September 30, 2025 • 21 mins
Have you ever been told you “lack executive presence” but never received a clear explanation of what that means? You’re not alone.
For many mid-career professionals, this overused buzzword becomes a frustrating barrier to promotions and leadership opportunities.
In today’s episode of The Mid-Career GPS Podcast, John Neral challenges the outdated definition of executive presence and offers a fresh framework that makes leadership expectations more actionable and achievable.
Instead of relying on vague notions of confidence or “looking the part,” John introduces the concept of effective presence; a practical approach built around four key principles:
- Clarity – Communicate ideas simply and ensure expectations are understood.
- Credibility – Build trust by following through and backing up your words with action.
- Connection – Relate authentically to colleagues at every level of the organization.
- Consistency – Provide stability through dependable leadership behaviors.
You’ll also learn how to reframe feedback when someone questions your presence. By asking the right questions such as: “What specifically would you like me to do differently?” Then, you can turn vague criticism into concrete steps that strengthen your leadership reputation.
If you’re navigating a competitive job market or aiming for your next promotion, this episode will help you stop worrying about whether you “look the part” and instead focus on creating impact through authentic and effective leadership.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why “executive presence” is an outdated and biased concept.
- How effective presence helps mid-career professionals stand out in today’s workplace.
- The Four C’s that define effective leadership presence.
- How to turn vague, unhelpful feedback into actionable career guidance.
- Why consistent communication and results matter more than polish.
Ready to give your career the jumpstart it needs to whatever is next? Schedule a $197 Career/Leadership Strategy Session. Click here to learn more about how this transformative strategy session will help you.
Visit https://johnneral.com/resources to:
- Subscribe to my free leadership and career newsletter
- Get The Mid-Career Promotion Blueprint to help you figure out whatever is next for you and your career
- Join The Mid-Career GPS Membership Community.
Please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts here.
Connect with John on LinkedIn here.
Get John's New Mid-Career Journal on Amazon here.
Follow John on Instagram @johnneralcoaching.
Subscribe to John's YouTube Channel here.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
John Neral (00:00):
Today, you and I will delve into a topic that
gets thrown around a lot inleadership conversations and
often leaves people scratchingtheir heads.
That topic is executivepresence.
I wish you could see me do theair quotes on that one.
Maybe you've been told you needmore of it.
(00:21):
Maybe it's even been the reasonyou were passed over for a
promotion.
But here's the truth executivepresence is one of the vaguest,
most overused terms in today'sworkplace, in my opinion.
And the problem is, no one canquite explain what it really
(00:42):
means or how you're supposed todemonstrate it.
In this episode, I'll breakdown why executive presence is
confusing, outdated, and whatpresence actually looks like in
today's job market.
Most importantly, you willlearn how to show up with
clarity, credibility,connection, and consistency
(01:05):
because that's what makes peopletrust you, follow you, and
promote you.
So if you've ever wondered, doI have executive presence?
Stick around.
By the end of this episode,you'll know exactly how to
create it for yourself everyday.
Let's get started.
For many mid-careerprofessionals, as you are trying
(01:53):
to navigate through anorganization and increase your
management and leadershipresponsibilities, more than
likely you have been hit withthe term executive presence.
And here's the problem I knowwith it.
The phrase has become thiscorporate buzzword that can look
(02:16):
very differently acrossdifferent organizations and for
different leaders and executiveswho tout what they believe
executive presence should be.
It's often used to pinpointspecific behaviors.
But unless you're asking theright questions of your
(02:36):
leadership or your mentors orsponsors who are on your journey
around your leadership, if youdon't, it creates this level of
confusion and frustrationbecause executive presence can
sound very subjective or evenelitist.
For example, if you've everbeen told you don't have it,
(03:01):
meaning you don't demonstratethe executive presence we're
looking for, and you're notgiven the guidance on what
that's actually supposed to looklike, how can you do it?
