How to Achieve Executive Presence in 2022

Years ago, a friend told me she was up for a promotion into a pretty senior role at work. She’d been told she was ready from a skills perspective; she just needed to boost her “executive presence”—or her ability to present herself in a way that inspires trust, credibility, and poise—as someone “in charge.”

 

Her company hired a coach specializing in executive presence to support her on the journey. When I asked my friend a few months later how it was going she said “It’s great! My coach has taken me shopping three times, I look like a new woman, and that promotion has finally been announced!”

 

If you’re horrified by this anecdote in 2022, I hear you. It actually happened in 2013, and I was horrified then.

 

To be fair, in that time executive presence wasn’t only about appearance. But in certain companies, looking the part was non-negotiable. And when I launched my consulting business in 2015, I wasn’t willing to coach for executive presence. I was appalled by the bias and lack of inclusivity inherent in its framing.

 

But now, we’re in 2022. The world is upside down and all the rules have changed. I do believe the ability to inspire confidence remains as critical as ever today. But I also believe the drivers of executive presence have shifted.

 

I even coach for it today based on a framework I believe is relevant and fair. In 2020, Frances Frei and Anne Morriss published the concept of the Trust Triangle in the Harvard Business Review. And I believe trust lies at the foundation of executive presence.

 

So if you’re looking to dial up the confidence others have in your leadership ability—whether you’re hoping for a promotion, a speaking gig, a university professorship—then let’s talk about how leaning on authenticity, empathy, and logic—the three components of the Trust Triangle—can get you there faster.

Authenticity

Trust begins with showing people the “real” you. This doesn’t mean you have to overshare or give up your privacy. It simply means a single version of you shows up in every situation and is aligned with your values and beliefs.

 

Frei and Morriss do acknowledge that there are legitimate reasons why someone may feel compelled to hold parts of themselves back.

 

“There may… be times,” they say, “when expressing your authentic feelings may risk harmful consequences: Women, for example, are disproportionately penalized for displaying negative emotions in the workplace, and black men are burdened by the false stereotype that they are predisposed...

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