Lucy Gernon (00:01.742)
Hi there, and you are so welcome to this three part mini training series all on executive presence. In case you’re new here, my name is Lucy Gernon and I’m an executive coach for women in leadership roles and their teams. And I support mostly women, but I have some male clients too, to accelerate your careers with more confidence so you can make the impact you want to make without burning out or missing out on life. And I’m so excited because I decided to record this mini training series for you.
to celebrate the launch of my new digital course, the Executive Presence Blueprint, because I want to help you to understand exactly what executive presence is, why it’s important, because if you want to stand out in your career and you want to be seen as a exemplary standout leader, you have got to master the art of executive presence. So in this one today, in this training today, we’re going to be talking all about the key to building more gravitas, OK?
So in today’s episode, you’re going to discover the definition of executive presence and why it actually matters. You’re going to learn a little bit more about what’s actually changed over the past decade because there has been a lot. We’re going to talk about three key attributes that great leaders have today. And then finally, we’ll finish up with this magic word gravitas so that you can learn to command a room with more ease.
I’ll also share some details about the course, the Executive Presence Blueprint, in case you want to grab it when we finish the show. I cannot wait to get into this with you. But if you want to learn more about the course now and you’re like, my God, I need to learn, just head over to my website, lucygarnon .com forward slash EP. And you can grab the Executive Presence Blueprint digital course right there. OK, so I want to start by saying you are a brilliant woman.
You have studied hard and you have given your all to your organization. You’d nearly run through a wall for your company, right? You are hardworking. You’re conscientious. You are a great problem solver. But as a senior leader, this is only half the battle. And one of the biggest mistakes I see that many leaders make, especially women, is that we think if we just work hard, we’re going to get the recognition.
Lucy Gernon (02:23.214)
And unfortunately, that is not how it works. OK. Now, a question I’m asked a lot when it comes to executive presence is like, well, what exactly is it? And can I actually learn how do you not just is not just something that you have? And the answer is, yes, it can be learned. Yes, there are people who exude executive presence just by nature. However, like before you knew what you knew now, you had to learn it right.
So absolutely, please know that you can learn executive presence. So let’s start by talking about what exactly is executive presence. In its most simple terms, it’s really about your ability to inspire confidence because inspiring confidence in your subordinates and also in your peers means that people are going to want to follow you. OK, because if you don’t…
believe in what you’re saying fully. And if you don’t show up with confidence and authority, how can you expect anyone to follow you? OK, so it’s all about, you know, you want to be the kind of leader that when you walk into a room, people go, she’s here or he’s here. And we know we’re safe. We know we’re in good hands. I’d love for you to think about that, actually. Think about a leader that you really admire that when you’re with this person, you’re like, OK.
You hang on their every word. You look to them when, you know, the shit hits the fan. That’s exactly what executive presence is. It’s about being a leader, being an authority. And it all starts with confidence. OK. Now, why do you even need executive presence? Like, what is it? So for me, executive presence really, you know, it’s a coin. It was a term that was coined for executives, but it applies to all leaders. It’s about having a leadership presence.
Because if you’re an ambitious woman or man, if you’re listening to this in your mail, you’re very welcome to. You have got to be able to hone in on your leadership skills, OK? It’s not just about getting the job done. It’s not just about hitting the metrics in your own department. It’s actually having a much bigger picture thinking and it starts with your people. OK, if you want to be a true leader, if you want to climb the ladder,
Lucy Gernon (04:46.926)
If you want to be taken more seriously, you have got to build your executive presence. So it really does determine the opportunities that you get. And, you know, there’s a saying that you might have heard many times that all important decisions about you will be made when you’re not in the room. So if you’re multitasking, come back to me. I’m going to repeat that again. All important decisions about you are made when you’re not in the room.
So whether that’s a decision about an opportunity or a promotion or to get you to be the leader on a particular important project, you’re most likely not going to be there when that decision is made. And the opportunities that present themselves to you largely depend on the confidence that you’ve instilled in those decision makers about your abilities. And the higher up you climb, the more confidence those senior leaders need to have in you.
to trust you with those opportunities, okay? So when we think about great leaders, what are the three top things that great leaders do? So in 2024, Harvard Business School released a paper.
on the new trends on executive presence, because a lot has changed over the last 10 years. OK, now I told you I was going to tell you about what’s changed and I’m absolutely going to do that. So over the last 10 years, we have gone through a lot as a population, right? We’ve had COVID, we’ve had, you know, the LLGB, QIQIQIQI
We’ve had wars like so much has changed over the past decade. And as a result, the business world has changed, too. And as leaders, what would have worked 10 years ago is definitely not going to work now with the generations that are up and coming. I’m hearing from all of my clients and my 360 leaders club members about the challenges that they’re facing when it comes to leadership today in the modern day. But essentially.
Lucy Gernon (07:03.63)
There are three key attributes, OK, where you need to focus on over the next couple of episodes. We’re going to break it down. The first one is gravitas. The second one is having superior communication skills. And the third one boils down to polished appearance. OK, so today we’re going to talk about gravitas. And then over the next couple of episodes, we’re going to talk about communication, authenticity and appearance. OK. So how can you build more gravitas?
