How women can successfully project their leadership presence
You may have a leadership title or tremendous leadership potential, but that in itself doesn’t give you leadership presence.
Here are typical comments I hear when asked to coach an up-and-coming female whose career has stalled:
- “It isn’t that she couldn’t do the next job. It’s that no one on the executive team sees her that way.”
- “She has a great track record but she doesn’t look like a leader.”
- “She’s warm and friendly, but she doesn’t have the gravitas we’re looking for in a senior position.”
Leadership presence isn’t an attribute automatically assigned to you because of your business results. It isn’t necessarily reflective of your true qualities and potential. Instead, it depends entirely on how others evaluate you. Being perceived as a leader when interacting with customers, peers, or executives is the essence of leadership presence.