The traditional definition forexecutive presence was often
defined as confidence,decisiveness, clarity,
(03:25):
persuasion, and of course,looking the part.
To me, in some ways, that seemsvery outdated, and on even some
level, sexist.
While these things stillmatter, particularly the
confidence, decisiveness,communication, and clarity, the
(03:46):
over-emphasis on looking thepart creates this bias around
age, gender, sexual orientation,and race.
And it feels and we know it tobe outdated in today's diverse
hybrid workplace.
Look, there may be attempts todismantle DEI across a lot of
(04:11):
organizations, but DEI doesn'tgo away.
We still represent a diverse,dynamic workforce that when
we're talking about somethingthat is supposed to be this
unifying moniker across anorganization about executive
presence, I want to offer you itis your responsibility to get
(04:35):
clarity on exactly what theexpectations are for that
executive presence that you areexpected to demonstrate.
And then, of course, you thendetermine whether or not that
actually aligns with your NorthStar or your core values about
(04:55):
what that executive presence issupposed to be.
In today's job market,especially if you are trying to
apply for positions at aleadership level or in a
leadership position, I want toacknowledge that companies need
adaptable leaders, not justquote unquote polished ones.
(05:20):
The executive presence isn'tabout what you have in terms of
gaining the corner office.
It's about how you influence.
And even how you influencewithout authority as you are
climbing that corporate ladderor climbing that ladder to those
visible leadership positionswithin your organization, in
(05:45):
which you garner the credibilityand the trust because of what
you do, how well you do it, andalso how you make people feel.
Have you ever worked in anorganization where you were
scared of the leader or theexecutive, or you were hesitant
(06:08):
to speak up because you felt asif they intimidated you, or
better phrasing, they didintimidate you?
I have.
And it's one of those thingsthat you can sit there, and I
remember this for myself going,that's not the leader I aspire
to be.
And so we start thinking abouthow we choose to show up, how we
(06:32):
protect and promote our brand,and what being a leader actually
means for us.
In a hybrid work environment oreven a remote working
environment, executive presenceon Zoom can look very different
than it does in the boardroom.
But being vague about whatexecutive presence is, it makes
(06:58):
it this kind of encompassing orcatch-all reason for why someone
may even be held back from apromotion.
If I were actively interviewingfor a senior or executive level
position right now, and I wasasked in an interview to
describe my executive presence,I would most certainly want to
(07:22):
have rehearsed and practiced ananswer that defines specifically
for me what that means.
How do I show up as anexecutive day in and day out to
fulfill the mission of theorganization in ways that align
with the company's value, butmore importantly, my values?
(07:44):
But then I would take this onestep further.
I would look at thatinterviewer or hiring manager
after being asked that question,and I would follow up with
this.
Given what I just shared, howclosely do we align on our
definitions for executivepresence?
(08:06):
It's a fantastic follow-upquestion, in my opinion.
And you may come across aninterview where they'll say, we
need you to hold the questionstill the end, or uh it's not
really a time for me to answerthat question.
That's fine.
That's where you can startassessing fit for you in terms
(08:27):
of how well that organizationreally fits to who you are and
what you do.
But here's what I want to offeryou.
When you hear the termexecutive presence, let's change
one of those words.
Let's change executive toeffective.
(08:49):
Because the way I see it,presence and how we show up in
the workplace is all about thesefour C's.
The first C is about clarity.
How well do you communicateideas simply and directly in a
(09:11):
way that people fully know whatit is you are expecting of them.
In other words, people aren'tleaving leadership conversations
or workplace conversations ormeetings that you've led with
some kind of vagueness orambiguity about what it is
(09:31):
you're trying to accomplish.
You have heard me say on thispodcast before, time and time
again, and if you're new to thepodcast, so happy to have you
here.
You will hear this in otherepisodes as you listen.
But the cleaner and clearer weare, the easier it is for people
to respond about what it is weneed from them or we're asking
(09:55):
them to do.
That's why clarity isimportant.
The second C is aboutcredibility.
