Enhancing executive presence: Strategies for leadership impact 

Everyone knows a leader who captures the attention of others when they walk into the room. It isn’t power or authority but an ability to inspire trust, confidence and the motivation to act. Leaders who do so have likely experienced executive presence coaching.

“Executive presence is an essential skill in leadership because it helps leaders to develop trust and command attention in person and online,” says speaker and executive speech coach Gwen Reisck-Rennich, who owns Reisck-Rennich Presentations. “It’s having strong communication skills and displaying authenticity that motivates their teams and builds credibility and influence.”

Becky Sharpe, CEO and owner of International Scholarship and Tuition Services, adds that executive presence sets the organizational tone for others to emulate. For example, a loud, boisterous executive who talks over others is modeling that it’s okay to interrupt someone who is speaking.

On the other hand, a leader who allows an individual to finish their thought and then paraphrases what they heard in a calm, educated way creates a different environment.

“It’s important how an executive presents themselves because that will flow through the entire organization,” she says.

While some people may have this natural quality, it’s a skill that can be developed and strengthened through executive presence coaching.

Understanding Executive Presence

Understanding executive presence is key to establishing credibility and influence as a leader. Executive presence isn’t just one skill; it combines several components.

Key components of executive presence

Executive presence requires a set of learned behaviors and personality traits that include:

• Confidence: Projecting self-assurance in decision-making and interactions.
• Communication skills: Articulating ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Emotional Intelligence: Demonstrating empathy and self-awareness.
• Authenticity: Being genuine and transparent in leadership.

“When a leader has these qualities, he or she is more able to more effectively gain support from their teams, employees, and stakeholders because people want to be led by someone who appears to know what they are doing,” Resick-Rennich says.

The role of alignment in executive presence

Alignment is the foundation of mastering executive presence. Ensuring consistency between internal beliefs and external behaviors increases trust among stakeholders, making it easier to inspire confidence and effectively influence others.

Common Challenges in Developing Executive Presence

Developing executive presence requires practice and effort. For some, it is working to overcome self-doubt; for others, it is refining communication skills or managing emotions under pressure. Here’s a look at common challenges in strengthening these skills.

Identifying misalignment

Recognizing discrepancies between self-perception and others’ perceptions is another vital component of executive presence.

At a Vistage speaking engagement, Resick-Rennich met an executive who approached immediately, confidently shook hands and thanked her for being there. Then he slouched in his chair and crossed his arms, giving an ‘I don’t care what people think of me’ vibe.

“It was a Jekyll and Hyde moment because I was impressed with him in those first few seconds, and then he transformed into this growling, negative kind of person,” she says.

The Chair started the meeting with each person sharing what they wanted to process. This individual said one he wanted to process high turnover.

During this sharing, Resick-Rennich made notes about each person’s presence. He was the first person out of his seat to ask what she noted.

“I told him I saw a link between crossing his arms and slouching in the chair and employees leaving,” she says. “He got quiet and said, ‘My wife says my bark is worse than my bite.’ I told him to listen to his wife because what I perceived was him coming across as a bully.”

Overcoming self-doubt

Self-doubt is one of the biggest challenges senior leaders face when developing an executive presence. Executive presence coaching helps leaders identify and address internal barriers that hinder confident leadership. Coaches use multiple strategies for overcoming self-doubt, including:

• Identifying confidence triggers.
• Collecting a record of successes and feedback that can be reviewed and visualized before high-stakes situations.
• Reframing imposter syndrome.
• Using physical techniques like posture and delivery (tone, volume and inflection).

“When working on improving posture, put your fingertips under your ribs and lift the ribs, relax your arms and remember to breath,” says Resick-Rennich. “It’s not pulling your shoulders back. It’s just lifting the ribs while talking. It can change your whole look.”

She also teaches clients to take up more space. This exudes confidence and makes one look relaxed rather than stiff like a statue.

Enhancing non-verbal communication

Improving body language, eye contact and other non-verbal cues is one of the fastest ways to enhance executive presence.

Dr. Albert Mehrabian developed the 7-38-55 Rule of Personal Communication, which emphasizes that spoken words are only a fraction of effective communication (7%). In contrast, tone makes up 38%, and nonverbal cues comprise 55% of the interaction. Nonverbal cues include eye contact, body language, and appearance.

Resick-Rennich noted that behaviors like clicking a pen, taking the pen cap off and on, looking at the phone incessantly, shaking the leg or tapping the foot will diminish a person’s credibility.

“Even if the company is doing okay, they can do so much better when the leader has polished and developed nonverbal skills, especially eye contact,” says Resick-Rennich.

While coaching executives on eye contact in group settings, she has heard the audience offer feedback, including:

• “You looked relaxed and confident.”
• “I understood every word you said.”
• “You were more open.”
• “I found you approachable.”
• “You were more precise and got to the point faster.”

Strategies for Enhancing Executive Presence through Coaching

Enhancing executive presence requires practice. Resick-Rennich frequently receives requests for resources and books on how to improve.

