Business leadership requires more than experience or knowledge
Photo by Yifei Chen on Unsplash
If you have your sights set on an executive career path, how you develop your executive presence matters. Moving into a business leadership role requires the right combination of character, substance, and style.
In brief, those key dimensions of executive presence mean:
Character: Those qualities that are fundamental to the leader as a person, to his or her identity, and that give us a reason to trust him or her.
Substance: The cultivated qualities of mature leadership that inspire commitment, inform action, and lead to above-and-beyond effort.
Style: This dimension includes overt skill-based patterns of communicative leadership that build motivation and shape and sustain performance.
In some contexts, one will outweigh the others in importance, but you need to build awareness of all three to become a successful leader.
Building Leadership Character
Although we develop the foundations of character in childhood and adolescence, at some point along the way, more superficial functions tend to overshadow it.
As this Forbes contributor writes:
“Character is at the crux of effective leadership development. Unfortunately, it is an aspect that has been subjected to the back burner for so long. When the subject of leadership is discussed, elements like vision and charisma are usually at the forefront of such conversations. However, without grounded character as a key business element, a lot of business leaders will fail to build sustainable and profitable businesses.”
In addition to vision or charisma, some executives lean heavily on title or position to move their agendas. However, without integrity and authenticity to back it up, that approach will only take a leader so far.
By leading with character, you earn the trust and respect of those around you. Rather than reacting to your directives out of fear, people will get behind your vision and goals because they understand the value and intention behind your decisions.
To continue to develop your leadership character, consider the following as you make work-related decisions and work with the people around you:
Does this decision align with my values and the company’s values?
Have I shown humility and inclusivity when communicating with others?
Do I tend to balance grit and strength with careful consideration and restraint?
Can I see the big picture and avoid developing tunnel vision related to achieving goals?
If you have felt misaligned in your career, it could be a sign that your choices or your company have not supported the development of your character. When your character feels intact, on the other hand, you feel lighter and more attuned to yourself and the world around you.
Communicating Leadership Substance
Leaders who exhibit strong executive presence have learned how to communicate their substance both verbally and nonverbally.
Substance comes with knowledge, experience, and maturity. A leader with substance has the know-how to make confident business decisions, but also the wisdom and maturity to consider how decisions affect stakeholders, employees, and other key players.
How do you know if others see or feel your leadership substance? Look for these signs:
People listen when you speak
Others come to you with questions or to ask for your support on an initiative
You have an ability to diffuse high-conflict situations by using humility balanced with confidence and knowledge
Colleagues buy into your ideas and trust your skills
You deliver results and uplift others as you do
How you do things should matter as much as reaching the goal line. An eye toward substance will help you get results with integrity and respect for the people who help you along the way.
Developing Leadership Style
You can “win friends and influence people” by following other leaders’ advice, but you must develop your own leadership style. You cannot wear another person’s style and carry it off as your own. You will feel inauthentic and exhausted.
As you develop your personal leadership style, pay attention to internal cues about how well it fits your personality and your values.
This LinkedIn writer outlines seven common leadership styles:
Autocratic – My way or the highway
Authoritative – Confident and visionary, but allows for input and discussion
Pace-setting – Driven and leading my example
Democratic – Seeking participation and collaboration
Coaching – Encouraging others to express their strengths and skills
Affiliative – Focused on relationships and people-building
Laissez-faire – Uninvolved and letting things happen organically
It can help to read about these and other common styles to understand where you fall naturally. Then ask those around you how they perceive your current style.
Bear in mind that some styles are more effective than others in supporting character and substance – and consequently result in more buy-in and trust with stakeholders. All of these styles might lead to positive results, such as profits, but you need to consider at what cost.
Find a style that fits who you are, but also one that encourages the people around you to deliver their best selves at work. That magic formula can help you become a leader who drives business, but who also develops people, which creates a long-term growth path for the entire organization.
To learn more about developing the key facets to executive presence, reach out to me for a complimentary strategy call. Most leaders are made and not born, and it’s worth your time to discover how you can grow and succeed.