And credibility, in my opinion,ties in directly with trust.
You back up what you say withconfidence and follow through.
Notice I didn't say confidence.
(10:17):
So here we are in the middleof, or there's just kind of the
start of football season.
And living in the Washington,D.C.
area, I have followed thecareer of Sean McVeigh.
I wouldn't say very closely,but I'm definitely familiar with
him.
He was one of the assistantcoaches here for a time with the
commanders.
But he has now, for the lastseven years, been the head coach
(10:38):
of the Los Angeles Rams.
And I've always admired SeanMcVeigh's leadership style and
how he leads his team.
And one of the things that hehas said, it's one of my
favorite quotes by him.
He says, confidence is not aword.
Confidence is about the work.
In other words, the confidencewe project is about the actions
(11:02):
we have taken to deserve thatconfidence, to earn that
confidence in how we show up dayin and day out.
So when you look inside yourorganization and you look at
where you sit on the org chart,are you credible?
Are you the kind of person whobrings the technical expertise
to that position and do so in away that you are trusted and
(11:28):
valued by the people you workalongside with, for, and with
every single day?
The third C is all aboutconnection.
How are you relating to people?
Are you the kind of executiveor leader within the
organization that you only givetime to people at your level?
(11:49):
Or are you someone who knowsevery person's name on the
housekeeping and janitorialstaff?
Do you acknowledge people inthe hallway and say hello?
Or are you, quote unquote, sobusy that you just pass them by
and ignore them?
How we connect and how we showup, it's how we get to build
trust.
We make others feel valued.
(12:10):
So for the majority of thepeople I work with, and when I
say majority, I'm talking 99%here.
The majority of the people Iwork with are big-hearted,
heart-centric type leaders thatcare about the people they work
with, the clients they serve,the organizations where they're
at.
(12:30):
They lead with their heart, butthey are not pushovers.
They are far from it.
Their ability to connect allowsthem to show up and have
intentional conversations withpeople day in and day out
because of the last C I'm goingto share with you.
Consistency.
Executive presence is abouthaving stability.
(12:54):
People know what it is you'regoing to get.
I worked with an amazing leaderwho had probably one of the
foulest mouths I've ever.
He just F-bombed every singleplace.
He was also brilliant.
He was brilliant in what hedid.
And so the consistency was if Iwas sitting in a meeting with
(13:17):
him, I knew what I was going toget.
And I'm not someone who'seasily offended, but it was
something that I wasn't used towhere I had worked previously.
Here was the thing I didn'texpect him to be somebody
different.
I accepted him for who he isand where he was at that point
(13:39):
in time.
And that was it.
Because when someone'sconsistent, we know what it is
they're going to give us.
We don't question, we don'tdoubt.
We know what it is they'regoing to give us.
When we think about clarity,credibility, connection, and
consistency.
(14:00):
I offer these four C's to youas a way for you to start
building your definition on whatyour leadership or effective
presence actually looks like.
And from there, you can buildthe stories around about how you
demonstrate clarity,credibility, connection, and
(14:20):
consistency.
But our presence at work isaligned on two things.
Our presence at work is basedoff of how we show up on a
regular basis and how well wedemonstrate that at work so
(14:42):
people get to know us and ourbrand and reputation are
consistent.
In your organization,somewhere, be it on your
internet or somewhere withinhuman resources, there should be
a list of core competenciesthat they expect at every level.
And in terms of theirleadership competencies, I
(15:05):
strongly suggest you take a lookat them and do the work to know
exactly what those competencieslook like for leaderships in
your organization.
This is about the norm withinyour organization.
It may not be the normelsewhere, but if you are
playing in that sandbox or youare on that playground in terms
(15:30):
of that organization, what thenhappens is those are the rules
by which you play.
Focus on the actional behaviorsthat you can then define and
(15:51):
have a better conversation withyour leadership around what that
all means.
