“Executive presence” has been a buzzword lately in our executive coaching sessions and workshops. Sylvia Ann Hewlett wrote the book on it, outlining 3 pillars of executive presence. In Episode #58 of our Executive Leadership Podcast, Chris and Perry share their insights on these 3 pillars, warning of potential pitfalls to your executive presence that must be avoided.

To cultivate leadership development on your team, consider bringing a 5 Levels of Leadership Workshop to your organization this year.

Read Transcript Below:

Welcome to the John Maxwell Executive Leadership Podcast, where our goal is to help you increase your reputation as a leader, increase your ability to influence others, and increase your ability to fully engage your team to deliver remarkable results. Hi, I’m Perry Holley, a John Maxwell facilitator and coach. And I’m Chris Goede, Vice President of the John Maxwell Company. Welcome and thank you for joining. Just as a quick reminder, if you’d like to learn more about the 5 Levels of Leadership or bring a 5 Levels workshop to your organization, please go to johnmaxwellcompany.com/podcast and, while you’re there, if you have a comment or question for Perry and me, we’d love for you to leave it there.

Well, today’s topic is titled “You May Have Presence, But Is It Executive Presence?” I really liked the sound of this. It comes up a lot in our coaching work. More and more, I’m noticing that the leaders we coach are asking about the topic of executive presence.They want it, but I’m not sure they know what exactly it is or how to get it. I think it’s something that every leader should possess, and I don’t think you need to wait till you get to the C suite to think about executive presence. And I think some of the things that we’re going to cover today will kind of lead to the fact that it’s important for every one of us as a leader to have this type of presence. Executive presence is how you are viewed when you come in a room, how you interact with people more senior than you and people at your level. It can be a game changer in how people see you.

There are many great resources on the topic. I know I’ve really enjoyed Executive Presence by Sylvia Ann Hewlett. There’s some great information there. She says there that executive presence rests on three pillars: how you act (what she calls “gravitas”), how you speak, and how you look. I can see this in myself and others. Sometimes I’ve heard it said, “Oh, well he or she just has the ‘it factor.'” What we’re going to talk about today is more than just having “it.” It’s a learned behavior that hopefully, through this podcast and other resources, you’ll be able to develop. We want to teach you how to align your behavior with the three pillars above. In doing so, you will build trust with your people.

One of our facilitators gives a great example of executive presence. They said, “The most effective leader, the one that probably has the most powerful executive presence, is the leader that walks into the room, and when they leave, although they probably were the smartest person in the room, and they probably had the most executive presence, I feel smarter. I feel like I have a better executive presence.”

So, the first pillar that Sylvia Ann Hewlett talks about is “gravitas.” It’s a really interesting word. If you’re not familiar, what it means is having an air of dignity or seriousness. The word gravity is associated with heaviness; gravitas means you carry weight. When you come in the room, you’re noticed. And I love that. When you come into a room, and you know your stuff, if somebody rejects what you’re saying or disagrees with you, you’re not rattled. You stand strong. You don’t have to think you’re right, but you can defend yourself because you’ve got self-confidence and a bit of a grace under fire. I love that. If things start falling apart around you, you don’t even flinch. Another quality of executive presence is you don’t mind “showing your teeth” when making a decision. Other qualities are integrity, emotional intelligence, good reputation–those types of things. With all this in mind, we’d like to get into what gets in the ways of these characteristics.

What can derail you from exhibiting strong, executive presence? When you talk about gravitas, there’s a couple of things that come to mind that could derail a leader from achieving that. A big risk is making others uncomfortable. I want to make sure everyone knows we’re not talking about inflating our ego or being a bully. You might have the “it” factor, but you don’t need to walk in and tell everybody you have the it factor! It should just come across. How many time have you been around a leader and you’re thinking, “I didn’t ask how you made the watch. I just asked you what time it is.” You can derail your gravitas by talking too much or about the wrong topics.

Another way to derail executive presence is blaming others. “Sorry, we missed our number. It was my sales team over here.” We can’t pass the buck. Lastly, the final risk we like to talk about is just being distant. Like we said, when you’re in the room, people should be able to feel it. Another big risk factor and kind of the opposite of the last one is inappropriate behavior. Unfortunately, we see this come up over and over and over again lately in the news. One of the fastest ways for you to lose your entire team’s trust is to display some type of inappropriate behavior. This includes inappropriate humor. This is an easy way to lose your team’s trust and distance yourself from them. I once had it written on my wall that “it’s okay to be humorous, but without folly.” People appreciate humor, but not folly. Don’t be silly or inappropriate.

