pace of your walk. If you rush, you look stressed and chaotic. But if you are very slow in your movements, it may be taken as a sign of poor confidence, insecurity or health issues.
Handshake
Give a firm, confident handshake when you meet your client or business partner. Do not try to power the other person down. Offer a straight vertical hand instead of palm down one to take control. Avoid the ‘wet noodle’ handshake that comes from timid and easily intimidated people.
Keep a comfortable space between you and the other person. If you are too far away offering a handshake you will have to lean forward and bow, if you are too close the handshake may feel uncomfortable as you are invading someones personal zone.
Eye contact
Eye contact is essential to create successful personal and business relationship, but so many of us find it difficult to do it effectively.
Keep an eye contact when shaking hand and maintain it during the meeting. Inconsistent eye contact is a sign that you are either not interested or extremely unconsidered.
You also do not want to look down when making a point, as it may look like you are uncomfortable or unsure with the statement.
Smile
Smile to show you feel comfortable and relaxed in business or social gatherings. Use smile at your business meeting to greet clients and partners, respond with smile if the conversation is to break the ice and of casual topics. But avoid smiling during serious negotiations as it may be taken for a sign of insecurity.
Communication, Image, Personal Branding
Image perception and the first impression creation process is somehow similar to the decision-making process when it comes to buying products. Economics Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman describes the decision making process theory in his book ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’.
While we would like to believe that we make decisions based on a calculation of needs, price and product benefits, we actually based on our intuition and emotions. Kahneman describes two systems: System 1 is the lazy one – intuitive and emotional, the one he calls ‘a machine for jumping into conclusion’.
The conscious assessment of product features and benefits comes later and requires effort and energy. That process is a rational system 2. As Kahneman says: ‘You generally believe your impressions and act on your desires’.
This is exactly what happens when it comes to the first impression. The intuition, feelings and desires take over and we jump into conclusion. We do not have time to analyze all elements, it is the general feeling that is created instantly that impacts us the most.
Similarly to the packaging of the product and information the package contains. Customers rarely spend the time to look at the detailed information. Our brain actively seeks information that confirms its view of the world, and if the information is not available or missing, it simply fills the gaps by making up the stories, that it can access from its own memory.
When it comes to the first impression of someone, we base our opinion on very little information. But our brain needs to fill the gaps, so it draws conclusions to create a full picture. That picture is a result of a person’s previous experience, hence the created image might be different and is more a reflection of own beliefs, values, expectations than the reality.
The more information we have about the other person, the more contacts and interactions, the more detailed the picture is. Another important factor is time. With time we can actually think and assess the information. We suppress the first impression and feelings and we start rationalizing.
Intuition is your sixth sense.
It is striking, how many resemblances it has with a buying process. The less information and time we have to make a buying decision, the more likely we are to make an intuitive, emotional purchase. The cheaper the product, the more likely we are to make the quick decision. If we are buying an expensive product like a house or a car, we take our time, we analyze and compare.
Very similarly we react to people. We heavily rely on the first impression and we quickly jump to conclusions based on persons appearance and behaviour. But when it comes to important matters like choosing an employee, we run an extensive process. We gather information, conduct meetings, compare and evaluate. The first impression gives us the feel, that impacts the way we perceive the candidate. If it is positive we are more likely to interpret the other information to his or her benefit. If the impression is not positive, even the best resume will not convince us.
Communication, Image, Personal Branding
“First impression is an idea, feeling or opinion about a person formed without conscious thought or on the basis of little evidence.”
We deeply believe that it is our character and personality that counts, but the reality is that people make judgements about who we are based on first impression. It is not always the most accurate representation. And because it is formed in very short time and based on a very little information, it is always related to the other persons personal experience. Hence it is someone’s perception of you and not a real image. The accuracy of the image increases with the time. With every event or meeting with that person, we gather more information and that brings more clarity to whom he or she is.
We need to think about first impression as a snapshot, a snapshot that captures the moment and nothing else. And those few first seconds are sufficient to make a conclusion about fresh acquaintances. The first impression is created in seconds at the very first encounter – either in person or over the phone or even via email or website. Surprisingly, it has a lasting effect, as we reckon it impacts the way we perceive the person in 60%.
First impression is also about the initial feeling people have meeting you. How you make them feel is more important than what you are saying. Your appearance together with your body language and the tone of your voice create the atmosphere of the meeting. You can make others feel comfortable and relaxed or stressed and pressured. Think of how people respond to you.
From the scientific point of view, our brain is a thousand years old structure. Thanks to the increased use of our brain capability, we evolved as homo sapiens. But many reactions were inherited from our ancestors, like the one that allows our brain to recognize another human as a threat or friend in a few milliseconds. It has been trained for a thousand years to judge the situation and react very quickly based on little information.