So in that, um, what you maywant to consider here is how do
you prepare and contributemeaningfully in meetings, be it
either as the one who's leadingor be it as the one who's
(16:16):
participating in the meeting?
Think about your body language.
What's your posture like?
How are you sitting?
What's your tone in yourmessaging?
If you are someone who happensto talk with their hands, does
your leadership or executivepresence mean that you tend to
point and you get a little jabbyor directive with that finger?
(16:38):
Or are you more open-palmed interms of bringing people in and
together?
How do you show empathy?
Where do you show empathy whilestill staying decisive to make
the decisions you need to makeat the level you are at?
And your effective presence,how well do you give and receive
(17:00):
feedback rather than simplyassuming what people want,
expect, or say?
From my lens as an executiveand career transition coach,
when I work with my executiveclients and we talk about their
presence, it is less abouthaving it and more about how
(17:23):
they create it daily.
So if there's one finaltakeaway I want to offer you
here in this episode, it's this,my friends.
Stop worrying about whether ornot you quote unquote look the
part.
Show up as somebody whoconsistently communicates
(17:45):
clearly, connects authentically,and delivers amazing results.
What you will be known for asthat leader or executive will be
based on the results youdeliver.
So when you hear those terms,executive or leadership
(18:06):
presence, lean into it, getreally curious about what it is
that they mean or what theexpectations are, that is your
key to unlocking your success asyou move to create your next
advancement opportunity.
I will also offer you this.
(18:27):
If you have been told, be it ina performance review or
feedback meeting, that you don'thave enough executive presence
or you lack that executivepresence, here is a follow-up
question you may want to ask.
What specifically would youlike me to do differently?
(18:50):
What specifically would youlike to see me do differently?
That question will shift thetone of that conversation from
being vague to being actionable.
Because if we're gettingfeedback, we want to have
specific enough feedback to knowwhether or not we can act on
(19:12):
it.
So make that shift from beingvague to actionable.
And if your leadership or yourexecutive team can't provide
that for you, accept them wherethey are, help them out, ask
them a better question so youcan get the clarity you need to
meet both yours and theirexpectations for what your
(19:37):
executive or leadership presenceis supposed to look like.
All right.
If you enjoyed this episode andyou want a little bit more,
here you go.
Go to my website,johnnarrell.com, and subscribe
to the Mid Career GPSnewsletter.
It is a twice-weekly newsletterwith leadership and career
(19:58):
information, tips, guidance, andresources to help you build
your mid-career GPS to whateveris next.
You can find it atjohnnarrell.com right there on
the homepage or under theresources tab.
Come on into my email communityand let's keep the conversation
going over there.
So until next time, my friends,I wish you a great rest of the
(20:21):
day.
And remember this you willbuild your mid-career GPS one
mile or one step at a time.
And how you show up matters.
Let's get ready for quarterfour.
And until next time, takecare.com for more information
(20:52):
about how I can help you buildyour mid-career GPS, or how I
can help you and yourorganization with your next
workshop or public speakingevent.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
social at John Daryl Coaching.
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care.
And remember, how we show upmatters.
Today, you and I will delve into a topic that
gets thrown around a lot inleadership conversations and
often leaves people scratchingtheir heads.
That topic is executivepresence.
I wish you could see me do theair quotes on that one.
Maybe you've been told you needmore of it.
(00:21):
Maybe it's even been the reasonyou were passed over for a
promotion.
But here's the truth executivepresence is one of the vaguest,
most overused terms in today'sworkplace, in my opinion.
And the problem is, no one canquite explain what it really
(00:42):
means or how you're supposed todemonstrate it.
In this episode, I'll breakdown why executive presence is
confusing, outdated, and whatpresence actually looks like in
today's job market.
Most importantly, you willlearn how to show up with
clarity, credibility,connection, and consistency
(01:05):
because that's what makes peopletrust you, follow you, and
promote you.
So if you've ever wondered, doI have executive presence?
Stick around.
By the end of this episode,you'll know exactly how to
create it for yourself everyday.
