Executive Presence: A Mindful Perspective
What does it look like for you to express Executive Presence in a way that feels genuine?
It took me years to feel out my authentic leadership style.
Early in my consulting career, I worked hard to mould myself to fit the prevailing definition of professionalism. I remember being advised that, because I was a small human with a naturally introverted approach, I would need to work harder to be viewed as credible by clients and colleagues. I believed that, and viewed every interaction as a venue to prove my worth.
Interacting in that way was exhausting and unfulfiling.
It led me to disconnect from the truth of who I was and the value I had to offer.
Back then, I would never have considered teaching yoga in the same workplace where I hold a leadership role. I’m so glad my perspective has changed.
My recent employers have given me a beautiful gift by supporting my desire to bring my yoga teacher persona into the workplace. What this means is that one day, I could be facilitating a strategic planning session with a group of colleagues. The next, I could be calmly inviting those same colleagues to soften their jaws and relax their glutes in a yoga class.
Bringing such different parts of myself into the same workplace has led me to form a leadership style that honours my uniqueness. It’s allowed me to see that I can be compassionate and light and soft-spoken and still be a highly effective and trusted leader.
I’m excited to see a shift happening in the leadership world. I see more value being placed on leaders’ abilities to deeply listen, be vulnerable, exercise emotional agility and step out of their heads and into their hearts. I see leadership being re-humanized.
This all has me thinking: What if the most important element of executive presence is actually being present? Being present is about truly being in the moment. It’s about embracing a sense of non-judgmental curiosity. And it’s necessary for leaders in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.
Presence enables leading with humanity by enhancing one’s ability to:
Get in touch with what matters most to them
Authentically listen
Ask powerful questions
Observe and sit with emotions and thoughts
Notice subtle cues and body language in others
Experience joy, wonder and awe
While it may sound like a simple prescription, the ability to be in presence is a skill that we must actively cultivate in today’s digitized world. This is why I see mindfulness practices as such a powerful component of leadership development and embed them in everything Arborvida offers.
More tips for cultivating presence can be found in this article: Tips for cultivating presence in-the-moment