The first impression is not the same for various people. They heavily depend on their expectations, prejudices, beliefs and stereotypes. We all have a tendency to interpret situations, events and objects in our own unique way and the distortion of opinion is the result of personal experience. In the same way we differ in interpreting another person’s appearance and behavior. It is not always a bad thing, it makes life interesting and meeting people an exciting experience.
What we need to remember is that to every person their own opinion looks real, true and solid. While it is only an illusion, their perception is their reality.
Appearance, Image
A dress code is a set of rules concerning the appropriate outfits for social, professional, or religious occasions. Even though dress code is most common in professional settings, there are other events in which dress code is important. The rules can be clearly specified and written, or they may be more conventional. In the past, dress codes were very strict and were used to distinguish the elites from the working class. Now, we are free to wear what we want, but there are still important conventions to follow, especially in the professional setting.
A company’s dress code is a set of rules about how employees should dress. It is supposed to standardize the appearance of employees and create a specific image of the company. People care about appearance and a well dressed worked creates a better image of a company. Dress codes vary based on the type of business. A more creative company, like an advertising firm, would have a more relaxed dress code than a company where building authority is important, like a bank. Most dress codes cover the following things:
- Personal hygiene
- Outfit type (formal, casual, or somewhere inbetween)
- Personal appearance (hair, makeup, accessories)
- Jewelry
- Tattoos
Wearing uniforms can make dress codes less necessary. Uniforms can also help employees stand out. While some people wear full uniforms, like police officers, others can wear partial uniforms, like an apron.
If there are dress code rules, companies can hold casual days where employees are allowed to wear what they want. In most places, this happens on Fridays. It is important to remind employees that casual day does not mean whatever and outfits should still be appropriate for a work setting.
Image
„An image” means a subjective perception of a given person; it is a picture created by fragmentary and random capture of particular features and details of an appearance and behaviour, and resulting from a relation we are in with a given person.
It means that celebrities’, stars’ or politicians’ image is only a fragmentary picture created on the basis of how these people present themselves or how are presented in media – on television, in the press or on the Internet. Seldom do we have an opportunity to meet them in person and spend enough time to state that we know a given person very well.
What is a fake image then? It is an image created in a fake way, for example for the purposes of promotion of a certain art work, or a political campaign. Such falsification will be planned and consistently conducted and can be particularly successful, which can be exemplified by Andrzej Lepper’s image, who gained the position of the vice-Prime Minister wearing branded suits, expensive shoes, and even more expensive watch. This image was fake from the very beginning. It was created for the purposes of the political campaign, promoted widely in many areas, which consequently helped Samoobrona’s leader to climb the political career ladder.
I will refer to my definition of an image again, that is to three elements:
Appearance, behaviour and individual features
- Appearance can be relatively easily changed – a visit at a stylist’s, hairdresser’s and make-up artist can work wonders.
- A second step is working on non-verbal communication – also referred to as body language: mimics, gestures, posture, walk, as well as verbal one – speech, intonation, vocabulary. What is required is both the whole body training and a speech organ, classes on movement will be necessary, a bit of knowledge about acting and classes on rhetoric and voice emission (timbre, intonation, breath).
- Finally, the last step is related to individual features which are strictly related to our personality and upbringing, and contain the whole system of values, our convictions and life attitudes. This element of the image is also associated with the knowledge and competences we gained. Since creation of this element took a number of years, it’s difficult to interfere with it and flexibly change unlike haircut or clothes. This element is the one which viewers recognise with regard to a longer meeting with another person or during a long exposure of a given person in media.
When the first element of the image is created and audience pays attention to it, we talk about extrinsic features, that somebody is elegant, neat, presents well, is classy and stylish etc.
Considering the second element, a viewer captures the attitude and the behaviour: behaves like a typical politician, statesman, is charismatic, draws attention.
When the third element is spotted, then personality traits, knowledge and skills are defined – smart, knowledgeable, able to discuss, firm or sensitive, authoritative or friendly etc.
But the consistency of all these elements provides the final picture of a given person (yet in the case of people popular in media it will be a media picture, not a real picture).
Is it feasible to falsify an image? Yes, in particular the first and second element, the third one is a way more difficult, which can explain the success of Andrzej Lepper and his collapse. A viewer, who initially bought a new image of Samoobrona’s leader, was disappointed in the course of time.
A fake image can be built also in relations with people, when we aim to be considered somebody else. Frequently, we just attempt to do good, e.g. during a job interview. We add several details to a CV, which is supposed to present a person in a positive light, yet not necessarily real light.
Similarly, in female-male relations, we want to stand out somehow, add some additional features, underline that we know somebody who is famous or important. It is also falsifying an image because we make another person create a different perception of us.
A problem of the fake image is the fact that it is particularly hard to maintain it, which sooner or later results in its disappearance. Disappointment is directly proportional to the scale of falsification. While we can forgive one’s weakness or mistakes, a deliberate falsification cannot be easily forgiven. Therefore genuineness and consistency of an image are fundamental if one aims to achieve success, according to the rule “What you see is what you get”.
