Q: How do you address the issue of "executive presence" when it is missing? Can it be taught?

Mark Herbert
New Paradigms LLC
 

A: Yes, anyone can learn.

As you know Mark, "Executive Presence" is acting and looking like an executive.  Teaching it is what I do for a living.  I happen to call it "Nonverbal Leadership", because many of my clients are not executives.  Many are consultants, sales professionals, and experts such as engineers, lawyers, etc.
 
(I chose to emphasize "nonverbal" because most communication is nonverbal, and when there's conflict between words and nonverbal signals, people ignore the words 93% of the time.  Most people focus on words, but without congruent nonverbal signals, the words go unheard.)

As for executives, I also teach them to tone down their presence.  Sometimes high status people suck all the air out of the room and choke off all open communication and innovation.

All my clients change dramatically in 2 days.  I guarantee my work, because training always works.  Here's why.

• People are pretty clueless about the signals they send. People without executive presence undermine themselves, unconsciously. By increasing their self-awareness, they learn what EP feels like, so they can turn it on and off at will.
• Most people lack behavioral flexibility. Usually they are good at high status or low status, but not both. They learn a wide range of simple skills to increase or decrease Nonverbal Leadership.
• Human cooperation is a process.  They learn how to change others by changing themselves, and the proper sequence of behaviors the unconsciously elicits leadership-followership pairings. 

It doesn't create miracles, but it usually at least doubles a person's effectiveness.  Sales people double their closes without any extra effort. Change Agents like consultants double their ability to influence others (including executives).  With people in Leadership, the more typical measure is how others perceive them. Others feel their presence, give them more respect, defer to them.   It could be broken down into behaviors...such as reduction in times they are interrupted when speaking, but I'm looking for them to make a breakthrough in their careers.  Usually, they go back to work and everything is changed. 

One of the cool things about teaching nonverbal skills is that others process them unconsciously.  It gives my clients a huge edge. 

BTW, I think knowing how to turn on and off presence is a beautiful thing that makes the world a better place.  Everyone benefits when conflict and stress is taken out of communications.  Part of leadership is knowing how to change oneself so that others step up to lead when it's their turn.  In our current world full of experts, everyone needs to step up tell their truth with power and step down so that others feel comfortable speaking their truth.  Only then can intelligent decisions be made.

Thanks for throwing me a softball, Mark

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Michael Cushman, The Engaging Guru, helping people master Nonverbal Leadership so they can enrolling others, get the goodies of life, and change the world.  www.engagingchange.com