Getting to the C-Suite: The Science of Executive Presence

Kasey Carson is a creative, energetic, visionary vice-president of Product Development. Her team loves reporting to an intellectually curious leader who seeks their advice. But they feel frustrated to no end when they leave her meetings.  Brainstorming sessions produce lots of great ideas, but Kasey doesn’t set priorities.  Later, when she’s disappointed projects aren’t done, they feel they’ve failed.  Kasey’s boss would like to promote her but her style would fail in the C-Suite.

Jane Davidson is the interim president of the most profitable division of her company.  Her hard-driving approach drives sales and gets results.  The company now growing by acquisition, but her CEO isn’t sure Jane is the right leader to take it forward.  The job requires senior executive who can listen, connect, build trust, and influence to win hearts and minds.  He’d like to promote her to president, but isn’t sure her style would accommodate the needs of a business in transition.

Each of these leaders’ CEOs had suggested they work on their “executive presence”.  The issue they were describing had nothing to do with professional image or presentation skill.  They were harder-to-describe qualities of leadership presence that would be make-or-break Kasey and Jane in the next role.  If they didn’t develop stronger executive presence, it would impede the advancement and stymie their careers.

What’s Stopping Women from Advancing?

As every woman in a leadership role knows, technical know-how and management capability are the price of entry. It would be nice if simply knowing your job and managing well got you the next assignment. What’s required at the top is much more – the ability to influence and inspire in a variety of situations, with all types of people.  In short, we’re talking about qualities of executive presence.

The term executive presence has always been hard to define.  That’s why we decided to develop a research-based model that would unlock the secrets of influence and impact. We wanted to bring science to the task of helping leaders develop the executive presence qualities that matter most.

While many people think of executive presence as “showing up and looking the part” that’s a fraction of what science tells us about executive presence.  Even phrases like “command the room,” “presentation skill,” “savvy” and “charisma” don’t get to the deeper reasons to care.  They don’t get to the heart of what it is, or why it matters.

How is Executive Presence Defined?

It’s time to turn “I know it when I see it” into a definition that leaders like you, Kasey and Jane can count on.  By researching management, leadership, social action theory, communication theory, psychology, philosophy and ethics, we landed on a clear, powerful definition:

Executive presence is the ability of the leader to engage, align, inspire and move people to act. 

It turns out there are 15 qualities of executive presence that are essential.  These earn you trust, credibility and followership.  They enable you to mobilize people to go above and beyond.  We’ve organized the model into three dimensions: Character, Substance and Style.

How Do I Know If I Have these Qualities of Executive Presence?

Each of these 15 qualities of presence is multi-faceted, meaning there isn’t just one way to look at it.  That doesn’t mean they are “unknowable”.  In fact, using a sophisticated multi-rater assessment, we’ve measured and tracked the data for leaders in 17 countries, in just about every industry.  We have also reviewed the collective responses of their managers, peers and direct reports.

You don’t need to complete a Bates ExPI Assessment right now to begin learning about how others see you. It starts with asking yourself questions, and opening up to feedback.

The first step is to ask yourself, “Which of the above would be considered my strengths?  And which ones might not be coming through?”  The checklist below will give you a sense of the types of questions we ask on the ExPI Assessment.

Which of these would you say are your top five, and bottom five?

  • Authenticity: Am I real, genuine, transparent, and sincere in my interactions with others; would  they agree that I say what I mean, and mean what I say?
  • Integrity: Do I always act based on core values and beliefs, live up to high standards of morality, keep my promises, keep meetings, arrive on time so people count on me?
  • Concern: Do I show genuine, consistent interest in others, encouraging them to develop and promoting a healthy sustainable culture?
  • Restraint: Do I maintain a calm disposition, and avoid being impulsive, overly emotional or extreme?
  • Humility: Am I aware of my strengths and weaknesses, open to others, and make room for everybody’s good ideas?
  • Practical Wisdom: Am I known for bringing insight and judgment that get to the heart of issues and help produce prudent decisions?
  • Confidence: Do I demonstrate self- assurance in timely decision making, Am I ready to accept risk, do I get groups to move things forward?
  • Composure: Would others say I’m steady in a crisis, calm and able to focus others to bring perspective to critical decisions?
  • Resonance: Do I really connect with others? Am I thought of as someone who is attentive, attuned and responsive to feelings and motivations?
  • Vision: Do people see me as on top of trends, looking out to the future, and inspiring them with an enterprise wide picture of what could be?
  • Appearance: Would others say I look the part of a leader? Is my dress, polish, grooming, energy and vitality that of an executive?
  • Intentionality: Do I clarify direction and would others say I keep the group on track without sacrificing room for dialogue to get people aligned?
  • Inclusiveness: Do I actively involve others, welcome diverse points of view, and empower others?
  • Interactivity: Do I promote an interpersonal, relaxed dialogue and the exchange of timely information to coordinate action?
  • Assertiveness: Would others say I speak up and put issues on the table without shutting others down?