That was the first pillar: how you act, or “gravitas.” The second pillar is about how you communicate. We’ve already touched on this a bit. We mentioned talking too much. The most effective communication is concise and compelling. So, if you’re talking about things that are meaningful, and you are concise with your words, you can command a room. Remember to facilitate, or read the room. You should know if you’re being received well, and if you’re not, you know to stop, slow down, or change directions, because you’re reading and everybody’s on their cell phone! Be assertive in your communication. Again, sense of humor comes up. People love that. But, again, make sure it’s appropriate. A big part of communication is body language. How do you present yourself in the room? Like we said, don’t appear distant. Be sure you’re standing with good posture, you’re making good eye contact, and you’re paying attention to what you’re doing with your hands. When you walk into a room, you’ve got gravitas, and people will notice. What I want our listeners to be thinking about is that when we say “walk into a room,” you could be going in to talk to your team, you could be going in to have a one-on-one conversation. When you go into that room, no matter how many people are there, these lessons apply.

You mentioned cell phones earlier. All of us have smart phones and devices and all kinds of gadgets with us everywhere. Constantly checking your device is a huge way to derail your executive presence. We’ve all been in meetings before where you wonder whether someone is even paying attention in a meeting, whether they’re “checking their email” on their laptop or they’re on Facebook. It doesn’t feel good to wonder that, especially when you’re the one presenting in the meeting. So, we need to make sure that we’re in the moment. When John walks into a room, whether it’s 1 person, whether it’s 5, 500, or 5,000, he has the innate ability to make it feel like he’s talking directly to you. So, how do you have conversations with people to where they feel like they’re the only person in the room? How do we get that executive presence? Again, these are learned skills that maybe we’ve got to work on to improve our communication. I was just leading a session recently on the topic of “Good Leaders Ask Great Questions.” John connects with people in the audience by asking great questions and being interactive at an individual level. He draws people in with his eye contact, with his voice, with his questions. It really does make you feel like he’s speaking straight to you.

Pillar number three is about appearance. It’s the third and perhaps the least important, but your appearance is the first aspect about yourself that is noticed. When you walk into a room, whether you’re entering a team meeting or the C suite, people will notice your appearance right away. So, how you look can either jumpstart or derail your gravitas. While your appearance should not make or break your success, it is worth it to make sure you are groomed and polished. Have you taken a moment to put yourself together? Do you clothes fit right? Do you carry yourself well? Are you slumped over? Are you shuffling your feet? Is that dress appropriate for the audience you’re going to see? I know so many people are showing up to events today in blue jeans and sport coats. I actually love that, but I’m not sure it’s appropriate for all audiences. Consider that what you wear becomes your personal brand. If you’re a brand, what do you want people to think when they see you?

As we move towards the end of this podcast, we want to share some final suggestions on how to work on your executive presence. Number one: it’s always good to have feedback from those you trust. John talks a lot about having an inner circle. You should feel open to asking your inner circle if they feel like you have executive presence. If not, ask them what you are missing. Additionally, maybe you have a coach or mentor, just like we provide here at The John Maxwell Company. You can ask them, “Hey, how do I improve my executive presence?” Don’t be afraid to ask that question. Lastly,  just make sure you have humility. None of this will happen over night. It takes time and intentionality to develop it.

Thank you for your great insights, Chris, and just a reminder for our listeners: if you’d like to learn more about this topic or the 5 Levels of Leadership, or look into having a 5 Levels workshop at your location, you can always learn more about that on our website at johnmaxwellcompany.com/podcast. We always enjoy hearing from you ,and we always enjoy having you listen along to our podcasts. Thank you very much. This has been the John Maxwell Executive Leadership Podcast.

Thank you for listening to our Podcasts!

Leave us your questions below! Also, if you have suggestions for future podcast topics or would like to talk with Chris Goede about helping your company submit your feedback!

Chris and Perry discuss how managing your own power dynamics can help create a healthier team.

Chris Goede and Perry Holley discuss if quiet quitting is an employee problem or if it's a leadership problem.

It can be easy for a leader to try to do the right thing for others yet shortcut their own integrity when leading themselves.

