Ask HN: How to increase your executive presence

1 points by yogrish 4y ago ↗ HN

I work for an automotive company (traditional) I am a senior manager leading a product development team of 70 and am also technically inclined.w are working on some cutting edge technologies. My next level is an Executive position.Not much importance for technical career path in this company. For this role, I need to increase my visibility and executive presence. I am facing challenge in this transition. How can I change my perspective in that direction? Any pointers and inputs can be of great help.

2 comments

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niros_valtos 4y ago ↗

There is no answer that fits everyone. I wouldn't try to take the hands off from the technology - Elon Must is still the key engineer at his companies. Instead trying to build yourself as an executive, try demonstrating more leadership skills to your peers and superiors. If you hear a good feedback from your surroundings (give it a few months), it may be a good opportunity to talk to your manager. Additionally, it is always good to look for mentors. Find someone you appreciate and ask it. You will be surprised how much extraordinary executives will be happy to assist you.

cc101 4y ago ↗

It might help to discuss what presence is. A well known book on drawing, "Drawing, Space, Form, & Expression, discusses the fundamental nature of art. According to this book presence (essential to art) gives emphasis to the distinctive characteristics of a thing (in your case an executive) while avoid caricature. It's not just that you must express these characteristics. You must give them emphasis.

So what are the distinctive characteristics of an executive? 1) appearance: a fine well fitting suit, impeccable grooming, and disciplined posture. 2) well controlled speech: sparse words focused on the essential issue at hand, restraint from saying too much else for fear of saying something stupid, and voice: slow, well articulated, and spoken in a low register. No doubt there are others. Again it's not just that you conform to these characteristics. You must find ways to give them subtile emphasis without descending into caricature by overdoing it.

Is this being phony? I don't think so. This gives emotional support to subordinates and increases their confidence in the group effort. These are legitimate core functions of leadership.