How do I know whether these are my strengths or gaps?

You don’t know for sure!  The next step is to ask a trusted advisor (manager, mentor or peer mentor) to answer these questions about you.  You may find blind spots –they may see different strengths or gaps.  Executive presence is in the eye of the beholder.  That’s why you want to seek others’ advice and guidance.

Are Men and Women Different When it Come to Executive Presence?

We’re often asked is there a difference between how men and women are perceived when it comes to executive presence.  The surprising answer is, not much!  Our data shows there’s very little difference between how men and women at the leadership level are perceived.  As a matter of fact, there’s far more difference among women, than between women and men.

When you think about it, that makes sense.  Look at Kasey and Jane, two women from different backgrounds with defining professional experiences that shaped them.  Their gaps aren’t the only factors.  Gender bias does exist and many women have to overcome obstacles.  However, we think women should be encouraged because generally when they reach leadership, the peers, direct reports and managers do not find the differences that significant.  We all have strengths and gaps.

How to Achieve Extraordinary Executive Presence

The good news is gaps are areas of opportunity where we can develop.  You can achieve extraordinary executive presence.  Leverage your strengths, and make small changes in behavior that enhance your presence.

Kasey was perceived by her team as strong in Resonance, Interactivity and Inclusiveness.  But Intentionality, Restraint and Composure were not coming through.  She worked with a coach to provide clear direction to her team (Intentionality); manage the emotions that kept her in brainstorming mode so she could provide clear direction (Restraint); and avoid overreacting in the moment when the team didn’t get the right things done (Composure).

Jane’s strengths were Confidence, Assertiveness and Vision.  She worked on Resonance, Interactivity and Inclusiveness.  (You may notice her gaps were the opposite of Kasey’s!)  Jane learned to be more present and attuned to others in meetings (Resonance); have casual, two-way dialogue rather than top-down interactions (Interactivity) and to avoid playing favorites and expand her circle of people that help her make good decisions (Inclusiveness).

Either Kasey or Jane might have hit an inflection point and plateaued in their careers had they not addressed these gaps.  This would have had consequences not only for them, but for their organizations.  With the help of their boss and a coach, each put together her own plan for development.

Here are three lessons we’d like to share with every woman leader:

  • One-size doesn’t fit all

You’re different from every woman around you – women’s leadership programs aren’t the entire answer.  Take your development into your own hands by opening up to learning how others view you and addressing your gaps.

  • Stop thinking of being a woman as a disadvantage

We’ve reviewed the data on women in all industries and found that for the most part they have no more gaps than men do.  All leaders need to develop in some of these 15 areas of presence.  The only disadvantage is not having a clear-eyed view of how others see you.

  • It’s up to you

It’s your job to find your path and commit to development.  Seek out mentors, advisors, coaches, and ask your organization to give you leadership development opportunities.

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

There’s no substitute for knowing yourself.  If you’re interested in a free guide to what to focus on in developing executive presence, go to www.alltheleaderbook.com and click on the “pre-assessment survey.”

About the author:

Suzanne Bates is founder and CEO of Bates Communications, a firm that works with executives in global organizations to drive organizational performance.  Their mission is to help leaders shape the world.  She’s a sought after speaker, CEO Coach, and expert in the field of communicative leadership.  She’s author of several books including Speak like a CEO, Motivate Like a CEO, and Discover Your CEO Brand, and co-author of new All the Leader You Can Be, The Science of Achieving Extraordinary Executive Presence (McGraw Hill, March 2016).

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Advancing Women

Advancing Women