3 Ways Leaders Stay Present

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Executive presence requires being present. Being present means being aware of what’s happening, in the here and now, the present moment. Being present is rarely mentioned when people discuss executive presence.

Executive presence is defined as projecting confidence, speaking with a sense of assuredness, being poised, (especially under pressure) and decisive. People with executive presence are also seen as having the ability to read the room and respond appropriately to situations as they arise. This is where being present plays a critical role.

Being present, focusing our attention on what’s really happening, is a simple idea, but not so easy to achieve. Most of us spend a lot of time in our heads. We critique an interaction we had recently. We plan for and worry about the future. We assess ourselves and other people. We judge.

When we’re inside our head, we aren’t present to what’s happening around us. We’re not in the moment. We’re in the past, the future, or the land of no time at all.

Being present requires us to shift our attention, over and over and over again, from the chatter inside our head to the real experience in the here and now.

Being present requires us to shift our attention, over and over and over again, from the chatter inside our head to the real experience in the here and now.

Tips for Being Present

Tip 1: Notice where your attention is focused

The next time you’re walking somewhere, notice where your mind goes.

Notice when you’re paying attention to internal chatter.

The minute you notice that you’re engaged with your own internal chatter, you’re no longer in your head. You’re simply observing that you are, or were, there.

Then…

Tip 2: Shift your attention

Focus on one or two sensory experiences – SEE the trees. HEAR the birds.  LOOK in the store windows. OBSERVE the people walking by. HEAR the sounds of the city.

Tip 3: Notice the difference between being in your head and being present to your experience.

Perform this same routine in a professional setting.

Each time you shift your attention to the present moment, to the actual experience versus your internal chatter about the experience, you get information. Reading the room requires being IN the experience. Then you can see the situation for what it is. Seeing the situation for what it is allows you to make an intentional choice about how to participate, to “respond appropriately”. Responding appropriately requires that you make a choice not to Re-Act, but to act with intentionality.

Each time you shift your attention to the present moment, to the actual experience versus your internal chatter about the experience, you get information.

Re-actions arise from the chatter inside our heads. For example, a colleague is upset about losing a big sale and she publicly blames you.

The chatter begins.

“She just insulted me. I won’t stand for that. It makes me look weak. I hate looking weak. I remember looking weak in front of my friends in 6th grade. They made fun of me for months. I didn’t want to go to school.” It goes on like this until it ends, OR until you notice and make a shift.

If, however, you notice that your colleague just said something hurtful and this brought back memories of a difficult time, you can choose HOW to respond, without Re-Acting to the chatter in side your head. Instead of boomeranging an insult in her direction, you might choose something different, something appropriate. You might remain cool under pressure. You might “read the room” and demonstrate greater executive presence. You might even say something like this.

“Losing this sale is tough for both of us. If you’re willing, let’s find a solution that minimizes the damage to your business unit and to mine. We can look back to find out what signals we could have seen, but didn’t. That way we can avoid situations like this in the future, or at least see them in time to save the sale.”

Being present is the foundation of executive presence.

Copyright: vmaster2012 / 123RF Stock Photo

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Dr Anne Perschel

Dr. Anne Perschel, president of Germane Consulting (germaneconsulting.com) and Co-founder 3Plus International, has over twenty years experience as a leadership and business psychologist. Prior to launching her own businesses, Anne held senior management roles at two Fortune 50 companies. Anne is a change leadership consultant, executive coach, confidant and adviser to senior leaders, their teams, and high potential up-and-comers. She cajoles, humors, leads, influences, pushes, pulls and does whatever it takes to bring leaders to the intersection of high achievement, high returns, high fulfillment and their highest potential.