Confidence – Executive Presence – Correlation?

Posted by Perspect

You often hear me talk about executive or leadership presence – it is a topic that is exciting to me as I have seen so many folks – senior leaders, startup entrepreneurs and everyone in between build their skills in this area to learn how to authentically connect with individuals and teams so they can inspire and motivate them to a common goal. What a powerful outcome for anyone – a CEO, a community leader, a pastor or a parent.

I hear people say I can’t have presence, I wasn’t born with that and besides I am an introvert. Phooey … that’s what I say. If you want it and you can connect the benefit of achieving it to the behaviour shift you need to make you can do it. After all, change is not easy (especially human behavioural change – ever try to lose weight – quit smoking – building presence takes the same type of discipline) so your intentions have to be supported by some impact that supports it.

You also have to believe in yourself – it takes confidence – this is a big part of presence and one where lots of people struggle.

Confidence comes from those mini successes life has provided us … perhaps a ball game where you Mom or Dad encouraged you and said you can hit the ball and you did. Maybe your parents told you that you would do great on a spelling or math test and you did – then you did it again and again – then your teachers and coaches began to reinforce this through acknowledgement – “get ready this guy is fast”; “watch out she’s the one to beat.”

Perhaps there is even a time that you can recall in your life where a teacher, mentor, coach did or said something that changed your life or it may be the culmination of a series of wins. Either way,

when your belief in yourself and abilities is not there it is time to channel those childhood wins, those races you’ve won, spelling bees you aced, and hurdles you’ve overcome to the forefront.

These moments are cornerstones, those things that form your core beliefs. When our actions misalign with our core beliefs we experience an integrity gap – the result – is stress, anxiety, illness, and unhappiness. Listen to your inner self – trust your belief system.

Can you recall a turning point in your confidence game? How does that confidence support building the presence you need to step up and authentically connect with individuals and teams so you can inspire and motivate them toward a common goal? How would this type of presence impact your life?

Colin McAllister is an Executive Coach and Management Consultant with a focus on leadership development and organizational transformation. If this is an area where you can see a benefit for yourself or your team feel free to book a time to connect with Colin to learn how he and his team may support you.