Own The Room

Discover Your Signature Voice to Master Your Leadership Presence

Executive presence is one of those things that, when you see it, you know it. It sets outstanding leaders apart. But most people have a hard time articulating what exactly creates it. This book seeks to offer a practical framework to do just that.

Having a 'signature voice' is key to the authors' approach and they define this as being “a unique leadership presence that is confident, authentic and effective.”

Myths on presence

The authors say there are three pervasive but untrue myths about executive presence. They are:

• You either have it or you don't - in fact, they say, it can be learned
• One size fits all - actually, it is about being your authentic self, not a stereotype
• If it ain't broke, don't fix it - in reality presence is dynamic and needs to develop as the context changes

ACE conditioning - an integrated approach

According to the authors, presence requires alignment between your mind, body and words. To walk the talk, you need a simultaneous focus on all three. ACE conditioning presents an integrated way of working on leadership presence that addresses the whole person:

Assumptions – Each of us has a set of often unconscious assumptions we have made about ourselves, others, and the world. Critical assumptions that every leader should be able to frame in a positive and collaborative way are around:

• Confidence – what specific value do you bring to the table
• Perspective – keeping focus on both immediate and strategic horizons
• Clarity – what you are aiming to achieve and why

Communication – Each of us can improve our skills in communicating effectively. We often assume that communication is binary, e.g. we can’t be assertive and respectful at the same time. The authors suggest that we all embrace the AND rather than the OR. We can have a powerful voice AND be compassionate toward others. Points to remember to achieve the best communication strategy:

• Frame the discussion to make it relevant to the audience and your outcome
• Practice advocacy to ensure people and cases are heard
• Connect and engage with your audience

Energy – This is about conditioning your physicality to help strengthen the delivery of your message; managing how your body language and mood affect others. People can get all sorts of cues from your non-verbal behaviour. Key points here are:

• Know your physical cues
• Set the tone for your team with your energy
• Make your presence known – identify key people who need face time with you

"Charisma is the result of effective leadership,
not the other way around."