4 Ways to Establish Your Credibility

When I think about executive presence, I’m thinking about a few things. The first is, are you showing up in your work environment in the uniform? Every job has a uniform. Whether you’re a doctor in a hospital, whether you are working on the line at McDonald’s, or whether or not you are a senior executive in a Fortune 500 corporation, every job has a uniform. And what I say to executives, “Wear the attire that is consistent with the executive uniform that is embraced in your organization.” So part of executive presence is making sure that you show up in the uniform.

The second is making sure that you can demonstrate that you’re comfortable in your own skin. Some of the things that people get wrong with respect to executive presence is that they show up a little bit nervous, like they’re wondering whether or not they were supposed to be there. And worse, they actually say that when they get into the room. “Oh, I’m happy to be here. Oh, I don’t know how I got into this room.” And those are things that will not play in your favor. Most executives, if you think about anybody that you might know in the C-suite, they show up — even if they are a little bit nervous, even if they have a little bit of imposter syndrome — they show up like they are confident and that they know that they are supposed to be in that room. That energy and how you show up is very, very important.

Now the third thing is that what can fuel that confidence and the way you show up is making sure that you know your stuff, whatever that happens to be. And if you are wondering about that, let me put your mind at ease: if you’ve made it into that room, you know what you’re supposed to know. And, sure, there are going to be things that you don’t know that you will have to learn, but you have a track record of having successfully learned other things. So if there’s something you don’t know in this new role, you will learn that too. Carry on.

The other thing that you can do to enhance your executive presence is to be very strategic about when you insert your voice in team meetings. Let’s say that you’re meeting with a number of other senior leaders. It’s important that people know that you are engaged and that you’re listening. And how might you demonstrate that you are listening? By asking a question that is attached to a comment that somebody else has made. “Oh, Bob. That made me think of X. How would we think about doing Yor Z?” That will enhance your executive presence because you’re in a room with other senior people, you are demonstrating that you are listening, and you are engaging by asking a question that furthers the conversation. All very effective in enhancing your presence in that room among your other senior peers.