How to Develop Executive Presence: 7 Crucial Steps to Success

Developing executive presence will give you a critical advantage over peers with the same qualifications and experience. Possessing executive presence will brand you as top leadership material, emanating capability that causes senior leaders to trust you with their most important initiatives.

But How to Develop Executive Presence?

1. Understand the 3×3 Executive Presence Model

   I outline my 3×3 Executive Presence Model in my book Executive Presence: Step into Your Power, Convey Confidence and Lead with Conviction. It lays out each of the three core executive presence domains—gravitas, authority, and expression—illustrating the three competencies that form the foundation of each domain. Study how the 9 executive presence competencies work together to form the three executive presence domains and imbue a leader with executive presence.

2. Determine how you’re undermining your executive presence

   As you learn about the 9 executive presence competencies—and take self-evaluations to find out where you stand—identify your greatest areas for growth. These are the areas that are preventing others from viewing you as a leader with executive presence. List the top 3 areas where you most need to grow. By turning those weaknesses into strengths, you’ll allow your positive qualities to stand out. And of course, you’ll have a new set of competencies as well.

3. Look for nascent signs of executive presence

   You may be showing some subtle signs of executive presence in certain areas. In meetings and other interactions, are you showing up with executive presence in certain ways? For instance, maybe you’ve been participating more in the conversation lately. You may need to speak up with more conviction and voice bolder ideas that you’ve been keeping quiet, but already you’re laying the foundation.
   

4. Identify examples of executive presence in action

   For each of the 9 executive presence competencies, identify people who emulate that quality in their leadership. This will demystify what executive presence it, helping you to grasp what each competency looks like. Start looking for examples of executive presence all around you. Are colleagues showing nascent signs of certain qualities? Do some leaders excel in certain qualities but not others? This awareness will help you learn what to do (and what not to do).

5. Create an executive presence development plan

   Design a development plan for addressing your top 3 areas of weakness and honing your strengths. My book Executive Presence: Step into Your Power, Convey Confidence and Lead with Conviction can serve as a guide here, providing action steps related to each competency. Each action step will prompt specific behavioral changes. As you read through them, you may note that some urge you to engage in new behaviors that will push you outside of your comfort zone. Those are the most important steps to take! At the same time, you can boost your confidence by tackling some low-hanging fruit—the easier changes that you simply haven’t been aware you needed to make, or haven’t prioritized.

6. Work with a skilled executive coach

   When learning how to develop executive presence, you’ll benefit from the guidance of an experienced executive presence coach. A skilled coach will help you identify areas of weakness and methodically strengthen them. The coach can help you walk through each of the steps above and other exercises for strengthening executive presence. Most importantly, the executive coach will help you stay accountable to yourself.

7. Monitor progress

   Continuously ask for 360 degree feedback from the people around you to assess your progress. Celebrate your small wins along the way, like that meeting where you voiced a strong opinion and then didn’t back down when challenged. Or that polished presentation that captivated a group of top leaders because you presented compelling information so clearly. Keep a log of your own observations as well as feedback from others, so you can truly see how far you’ve come over time.

Developing executive presence will position you as a next-level leader. This requires intentional effort through the steps outlined above. Don’t just sit back and hope you one day start showing up with executive presence—take action now to cultivate it, and in the span of just a few months, you can dramatically improve how other people perceive you.

Your organization is counting on you to cultivate executive presence so you can contribute greater value as a leader. Contact Joel to embark on an executive presence coaching program customized to your needs or an executive presence corporate training program. You can also purchase his book for your employees Executive Presence: Step into Your Power, Convey Confidence and Lead with Conviction.