That’s a question. Like, what is gravitas? Gravitas is just having that gravitas. It’s such a great word. It’s about being in your power. It’s about certainty. It’s about when you walk into a room, people stand to attention in the most beautiful way. OK, it’s not about being a dictator. A leader is absolutely couldn’t be more far removed from being a dictator. OK, a leader is somebody who inspires confidence. All right. So if you want.
to be taken seriously. And if you’re multitasking, please come back to me. You have got to take yourself seriously, okay? You’ve got to believe in yourself and in your ideas, with such certainty that builds trust with those key stakeholders. Now, in the paper that I mentioned that Harvard published, confidence was actually voted 76 % of respondents.
voted confidence the highest rate in gravitas. Okay. Because confidence instills trust. Now, confidence is something that I am a pro at helping people with. If you knew my story, you can go back and listen to episode number one of the 360 Leadership Podcast and hear where I’ve come from. But I did not have confidence in myself at all. I was so far removed from being confident and believing in myself.
But through doing the work and a lot of that work is what I’m teaching you in my new course, the executive presence blueprint to build my self confidence and build my self belief. I’ve been able to change careers entirely, establish a big following on social media and on my podcast, have the likes of Google and Forbes wanting to work with me. And I am now an executive coach for those senior leaders that I used to look up to helping them with this stuff. And it all started with me.
Lucy Gernon (09:26.286)
believing in myself and my abilities. And that’s what I want for you too. OK? So you’ve got to be confident. The second thing in gravitas is you’ve got to be able to make decisions. You have got to be able to make fast decisions. And that is something that I know to be true. Think of a 71 percent of people said for them to have confidence and trust in leaders, it’s about being decisive, right?
And exactly in my course, that’s why I’ve included a lesson all on decision making using my four part to do it framework that is so simple, but so easy. I promise you, you’re going to be making decisions like a pro. A big shift, though, in gravitas is that inclusion is now registering in 2020, in 2022 when this research was done. So.
They looked at like the difference between executive presence in 2012 and 2022. And authenticity now is a huge thing. OK, authenticity is appearing in everything. So people want to know who you are. Inclusion is massive, massive, massive. OK, so people want to be included. They want to be respected. They want to be seen and heard. The days of leaders being the dictators are absolutely gone. So it’s really, really important that, you know,
you become a more inclusive leader. Now, I know that that word inclusion can be quite fluffy and it’s quite a buzzword at the moment. And like, how do you even go begin to, you know, be a more inclusive leader? A lot of organizations have D E and I strategies, but it doesn’t have to be as big as you think. And in my new course, actually, I’m breaking down some super simple, easy and effective strategies so that you can be a more inclusive leader today. You don’t need to wait for your organization.
You don’t need to follow some complex training. You can literally just do these tips and I promise you, you’re going to stand out and be more inclusive, OK? Respect for others is another big one. Another big one under gravitas then too is having a vision. So all great leaders have a vision. And I know that you do too. But are you able to clearly articulate your vision? Are you able to actually bring people along with your vision?
Lucy Gernon (11:41.166)
so that you can influence decisions and get the buy in that you want. You have got to have a vision. OK. And again, in my course, I have a lesson in there helping you step by step by step to support you, to clarify your vision and helping you to communicate it in a way that actually lands with the audience as well. So you’ve got to have your vision. And then the other trait under gravitas is integrity. So integrity is obviously it’s kind of a fundamental and it really does go without saying.
You’ve got to be in integrity, which means doing the right thing when no one’s watching. It’s about being that stellar example. I love that word when it comes to executive presence and leadership. It’s like you want to be a stellar leader. You want to be a standout leader. And to do that, you’ve got to be an integrity with who you are and what your values are and all of that stuff. And again, in my course, that’s why I’ve built in a module on personal branding, because so many people find it difficult to.
do all of this because they’re not clear on their values or they’re not clear who they are. They’re not clear on their story. They’re not clear on how to articulate their vision. And that’s exactly why I created the Executive Presence Blueprint as well, which you can grab wherever you’re watching this training as well. So I know there’s been a lot to take in here. I’m just going to summarize quickly. Executive Presence is all about instilling confidence in others that you’re up to the job. OK?
All of the most important decisions about you will be made when you’re not in the room. So it’s super important that you believe in yourself as much as I believe in you, as much as your team believes in you. And even if we haven’t met yet, I want you to know that I believe in you in case no one’s told you that before. I believe in you. You have gifts to bring to the world. You have so much leadership potential that is just waiting to be unlocked.
And building executive presence absolutely is the first step. So if you come back tomorrow, we’re going to get into part two where we are going to be breaking down the six key elements to persuasive communication. And if you want to check out the course, the executive presence blueprint, you can just head over to lucygarden .com forward slash EP and you can see all the details there. And I look forward to seeing you in part two of this mini training very, very soon. Bye for now.
