The leadership presence
A talented and resourceful manager came to me one day and said: “Can you help me get leadership presence?” “What makes you think you don’t already have some?” I asked. “My boss tells me I don’t and I need to get some” was his reply. “I see, do you know how to do that?” I asked. “I don’t even know what it is” he replied.
Does this sound familiar? There are many components to leadership presence, but in my opinion, and this is not a scientific study, you need to start with these two fundamental pieces: Attitude and behavior.
ATTITUDE is the mind set. It is what goes on within an individual. It is also referred to as Intrapersonal dynamics. If you don’t understand why you are good at what you are good at, or why you invariably have issues with particular types of individuals, or can’t figure out why relentless efforts yield unintended results, then you need to spend more time exploring your intrapersonal dynamics. There are a multitude of tools to do that. This is what we refer to as the self-awareness piece . Absolutely critical. Next to impossible to do on your own simply because you need someone to hold the mirror for you!
BEHAVIOR is your reaction to the external environment. It is how an individual interact with others. It is also called interpersonal dynamics. This is frequently referred to as the “people skills”. If your impact is not aligned with your intentions, or if you find that people avoid you instead of support you or that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get through to Larry, then you may want to modify the approach. Changing the behavior will change the outcome. Guaranteed. You just need to make sure you understand what you need to change, if anything, and why.
Starting anywhere else when trying to establish yourself as a leader is like putting water based paint over and oil based paint. It looks good at first but it does not stick. In the end, it will cost you so much more.
Why don’t you hire a helper?
How you lead yourself, and others, matters.