Leadership should speak for itself. The moment you feel compelled to pull rank and “show them”, it means something is wrong. You are not adequately projecting the leader that is supposed to be in you. You are foisting your “leadership” on people that neither acknowledge, nor appreciate it.
By Maggie Mzumara
It can be tough, particularly for women, to assert their leadership because in all honesty, male leaders still have more latitude than their female counterparts. Oftentimes female leaders are perceived as too bossy; too loud; or too pushy; on the one hand.
Then there are others that are viewed as too quiet or too timid. Both sets of descriptions point to one thing: not up to scratch. There is more often than not a feeling that women are not competent enough to leaf, particularly in high powered heavily demanding positions.
What then can a woman leader do about it when the odds are so stacked against her? How can she build herself up so that she can come across as a convincing leader?
There are a number of strategies she could adopt and one of them is cultivating one’s executive presence.
Speak the part. Act the part. And be the part. Exude executive presence.
But first, definition. What is executive presence?
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Executive presence is a blending of temperament, competencies, and skills that, when combined, spell leadership. Executive presence is the ability to project gravitas — confidence, poise under pressure and decisiveness has been identified as a core characteristic.
Effective communication — including speaking skills, assertiveness and the ability to read an audience or situation — as we all as appearance contribute to a person’s perceived executive presence. Leaders must embody executive presence to get ahead, influence others, and drive results.
One Sylvia Ann Hewlett, a noted economist and consultant, author of 12 books, and the co-director of the Women’s Leadership Programme at Columbia Business School, has underscored as three of the main aspects of executive presence: gravitas, communication and appearance.
She describes gravitas as an elusive quality defined by the ability to project confidence. Excellent leaders also possess vision, she notes — the ability to see possibilities and communicate them to others.
On the communication front, Hewlett emphasises a clear, concise speaking style, one that does not depend on props like PowerPoint. “Make eye contact, lower your voice, develop an ability to banter,” she counsels.
According to Hewlett, appearance matters. Grooming and polish is number one. It is about what you do with what you have, not necessarily being the best-looking person in the room.
Bates, a global coaching and consulting firm, undertook extensive research, analysing relevant theory and empirical studies in management, communications, psychology and social action theory in order to unpack executive presence.
From their research, Bates mapped out three dimensions — character, substance and style — that leaders need, as part of the executive presence, to mobilise an organisation and sustain goal-oriented action. Within these dimensions are 15 distinct facets that are proven to drive engagement, alignment and performance, which are in themselves critical in executing leadership. These 15 facets are as follows.
Character
lAuthenticity (being real, being transparent)
lIntegrity (fidelity to one’s values)
lConcern (considerate, caring for/about)
lRestraint (moderation, reasonableness)
lHumility (openness to learning)
Substance
lPractical wisdom (practical insight and judgement)
lConfidence (self-possessed, decisiveness)
lComposure (calm, steadiness in a crisis)
lResonance (attunement to others)
lVision (strategic thinking, inspiring)
Style
lAppearance (looks the part, belongs)
lIntentionality (sustaining focus)
lInclusiveness (welcoming of diverse points of view)
lInteractivity (listening and stimulating dialogue)
lAssertiveness (addressing issues)
Through feedback and coaching, one can learn to strengthen and amplify these qualities. In other words, one can learn to be a highly communicative, influential leader, one who inspires others to give their best effort, overcome difficult challenges and rally around a common purpose.
Executive presence can be cultivated. Here are a few tips from Bates:
lReflect on a quality you admire in someone, preferably a leader, one that you would like to develop lThink of a specific time when that individual demonstrated the quality.
lReflect on a situation that you would like to approach differently.
lTry out a new way of doing it and see how it feels lAsk for candid, specific feedback from people you trust. Use feedback to leverage your strengths to develop in new areas.
Developing your executive presence can be challenging, but it can be mastered with time and effort and coaching.
lMaggie Mzumara is a media, communication and leadership strategist. She is founder of the Success in Stilettos, a platform dedicated to the development of women’s leadership. She is also founder and publisher of the Harare South Western News — a community newspaper founded to empower and lend a voice to under-represented communities in high and medium-density suburbs in Harare. She can be reached on email: [email protected] Twitter @magsmzumara. Catch Mzumara’s other interesting lighter reading articles online on a blog entitled: Musing From My Stoep.