“You’re not going to get better reading a book,” she says. “The resource you need to rely on is your phone—listen to your voice and watch yourself. Ask yourself if that’s a voice you’d want to listen to or be led by. Then pick up tools or techniques like vocal variety, distance, moving with purpose, eye contact, etc.”

Coaching helps executives enhance their executive presence through personalized feedback and actionable strategies in key areas:

Developing authenticity

Aligning internal values with outward behaviors to build trust and credibility is vital to strengthening executive presence.

Start by identifying your core values. Ask what principles matter most to you and why. Spend time self-reflecting and ask a group of trusted individuals how they would describe you to create a list of non-negotiable core values.

Commit to those values by:

• Making decisions that reflect these principles, even when they are challenging.
• Sharing your core values with your team.
• Using accountability strategies to ensure your actions align with stated values.

Enhancing communication skills

Practicing effective verbal and non-verbal communication techniques is essential to strengthening executive presence. Early in Sharpe’s career, she was a salesperson, and her calls were recorded and reviewed for learning.

“It creates the opportunity to track how much you speak versus the other person and if that’s appropriate for the environment,” she explains. “It also helps you see or hear things you may not have realized, like unintentionally interrupting a potential client.”

Resick-Rennich, who has a background in television, adds that when presenting online, individuals need even stronger communication skills. It’s more challenging to keep listeners engaged due to a lack of physical presence and non-verbal cues.

“To compensate, the executive needs to be more conscious of tone of voice, vocal variety, articulation, conciseness, natural gestures and standing instead of sitting,” she says. “These tools will help a leader or anyone project more energy and keep the listeners engaged during an online delivery.”

She also recommends investing in the iContact camera, which aligns the camera with the person you’re speaking with during a video call to create a more natural interaction.

Another significant way to enhance communication is to consider how you show up at meetings.

“How people show up at meetings is a part of executive presence,” Sharpe says. “Showing up late, being on the phone or doing something not directly related to a meeting sends a message.”

Conversely, Sharpe shared that at a recent board meeting, a member shared at the start that their teenager was watching their sick 6-year-old child and that they didn’t feel comfortable silencing their phone. They asked if everyone in the room was okay with leaving the ringer on.

“That’s super executive presence,” she says. “She was honest and asked permission.”

Building confidence and poise

Several strategies can help leaders learn to project calmness and assurance in high-pressure situations. In Sharpe’s former sales role, she physically stood up over the phone.

“It made me feel better about myself,” she says. “So, if you’re nervous on a phone call, stand up in a posture that feels confident—no one knows if you’re standing or sitting.”

Another strategy Sharpe recommends is writing down the worst-case scenario before a situation occurs. What are you nervous about or what is the worst outcome from the interaction?

“The worst-case scenario is that [in sales] the other person doesn’t want a follow-up conversation,” she says. “Ask yourself, ‘In this case, am I still alive? Do I still love people? And am I loved?’ We hyperbolize and make the worst case in our minds a lot worse than it really could be.”

Continuous feedback and reflection

Engaging in regular reflection and seeking feedback fosters ongoing development and supports an authentic executive presence.

Consider these three strategies for building a practice of feedback and reflection.

• Create a small group of trusted advisors who can provide candid feedback. Vistage peer groups can fill this role.
• Set aside time daily, weekly and monthly for self-reflection. Ask yourself, “When did I feel most/least confident…?” or “When did I compromise my values?”
• Record presentations or key interactions. Focus on reviewing behaviors you’ve identified as part of your SMART goals.

Accountability partner

Making behavioral changes, especially related to blind spots, is hard without outside feedback. Leveraging a trusted accountability partner to offer constructive observations is a powerful tool for enhancing executive presence.

Another strategy Sharpe recommends is announcing what you’re working on in a group meeting, saying: “I’ve been working on being less distracted in meetings, and one thing that helps me is to doodle. So, if you see me doodling on paper, it is a way for me to focus on what you’re saying, and I don’t want you to interpret that as me spacing out.”

“That’s where you’re demonstrating clear communication and practicing simultaneously,” she says.

The Impact of Executive Presence on Leadership Effectiveness

Senior leaders with strong executive presence are seen as trustworthy, decisive and inspiring in a way that aligns teams and drives actions in multiple ways.

Influencing organizational culture

Leaders at the top shape organizational culture. Leaders who develop a high level of executive presence create a positive and productive work environment, which leads to higher engagement and greater retention.

Driving team performance

People respond to a leader’s energy and presence. Leaders who command attention while coming across as authentic and empathetic can motivate and inspire teams to achieve and exceed organizational goals.

Enhancing stakeholder relationships

Building strong, trust-based relationships with clients, partners and investors leads to long-term business strength. Stakeholders seek consistency and authenticity, especially during negotiations or crises. Leaders who cultivate their executive presence are more persuasive and influential, which leads to stronger partnerships and better business outcomes.

Elevate Your Executive Presence with Vistage

Investing in enhancing your executive presence is essential for building credibility in your organization or broader industry and building influence that drives decision-making and performance.

Vistage provides tailored coaching programs to help leaders develop and enhance their executive presence, fostering greater impact and influence within their organizations.

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