If you are not intentional about how you communicate culture, adding new people can dilute and derail the culture of your business.

As a leader, you should look for and promote these skills and attributes as you look at developing the next generation of leaders.

Whether coaching a performance challenge or a career discussion, utilizing the GROW model can be a simple yet effective way to help the people on your team grow and improve.

After 200 podcast episodes, Chris and Perry share 5 lesson they have learned that apply to every leader.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about different types behaviour problems that diminishes the capabilities of their team.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about how to identify or what does the potential of your team members look like.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about shifting from pleasing to challenging people is the Relational Shift

Today, Chris and Perry talk about shifting from Perks to Price is the Cost Shift.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about shifting from Goals to Growth within the Personal Development Shift.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about 5 Leader Lessons from race champion of the Kentucky Derby 2022, Rick Dawson, the owner of Rich Strike.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss five steps to ensure your next difficult conversation is effective, healthy, and productive.

Today Perry and Chris talk about the 10 commandments of confrontation that can help ensure that outcome of confrontations are positive.

Today Perry and Chris presents some challenges that leaders must confront in a post-pandemic world.

Today Perry and Chris look at ten tips learned from personal experience that help improve your ability to listen.

Today Perry and Chris discuss five ways you can improve your communication clarity.

Today Perry and Chris talk about what task-based and relationship-based leaders need to know to achieve remarkable results.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about what moves someone from being a proficient manager to a leader with a higher calling.

Leadership is influence, and author Brian Tracy suggests there are 10 qualities that all influential people exhibit. From Brian Tracy’s book, “The 10 Qualities of Influential People.”

Today, Chris and Perry talk about the role a leader should play to empower their team for maximum results.

Today Perry and Chris talk about seven ways to position your team as a high-performance team.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about energy a leader can possess in order to increase their ability to influence and persuade their team.

Today Perry and Chris talk about how organizations can be led to success with the new millennium era now in leadership.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about what a leader can do, eliminating negative influences and how to grow their team.

Today, Perry and Chris talk about 5 ways to develop your confidence as a leader.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about things a leader can do to increase loyalty in their organization.

Today Perry and Chris talk about what separates one talented person from another.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about what it means to lead with love, especially when you don’t feel like it.

Today Perry and Chris talk about developing and communicating a vision that helps focus your team for success.

Chris and Perry talk about the importance of authenticity and not being so perfect that no one can connect with you.

Today Perry and Chris talk about one of Tim Elmore’s Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership: balancing confidence with humility.

Chris and Perry talk about the importance of having a voice that your boss wants to hear.

Today, Perry and Chris talk about the five components developing of a servant leader mindset.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about the challenge of leading and serving at the same time. Is it even possible?

Today Perry and Chris talk about what leaders can do to ensure they retain their top talent during what has come to be known as "The Great Resignation."

Today, Chris and Perry talk about how you can assess your leadership journey and steps to take to ensure you are growing and developing as a leader.

In this episode, Chris and Perry talk about Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker and the power of servant leadership when leading high performance individuals.

Perry and Chris talk about the power of leading up in the organization and how you can increase your influence with a leader who’s not leading.

Chris and Perry talk about what leaders can do to minimize or eliminate “culture clash.”

Today, Chris and Perry conclude their talk with Greg Cagle about the 4 Dimensions of culture and how you design, deploy, promote, and protect the culture you desire for your organization.

Today, Perry and Chris continue their talk with Greg Cagle about having balanced and healthy dimensions of culture.

Chris and Perry talk with culture expert, Greg Cagle, and take a deep dive into the 4 Dimensions of Culture.

Perry and Chris look at the Laws that apply to Level 5 and help you as you develop your legacy as a leader.

Today, Perry and Chris look at the Laws that apply to Level 4 and help you as you move toward Level 5.

Today, Perry and Chris look at the Laws that apply to Level 3 and help you as you move toward Level 4.

In this episode, Perry and Chris look at the Laws that apply to Level 2 and help you as you move toward Level 3.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell may be almost 25 years old, but they apply to our leadership journey today more than ever. Today, Chris and Perry look at the Laws that apply to a Level 1 leader and how they can help a leader move to Level 2.

Perry and Chris talk about how understanding the 4 Dimensions of Culture can help improve your communication.

Perry and Chris talk about how understanding the 4 Dimensions of Culture can help improve your communication.

