Executive Presence

People with executive presence are spoken about as if there is an “x-factor” or magic that is hard to put into words. If you are a top performer, your differentiator in a conversation like this is not in WHAT you have done. What will differentiate you is HOW you are getting work done and the kind of impact you are having on the organization, its stakeholders, and the perception that you are creating externally.

In short, the impact you have with and on people.

When leaders call me and say they have an executive leader they'd like me to coach, "executive presence" is a word I hear a lot. The conversation starts with sharing that the leader is doing a phenomenal job, but how they are approaching it needs some work. I hear things like, "We would like this person to be more aware, present, engaging, and build more trust"

"Leaders with executive presence have a way of pulling you in, keeping you grounded and helping you be a better person for having interacted with them. They are not thinking about the meeting they just came from or the thing they need to be doing after they speak with you. They simply are with you because they care and want to discover something in that very moment."

(Excerpt from The Present Executive by Scott Cornwell…)