In the hybrid workplace, where leaders must be present both online and in person, executive presence follows various standards. Alternative leadership styles that favour women are flourishing. Leadership training may help women uncover the power of their own real dignity, presentation, and engagement styles.

Women are establishing their personal brands in order to demonstrate their worth to an organisation and progress their careers during a period of vital change. There are three major areas where women may improve their executive presence to obtain influence:

-Project a confident, strong, and adaptable image.
-Speak with expertise, clarity, and openness.
-Act with compassion, resilience, and empathy.

Leadership training for women can emphasise on relating to people, regardless of their status in society or company, in order to develop deep ties with distant colleagues. Executive presence incorporates this soft talent into the entire package: how to appear, speak, and act.

The New Success Dress

During the opening weeks of the coronavirus epidemic, the new appearance of leadership was a fluffy pink coat. Dr. Suzet McKinney, now a principal and director of bio sciences for real estate developer Sterling Bay, was instructing troops and airmen to furnish Chicago’s McCormick Place convention centre as a COVID-19 treatment site. Her command presence came not from her ski jacket and turtleneck uniform, but from her apparent desire to assist Illinois’ public health response. McKinney’s focused eyes and feeling of purpose were a formidable force in commanding actions on the ground.

For many years, female CEOs projected a specific style or wore clothing to fit into the prevalent culture. How a leader appears in the office or at a social function is still essential since it impacts how others view their talents. However, leadership styles no longer have to be buttoned up in a suit or wrapped in a Valentino gown. Instead, effective leaders enter a room wearing confidence, trust, strength, and flexibility.

This is Sheryl Sandberg’s executive presence as a Meta Platforms director. Her relaxed style exudes executive presence. Sandberg, as Facebook’s COO, believed in Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei’s credo about «making others better as a result of your presence and ensuring that impact lasts in your absence.» Executive presence isn’t only for CEOs of Fortune 500 companies: it’s crucial for operating a digital business.

The epidemic compelled a relaxation of conventional workplace professionalism. During Zoom meetings, a dog would rush into the camera and scratch at the executive’s wall of separation. The more close view revealed that business executives are malleable and flexible. They wanted to create a culture that would thrive in times of distress.

Speech: Prepared, Willing, and Able

Beyond appearance, executive presence is seen in clear and trustworthy communications. Diane Offereins, executive vice president of Discover Financial Services, for example, is a knowledgeable and prepared speaker who ensures that all perspectives are heard. And when Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot speaks — or simply walks into the room — people want to hear what she has to say. Leaders who give keynotes or other speeches should never over-prepare. Speakers who know their stuff can hit it out of the park. Whatever technique is used, its success becomes part of one’s personal brand and can be replicated with confidence.

The written word may have the same authority provided leaders communicate their ideas with clarity and good language. Words matter in paper or online, especially in a social media minefield. Mistakes have ramifications not only for a person’s personal brand, but also for an executive’s organisation. Again, command of the subject is what gives them confidence in their communications.

While not everyone can afford to hire a public relations firm to guide them through such minefields, be careful not to react. Consider the following actions strategically. They must be cognizant of material that may become public, how it should be seen, and how the organisation or firm should be regarded.

Act in order to adapt and thrive

Compassion and empathy are two of the most freeing tools in the leadership toolbox. Women who combine in-depth knowledge of their industry with an awareness of their business partners can demonstrate the resilience required to navigate change. In an unclear business environment, women must be at ease with pivoting to the uncomfortable. Organisations have to be agile during the epidemic in order to thrive now.

Many CEOs’ careers were not linear. They had to change course. Leadership training should motivate and advise women to take risks in order to achieve their goals. A would-be CEO working in human resources (HR) must understand what it takes to become CEO. Perhaps they need to take a lateral position or even a demotion to understand what’s going on at the operational level before moving up to the C-suite.

The key to behaving with purpose is sincerity. If a leader wishes to be renowned for warmth and empathy, everything he or she does should reflect that. Leaders frequently require a reality check with a trusted peer who is free to remark, «Yeah, you’re not coming off that way» or «Yes, you need to work on this piece.»

People’s appearance, speech, and actions are all interwoven. The better prepared someone is, the more confident they are. The more certain they are, the more executive presence they have. Their authority may be observed in their expressions and the way they portray themselves. It’s welcoming. It’s soothing. These are the leaders who build a following and a network. They have it all together.

References

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