Let's get started.
For many mid-careerprofessionals, as you are trying
(01:53):
to navigate through anorganization and increase your
management and leadershipresponsibilities, more than
likely you have been hit withthe term executive presence.
And here's the problem I knowwith it.
The phrase has become thiscorporate buzzword that can look
(02:16):
very differently acrossdifferent organizations and for
different leaders and executiveswho tout what they believe
executive presence should be.
It's often used to pinpointspecific behaviors.
But unless you're asking theright questions of your
(02:36):
leadership or your mentors orsponsors who are on your journey
around your leadership, if youdon't, it creates this level of
confusion and frustrationbecause executive presence can
sound very subjective or evenelitist.
For example, if you've everbeen told you don't have it,
(03:01):
meaning you don't demonstratethe executive presence we're
looking for, and you're notgiven the guidance on what
that's actually supposed to looklike, how can you do it?
The traditional definition forexecutive presence was often
defined as confidence,decisiveness, clarity,
(03:25):
persuasion, and of course,looking the part.
To me, in some ways, that seemsvery outdated, and on even some
level, sexist.
While these things stillmatter, particularly the
confidence, decisiveness,communication, and clarity, the
(03:46):
over-emphasis on looking thepart creates this bias around
age, gender, sexual orientation,and race.
And it feels and we know it tobe outdated in today's diverse
hybrid workplace.
Look, there may be attempts todismantle DEI across a lot of
(04:11):
organizations, but DEI doesn'tgo away.
We still represent a diverse,dynamic workforce that when
we're talking about somethingthat is supposed to be this
unifying moniker across anorganization about executive
presence, I want to offer you itis your responsibility to get
(04:35):
clarity on exactly what theexpectations are for that
executive presence that you areexpected to demonstrate.
And then, of course, you thendetermine whether or not that
actually aligns with your NorthStar or your core values about
(04:55):
what that executive presence issupposed to be.
In today's job market,especially if you are trying to
apply for positions at aleadership level or in a
leadership position, I want toacknowledge that companies need
adaptable leaders, not justquote unquote polished ones.
(05:20):
The executive presence isn'tabout what you have in terms of
gaining the corner office.
It's about how you influence.
And even how you influencewithout authority as you are
climbing that corporate ladderor climbing that ladder to those
visible leadership positionswithin your organization, in
(05:45):
which you garner the credibilityand the trust because of what
you do, how well you do it, andalso how you make people feel.
Have you ever worked in anorganization where you were
scared of the leader or theexecutive, or you were hesitant
(06:08):
to speak up because you felt asif they intimidated you, or
better phrasing, they didintimidate you?
I have.
And it's one of those thingsthat you can sit there, and I
remember this for myself going,that's not the leader I aspire
to be.
And so we start thinking abouthow we choose to show up, how we
(06:32):
protect and promote our brand,and what being a leader actually
means for us.
In a hybrid work environment oreven a remote working
environment, executive presenceon Zoom can look very different
than it does in the boardroom.
But being vague about whatexecutive presence is, it makes
(06:58):
it this kind of encompassing orcatch-all reason for why someone
may even be held back from apromotion.
If I were actively interviewingfor a senior or executive level
position right now, and I wasasked in an interview to
describe my executive presence,I would most certainly want to
(07:22):
have rehearsed and practiced ananswer that defines specifically
for me what that means.
How do I show up as anexecutive day in and day out to
fulfill the mission of theorganization in ways that align
with the company's value, butmore importantly, my values?
(07:44):
But then I would take this onestep further.
I would look at thatinterviewer or hiring manager
after being asked that question,and I would follow up with
this.
Given what I just shared, howclosely do we align on our
definitions for executivepresence?
(08:06):
It's a fantastic follow-upquestion, in my opinion.
And you may come across aninterview where they'll say, we
need you to hold the questionstill the end, or uh it's not
really a time for me to answerthat question.
That's fine.