Chris and Perry talk about how understanding the 4 Dimensions of Culture can help you move your team from committed to courageous.

Perry and Chris talk about the new FOR content from the John Maxwell Company and how being a FOR leader increases loyalty and engagement.

Perry and Chris talk about the intentional actions you can take to develop a long and lasting legacy.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about how you can increase your interest in others to drive more connection and engagement.

Today Perry and Chris talk about the importance of finding the small, yet meaningful moments that make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about how to use the skill of observation to increase your awareness.

Perry and Chris talk about how to preserve relationships by delivering the kind-hard truth.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about how you can find and create margin to increase your value to you team, organization, and your family.

Today Perry and Chris talk about actions a leader can take to improve their ability to see the future so they can appropriately guide their business.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about three things leaders can do to make sure things work without them.

Today Perry and Chris talk about the importance of Emotional Intelligence in leadership and how you can improve yours to better influence your team.

Coaching leaders make people development a part of everything they do. Today, Chris and Perry talk about how you can become a coaching leader.

In this episode, we discuss ideas and practical approaches to help leaders support employee wellbeing and overall team health.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about some helpful ways to move yourself and your team from being busy to being productive.

Today, Perry and Chris look at some formulas for trust and discuss what it really takes to establish trust with those in your circle of influence.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss how leadership boundaries can help leaders be more effective and drive engagement with their teams.

Today Perry and Chris discuss how to check your team pulse and performance. Are they really a high-producing team or not?

Today, Chris and Perry discuss how leaders set the vision and direction for high performance teams and develop influence with each member.

Today, Perry and Chris discuss eight things that inclusive leaders value and why these practices lead to more engaged teams.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss how leaders can recognize and leverage the coaching moment to improve team performance.

Today, Perry and Chris talk with Tricia Gleghorn about the Change Your World movement and how you can participate.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss the impact that The 5 Levels of Leadership has made on them personally and on the leaders they work with.

Today, Perry and Chris discuss how the 5 Levels of Leadership contain everything you need to be a more inclusive leader.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss ten skills you can develop that will lead to a more inclusive approach to leading your team.

Today, Perry and Chris discuss how to develop your Cultural Intelligence so you can relate to and work effectively with a diverse group of individuals.

Today Chris and Perry discuss what it takes to be an effective, inclusive leader.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss seven ways you can shift in your leadership from directing people to connecting with people.

Today, Perry and Chris reveal ways you can become a ladder builder for someone on your team.

Chris and Perry discuss ways you can move past the tendency to be a pleaser, and challenge each person on your team to take your business to the next level.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss some ideas for making the leadership move from soloist to conductor.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss the challenge of extending your influence through other leaders to those on the front line.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss how to secure your leadership culture by using five strategies to equip leaders to grow other leaders.

Today, Chris and Perry discuss twelve ways leaders can model leadership that can lead to developing a leadership culture in your organization.

In today’s episode, Chris and Perry discuss the importance of a leadership culture and how they always begin with leaders learning leadership.

Discover the three areas of Executive Presence and how developing yourself in these areas can positively affect your leadership mindset.

Chris and Perry discuss five areas that can positively affect your leadership mindset if you attend to them properly.

We discuss five gaps that leaders must bridge in order to transform their mindset from individual contributor to leader.

Chris and Perry discuss how you can influence your boss through moving from managing to leading and developing a leadership mindset. 

Leaders at every level need to be intentional about how they influence and connect with those who report to them.

Today, Chris and Perry welcome the CEO of The John Maxwell Company, Mark Cole to the podcast to discuss increasing your influence.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about how to develop leadership (influence) even if you don’t have the title of a leader… yet.

Chris and Perry talk about the difference between equipping and developing and why developing someone has a long-term positive effect on your business.

In this episode, Chris and Perry talk about ways you can complete versus compete with your peers to develop positive influence.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about investing in relational chemistry as a way of increasing influence with your boss.

When leading from the middle of the organization, it’s tempting to think that you don’t need to learn to lead until you get your leadership title. Today, Chris and Perry talk about things you could be doing to overcome the "Destination Myth."

A 360-Degree Leader must be able to lead up, down and across. In this episode, Chris and Perry share two strategies for influencing down in the organization.

Today, Chris and Perry talk about a structured approach to developing influence with your peers.

In this episode, Chris and Perry talk about ways people in the middle of the organization can develop more influence with their leaders.