Gravitas and influence don’t come naturally to a lot of people. They are qualities most need to shape and hone over time. An executive presence expert shares some tips for HR.

Have you ever presented information to your peers and colleagues with confidence and then presented that exact same information to a group of senior stakeholders and felt completely out of your depth?

If so, you’re not alone. Feelings of Impostor syndrome or a sudden onset of self-doubt are incredibly common when engaging with executive and board-level leaders for the first time. Often, it’s the absence of executive presence that makes it more challenging.

“The more self-aware, comfortable and confident you are within yourself – when you’ve done some personal or professional development work and when you have a good [understanding of] how you add value – you’re more likely to have that grounded sense of confidence,” says Fiona Pearman, facilitator, coach, author and c0-founder of Quantum Impact Group, alongside Kate Boorer.

Executive presence means you’re less likely to get “hijacked by your nerves” when you find yourself in a situation where you need to demonstrate leadership and influence, she says.

Acquiring these skills takes time, but there are small things you can start doing today that will help you build these critical leadership behaviours over time. Pearman shares five key tips below.

1. Ask really good questions

People often underestimate the value in asking a really good question, says Pearman.

While she warns against over-preparing, Pearman suggests taking the time to understand the environment you’re entering – who’s in the room? How do they communicate? What are their end goals? – and then thinking about some of the questions you might ask to help move the group towards their end goal. 

This can be a great way to cement your presence as a considered, strategic and big-picture thinker. For example, if you’re with a team that is problem-solving, you might ask questions such as:

• What might we be missing here?
• Have we gathered sentiment from anyone who’s not in this room?
• If we asked someone to identify a flaw in our plan, what might they say?
• Are we able to clearly articulate the problem we’re trying to solve?

“The more we can resource ourselves to understand what the parameters are, the less likely we are to [experience] the derailers of executive presence, which are things like self-doubt, the nervous system going into fight, flight or freeze, or being worried that people are going to judge us if we say the wrong thing,” says Pearman.

2. Consider your communication style

As you’re working on developing your own communication style, Pearman suggests taking the time to notice how other executives hold themselves.

“Notice what they’re doing, but also what they’re not doing,” she says.

For example, they might avoid being the first to speak in a meeting, or perhaps they’re restrained when it comes to offering a solution to a problem and instead ask the right questions to help people get there on their own.

The way you communicate matters too, says Pearman.

“If you notice people with executive presence, one of the things you often hear is less is more.

“They don’t pad and they don’t fill. They’re actually pretty comfortable with silence. They’re not trying to people-please, and the absence of that gives them that gravitas and executive presence.”

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do the preparation work that you’re naturally inclined to do, you just don’t need to explain everything, she says. Let your confidence speak for itself and be prepared and available to go deeper should the situation call for it.

Read HRM’s article on how to make your communication more impactful.

3. Don’t feel you need to be the subject matter expert

Many people have an internal bias telling them they’ll look weak or incompetent if they have to ask questions or admit to not knowing something, says Pearman.

“What happens in our early career and leadership journey is that we often rely on our subject matter expertise. We rely on working really hard and knowing our stuff. Particularly for women, we keep thinking that another course or another degree will be the fastest track to executive presence, and yet it never is.”

This isn’t on the individuals, she adds. It’s the result of systemic, social pressures that often hold people back, especially women.

“We keep thinking that another course or another degree will be the fastest track to executive presence, and yet it never is.” – Fiona Pearman

But these challenges occur for all genders, she adds. Pearman has done a lot of coaching work with MBA students through Macquarie Business School and says it’s “phenomenal” how far-reaching these confidence issues are.

“These are all talented, high-potential leaders, and they were hoping their degree would be the ticket to the next stage, yet there was this whole piece around the way they were showing up with their executive presence that, for many of them, was undermining their ability to communicate, engage and inspire people.”

When Pearman works with clients, she has to do a lot of “course correction” to overcome this expertise-versus-presence challenge.

“It’s about getting people back in touch with that inquisitive, curious part of themselves. Being able to ask for help from a place of personal power is very different from tentatively asking questions nervously.”

A great example of this in action is seen in an article HRM published last week. Clare Murphy FCPHR, Executive Director Organisational Enablement at EACH, wrote about how she recently took on responsibility for the finance, IT infrastructure, quality and risk units in her organisation, as well as maintaining her former HR responsibilities.

Murphy noted that she wasn’t a subject matter expert, especially with IT, but she was able to utilise her well-honed HR leadership skills to her advantage.

“Not having an IT background can have its benefits, as I had to ask a lot of questions to understand what was needed, and that enabled a roadmap and communications strategy that has been translated into language everyone can understand and relate to,” she said.

“The most critical skills are the ability to listen, bring together different people and perspectives to work collaboratively together. My general approach is to put out what is proposed and ask people to tell me what’s wrong with it or what’s missing. If you listen to their responses, you can make better decisions.”

4. Have a meeting before the meeting

Executive presence can flow from appropriate consideration prior to an important meeting.

Say you’re presenting to the board and know they’re interested in seeing progress around your employee retention strategies, for example, but perhaps you’ve seen an increase in turnover or what you proposed last time isn’t quite working.

This might feel like a challenging thing to present back to the board, but, as AHRI’s National President and Chair Michael Rosmarin FCPHR said in a previous HRM article, the board is there to help you.

“It’s often a good idea to seek out the Chair and speak to them before the meeting and say, ‘I’ve got something challenging that I’d like us to discuss in the meeting.’ These meetings aren’t about just presenting your work for approval; they’re about getting input and feedback and often working through challenges together,” he said.

Pearman agrees that a “meeting before a meeting” can be a smart way to not only allay any personal nerves, but also get senior stakeholders on side, as you can learn about their priorities and communication styles and tailor your response to them.

“Learn who will be in the room and the dynamics that might be at play,” she says. “What sort of questions might you be asked?”

Read HRM’s guide to developing social capital in the workplace.

5. Develop commercial business acumen

There’s an expectation on leaders that they’ll be able to engage in a robust commercial discussion, says Pearman.

“If you have shied away from understanding a P&L or balance sheet, spreadsheets or financials, that is an area to expand your knowledge on, because even mid-level leadership roles are expected to have a good understanding of the financial implications of choices and decisions.”

This means even when you’re viewing a citation through a people lens, you’re talking about costs, she says.

“When we speak [executives’] language, when we speak into their budgets, into their constraints, into the challenges they have, then we’re solving a problem together. It’s not like HR are coming with their own view of the world. You’re coming into their world and figuring out how you can support them to be more effective in achieving their commercial goals.”

Want to learn more about effective leadership and management? Sign up for AHRI’s short course to understand your leadership style and learn how to create key performance indicators.