That's where you can startassessing fit for you in terms
(08:27):
of how well that organizationreally fits to who you are and
what you do.
But here's what I want to offeryou.
When you hear the termexecutive presence, let's change
one of those words.
Let's change executive toeffective.
(08:49):
Because the way I see it,presence and how we show up in
the workplace is all about thesefour C's.
The first C is about clarity.
How well do you communicateideas simply and directly in a
(09:11):
way that people fully know whatit is you are expecting of them.
In other words, people aren'tleaving leadership conversations
or workplace conversations ormeetings that you've led with
some kind of vagueness orambiguity about what it is
(09:31):
you're trying to accomplish.
You have heard me say on thispodcast before, time and time
again, and if you're new to thepodcast, so happy to have you
here.
You will hear this in otherepisodes as you listen.
But the cleaner and clearer weare, the easier it is for people
to respond about what it is weneed from them or we're asking
(09:55):
them to do.
That's why clarity isimportant.
The second C is aboutcredibility.
And credibility, in my opinion,ties in directly with trust.
You back up what you say withconfidence and follow through.
Notice I didn't say confidence.
(10:17):
So here we are in the middleof, or there's just kind of the
start of football season.
And living in the Washington,D.C.
area, I have followed thecareer of Sean McVeigh.
I wouldn't say very closely,but I'm definitely familiar with
him.
He was one of the assistantcoaches here for a time with the
commanders.
But he has now, for the lastseven years, been the head coach
(10:38):
of the Los Angeles Rams.
And I've always admired SeanMcVeigh's leadership style and
how he leads his team.
And one of the things that hehas said, it's one of my
favorite quotes by him.
He says, confidence is not aword.
Confidence is about the work.
In other words, the confidencewe project is about the actions
(11:02):
we have taken to deserve thatconfidence, to earn that
confidence in how we show up dayin and day out.
So when you look inside yourorganization and you look at
where you sit on the org chart,are you credible?
Are you the kind of person whobrings the technical expertise
to that position and do so in away that you are trusted and
(11:28):
valued by the people you workalongside with, for, and with
every single day?
The third C is all aboutconnection.
How are you relating to people?
Are you the kind of executiveor leader within the
organization that you only givetime to people at your level?
(11:49):
Or are you someone who knowsevery person's name on the
housekeeping and janitorialstaff?
Do you acknowledge people inthe hallway and say hello?
Or are you, quote unquote, sobusy that you just pass them by
and ignore them?
How we connect and how we showup, it's how we get to build
trust.
We make others feel valued.
(12:10):
So for the majority of thepeople I work with, and when I
say majority, I'm talking 99%here.
The majority of the people Iwork with are big-hearted,
heart-centric type leaders thatcare about the people they work
with, the clients they serve,the organizations where they're
at.
(12:30):
They lead with their heart, butthey are not pushovers.
They are far from it.
Their ability to connect allowsthem to show up and have
intentional conversations withpeople day in and day out
because of the last C I'm goingto share with you.
Consistency.
Executive presence is abouthaving stability.
(12:54):
People know what it is you'regoing to get.
I worked with an amazing leaderwho had probably one of the
foulest mouths I've ever.
He just F-bombed every singleplace.
He was also brilliant.
He was brilliant in what hedid.
And so the consistency was if Iwas sitting in a meeting with
(13:17):
him, I knew what I was going toget.
And I'm not someone who'seasily offended, but it was
something that I wasn't used towhere I had worked previously.
Here was the thing I didn'texpect him to be somebody
different.
I accepted him for who he isand where he was at that point
(13:39):
in time.
And that was it.
Because when someone'sconsistent, we know what it is
they're going to give us.
We don't question, we don'tdoubt.
We know what it is they'regoing to give us.
When we think about clarity,credibility, connection, and
consistency.
(14:00):
I offer these four C's to youas a way for you to start
building your definition on whatyour leadership or effective
presence actually looks like.
And from there, you can buildthe stories around about how you
demonstrate clarity,credibility, connection, and
(14:20):
consistency.
