I’d like to acknowledge Yetu Dumbia and The Winters Group, Inc. for pointing out the need to remove the term “executive presence” from common use. As you can imagine, that term comes up a lot when coaching leaders. But it’s been often elusive to me as well. I’ve had to ask company sponsors to get specific about the behaviors they are looking for because “executive presence” is vague and looks very different in different organizations.
I remember in particular one coaching engagement in which a younger woman in the organization was being asked by her manager, an older male, to display more executive presence. When I asked her manager some questions to elicit the kind of behaviors that he wanted her to display, he couldn’t really articulate it clearly. It all came back to him wanting her to act more like him in meetings, which of course, was the problem.
The message we are often delivering when we use the term “executive presence” is to “act more like the other leaders here” because it “normalizes the characteristics of the dominant group.” Mary-Frances Winters of the Winters Group encourages us to stop using the term because it has “numerous behavioral interpretations that often ignore and devalue cultural differences.” I agree. And it definitely reinforces the dominant corporate culture and those in power.
What we should be focused on instead is how we help leaders to own and step into their own unique leadership style. There are many types of leadership styles which can be effective.
Examples of leadership styles as identified in the Everything DiSC Work of Leaders model are:
- Pioneering – bold, passionate leaders who inspire others to take chances on new directions
- Energizing – upbeat, enthusiastic leaders who are willing to take chances on colorful new ideas
- Affirming – supportive leaders who work to create a respectful, positive environment
- Inclusive – sincere, accommodating leaders who enjoy collaborating to make decisions so that everyone wins
- Humble – modest, fair-minded leaders who provide reliable outcomes through steadiness and consistency
- Deliberate – conscientious, disciplined leaders who provide high-quality outcomes through careful analysis and planning
- Resolute – questioning, independent leaders who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo to get better results
- Commanding – powerful and decisive, enlisting others to work quickly toward ambitious goals
It’s also important to differentiate leadership styles from leadership best practices. They are quite different.
For example, leadership best practices involve things like creating a vision, testing assumptions, active listening, displaying empathy, speaking up about problems, holding people accountable, etc. Any of the leadership styles mentioned above can exhibit these leadership best practices. They just might come more naturally or be more difficult, depending on your own leadership style.
So now that we are headed into a new year and have greater awareness of how terms like “executive presence” can exclude people, let’s choose to be inclusive and use language that allows everyone to step into their own leadership style!