Executive Presence Program

How an Executive Presence Program Provides Major Benefits to Your Company

An executive presence program can have a powerful effect on leaders’ confidence and capabilities. Choose a program wisely, working with a facilitator who has proven experience in executive presence specifically.

Importantly, a good executive presence program will utilize a framework to guide leaders’ efforts toward improvement. (In my trainings, I use the 3x3 Executive Presence Model that I have developed, as we’ll discuss in a moment.) Let’s examine the value of a strong framework, along with other key benefits and elements of a good executive presence program.

How an Executive Presence Program Benefits Companies

Most leaders who have reached a certain level of their career possess a high degree of intelligence and technical ability. But many lack the leadership skills that will allow them to thrive at a high level. Since they’ve never had formal training in these executive presence skills, they show up as too passive, filled with self-doubt, and afraid of voicing opinions and decisions. Their superiors may not even know how to define executive presence, let alone guide others to cultivate it.

When leaders radiate executive presence, they get more from their teams. They convey passion for their work that motivates each person to give their best effort. They command respect and effectively rally people behind an idea. With these qualities, there are no limits to what they can accomplish as leaders. But without executive presence, they’ll stagnate.

Through an executive presence program, these leaders will learn to:

  • Contribute fully to meetings at every level.
  • Lead high-level projects and teams.
  • Unleash innovative thinking that catalyzes real change.
  • Make a powerful impression on clients and other stakeholders.
  • Influence others to get behind great ideas and effectively implement them.
  • Successfully motivate people to achieve their full potential.

Through an executive presence program, you’ll identify high-potential employees who may currently be flying under the radar. These may be your mid-level managers who haven’t received a promotion in some time. They may be your project managers who are quietly doing great work but have never been considered for advancement. Or they may be your high-level leaders who need the confidence, conviction, and charisma to match their title. Without executive presence, they either hit an impenetrable ceiling in their career or flounder once promoted, unprepared to lead at a high level.

What an Executive Presence Program Covers

A good executive presence program helps each leader target the weaknesses that are holding them back. The trainer helps them develop a step-by-step plan for turning these weaknesses into strengths. Through specific behavioral changes that they can start making right away, they begin to shift how others perceive them in the workplace. By doing so, they steadily build a reputation as a leader with executive presence.

A program can take place over multiple sessions that span several months. I conduct my executive presence program over the course of six months. This gives employees the time and support to develop executive presence competencies systematically, receive feedback, and strengthen their performance using lessons learned.

Prior to launching a program, I hold discussions with key stakeholders to learn about their people’s specific needs. Then, I customize the program to what they need to learn and the distinct challenges they face.

Specific Behavioral Changes That Leaders Can Make Today

In a good executive presence training program, leaders learn to show up with power and conviction at a high-stakes meeting, speak to senior leaders as equals, and ignite a new level of enthusiasm and energy in their team. They’ll learn to convey ideas articulately, radiate belief in their own ideas, and make decisions authoritatively.

In my executive presence program, I help participants assess their level of gravitas, authority, and expression—the 3 key executive presence domains in my 3x3 Executive Presence Model. They examine the 9 core competencies of executive presence, which together make up these three domains, learning which ones they most need to develop. They also learn where their hidden strengths lie, so they can bring them to light.

The 3x3 Executive Presence Model

In my training and coaching, I use the 3x3 Executive Presence Model, which I have outlined extensively in my book Executive Presence: Step into Your Power, Convey Confidence and Lead with ConvictionThis model provides a nuanced understanding of each executive presence quality. It leaves no room for guessing what these qualities involve or what steps you need to take to cultivate them. Participants in my trainings leave with a thorough understanding of the behaviors they must practice to show up with executive presence at work.

Structure of My Executive Presence Training Program

Within my executive presence program, I use group coaching sessions to enhance insights and promote peer mentoring. Group coaching also boosts accountability, as peers know one another’s goals and can support one another in achieving them. Companies select 10–15 leaders to participate in this leadership training program.

The program occurs over the course of six months. Participants attend group coaching sessions and virtual discussions together. They also receive one-on-one coaching and just-in-time coaching support. Additionally, they practice peer coaching by giving one another feedback targeting their areas of growth. This robust approach to learning works exceptionally well by exposing participants to an array of feedback and insights within structured conversations.

An executive presence program will transform your company in powerful ways. As your leaders develop executive presence, they’ll bring innovative thinking to the table, engage in robust dialogues about new ideas, and communicate skillfully. As they put ideas into action, they’ll masterfully drive their teams to success.

Guide your leaders to next-level success with an executive presence program. Contact Joel to launch a program or executive presence webinar that will draw forth and develop their distinct strengths, confront their challenges, and increase the effectiveness of your company. You can also purchase his book for each employees participating in the training: Executive Presence: Step into Your Power, Convey Confidence and Lead with Conviction.

Copyright © 2024 Joel Garfinkle, All Rights Reserved. Joel Garfinkle is recognized as one of the top 50 coaches in the U.S. He is a Master Certified Coach with 25 years of executive coaching, corporate training, and speaking experience. He is the author of 11 books, including Executive Presence: Step Into Your Power, Convey Confidence and Lead With Conviction. He has worked with many of the world’s leading companies, including Google, Amazon, Deloitte, Eli Lilly, Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton, Oracle, and Microsoft. Subscribe to his Fulfillment at Work Newsletter which is delivered to over 10,000 people. You can view his video library of over 200+ easily actionable 2-minute inspirational video clips by subscribing to his YouTube Channel.

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