What is the Secret to Leadership Presence?
Leadership presence—the skills and characteristics of
a leader that can improve performance, both in the person and in the
organization he or she oversees—is about to have a moment. Perhaps it’s just
that the executive-in-the-hoodie fad has passed its sell-by date of coolness,
even on the ragged edges of Silicon Valley. Or maybe the increasing diversity
that characterizes companies today is setting off a search for alternatives to
the square-jawed, deep-voiced, airline-pilot persona that once epitomized our
common conception of a leader.
Whatever the reasons, Sylvia
Ann Hewlett’s new book, Executive Presence: The Missing Link between Merit and
Success, is likely to deepen the
interest. This is in part because Hewlett has given the concept a catchy
abbreviation, EP, which echoes Daniel Goleman’s wildly successful introduction of EI (or emotional intelligence), and introduced it
into the lexicon of leadership. But it’s also because Hewlett has for decades
displayed an unerring ability to place herself ahead of the curve when it comes
to identifying and researching the next big thing in the workplace.
In Hewlett’s view, true EP is
an ineffable blend of appearance, communication skills, and gravitas—a
wonderful word that definitively declares the end of the hoodie era. Hewlett’s
explanation of how these qualities work together is compelling; I admire both
her approach and the meticulous research that informs it. But based on my 25
years of experience working with leaders, I’d suggest that true leadership
presence is rooted less in a combination of skills and characteristics than in
the capacity to actually be present. That means being present for
the moment, for others, for the mission, and for the task at hand. There’s a
reason why the words “presence” and “present” have the same root.
People who give us their
undivided attention most vividly manifest presence. I first saw this
demonstrated decades ago when I was a speechwriter for senior executives.
Accompanying them to high-profile events, I noted I could always tell the most
senior person in the room because he (it was always he) appeared the least
distracted, the most able to focus on what was happening. He wasn’t rooting
around in a briefcase for a piece of paper or desperately trying to stash a
dripping umbrella. He wasn’t checking to see if his slides were in order or
wondering if he’d have time to get to his next appointment. Other people
were preoccupied with these details on his behalf, freeing him to actually
listen and respond to those around him.
This capacity to be present,
to be unencumbered by logistical details or other distractions, gave the
leaders I watched an appearance of freedom, authority, and ease. These are not
qualities that can be coaxed forth by addressing the cosmetics of leadership
presence: what we wear, how we walk, the relative firmness of our handshake,
the timbre of our voice. All these things matter, but they alone cannot make
someone who is unfocused seem like a leader. Conversely, individuals who at
first glance appear unprepossessing can exude calm and authority if they are
fully present.
I’ve been thinking about this
over the last year because the capacity to offer our undivided attention has
become at once more important and more difficult to sustain. It’s more
important because we work in an increasingly multicultural environment, and
full presence can be read across cultures: It doesn’t require a decoder or a
course on cross-cultural differences. When talking to someone with roots
halfway across the world, we might be unsure what a specific gesture or
inflection means, but we know in our gut if she is paying attention, if her
mind and heart are available and engaged. Presence transcends gestures and
words, which is why even animals can read it (as fans of Cesar Millan, the dog
whisperer, can attest).
But even as it has become more
important, being present has become more difficult, thanks to the ubiquity and
power of the always-on technologies we use , both to do our work and to manage
our personal lives. Having these technologies at our fingertips continually
tempts us to do two things at once. This may make us feel efficient,
yet it’s undeniable that doing two different things at the same time makes it
impossible to be fully present for either.
Even as it becomes more
important, being present has become more difficult, thanks to technology.
The irony is that our quest
for efficiency, our desire to leave no task undone, has the ultimate effect of
undermining our capacity to be fully engaged by what we do. So even as we work
harder and improve our performance, we are eroding our capacity to inspire the
trust and confidence required for sustainable success.
What to do?
For one thing, we need to be
more intentional about setting policies around how we use our time and
attention, becoming in effect our own HR departments. By honoring boundaries
around how and when we respond, we diminish stress, improve our capacity to be
thoughtful, and create the conditions needed to manifest an engaged presence.
This is not easy, and it might require some selling upward—otherwise known as
convincing the boss—but regaining control of how we communicate is an essential
first step.
Second, we need to push back
against habitual multitasking, which can be useful but exacts a high cost, not
only in lost gravitas, to use Hewlett’s word, but in terms of avoiding
mistakes. While it’s probably impossible to avoid multitasking altogether, it
often becomes compulsive, even addictive. And if we become uncomfortable having
a moment to just let our mind wander, we know things have probably gone too
far.
Finally, we need to recognize
that presence requires practice and training. The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat
Han, a lifelong meditator, notes that our capacity for presence can be
developed by simple techniques such as using the ring of our phone as an
awareness cue. Rather than responding by grabbing the phone, we can use the
ring as a reminder to take one deep, long slow easy breath, focus our minds,
and then pick up the phone. I’ve tried this simple discipline and found it
highly effective. What’s most powerful is the way this positions you to answer
the phone: fully present for whoever is calling.
No comments:
Post a Comment