But our presence at work isaligned on two things.
Our presence at work is basedoff of how we show up on a
regular basis and how well wedemonstrate that at work so
(14:42):
people get to know us and ourbrand and reputation are
consistent.
In your organization,somewhere, be it on your
internet or somewhere withinhuman resources, there should be
a list of core competenciesthat they expect at every level.
And in terms of theirleadership competencies, I
(15:05):
strongly suggest you take a lookat them and do the work to know
exactly what those competencieslook like for leaderships in
your organization.
This is about the norm withinyour organization.
It may not be the normelsewhere, but if you are
playing in that sandbox or youare on that playground in terms
(15:30):
of that organization, what thenhappens is those are the rules
by which you play.
Focus on the actional behaviorsthat you can then define and
(15:51):
have a better conversation withyour leadership around what that
all means.
So in that, um, what you maywant to consider here is how do
you prepare and contributemeaningfully in meetings, be it
either as the one who's leadingor be it as the one who's
(16:16):
participating in the meeting?
Think about your body language.
What's your posture like?
How are you sitting?
What's your tone in yourmessaging?
If you are someone who happensto talk with their hands, does
your leadership or executivepresence mean that you tend to
point and you get a little jabbyor directive with that finger?
(16:38):
Or are you more open-palmed interms of bringing people in and
together?
How do you show empathy?
Where do you show empathy whilestill staying decisive to make
the decisions you need to makeat the level you are at?
And your effective presence,how well do you give and receive
(17:00):
feedback rather than simplyassuming what people want,
expect, or say?
From my lens as an executiveand career transition coach,
when I work with my executiveclients and we talk about their
presence, it is less abouthaving it and more about how
(17:23):
they create it daily.
So if there's one finaltakeaway I want to offer you
here in this episode, it's this,my friends.
Stop worrying about whether ornot you quote unquote look the
part.
Show up as somebody whoconsistently communicates
(17:45):
clearly, connects authentically,and delivers amazing results.
What you will be known for asthat leader or executive will be
based on the results youdeliver.
So when you hear those terms,executive or leadership
(18:06):
presence, lean into it, getreally curious about what it is
that they mean or what theexpectations are, that is your
key to unlocking your success asyou move to create your next
advancement opportunity.
I will also offer you this.
(18:27):
If you have been told, be it ina performance review or
feedback meeting, that you don'thave enough executive presence
or you lack that executivepresence, here is a follow-up
question you may want to ask.
What specifically would youlike me to do differently?
(18:50):
What specifically would youlike to see me do differently?
That question will shift thetone of that conversation from
being vague to being actionable.
Because if we're gettingfeedback, we want to have
specific enough feedback to knowwhether or not we can act on
(19:12):
it.
So make that shift from beingvague to actionable.
And if your leadership or yourexecutive team can't provide
that for you, accept them wherethey are, help them out, ask
them a better question so youcan get the clarity you need to
meet both yours and theirexpectations for what your
(19:37):
executive or leadership presenceis supposed to look like.
All right.
If you enjoyed this episode andyou want a little bit more,
here you go.
Go to my website,johnnarrell.com, and subscribe
to the Mid Career GPSnewsletter.
It is a twice-weekly newsletterwith leadership and career
(19:58):
information, tips, guidance, andresources to help you build
your mid-career GPS to whateveris next.
You can find it atjohnnarrell.com right there on
the homepage or under theresources tab.
Come on into my email communityand let's keep the conversation
going over there.
So until next time, my friends,I wish you a great rest of the
(20:21):
day.
And remember this you willbuild your mid-career GPS one
mile or one step at a time.
And how you show up matters.
Let's get ready for quarterfour.
And until next time, takecare.com for more information
(20:52):
about how I can help you buildyour mid-career GPS, or how I
can help you and yourorganization with your next
workshop or public speakingevent.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
social at John Daryl Coaching.
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care.
And remember, how we show upmatters.
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