What is leadership presence and how do I know if I have it? Check out these 5 components of leadership and find out!

 

I have always secretly admired the leaders that walk into a room with a confident swagger.  The way they own the room and have everyone hanging on their every word.  Ok, maybe not admired…petulantly envied may be more accurate if I’m being honest. But for those who come by this presence naturally, you just can’t help but like them (sigh).  On the other hand, the leaders that play this as if it were some kind of role in a play, are transparent as inauthentic and alienate their followers.  We hear about presence in every textbook and discussion board, but what exactly is leadership presence? Is it reserved for only the lucky few born with it??

Thankfully, no.  Leadership presence refers to the ability of a leader to inspire trust, influence followers ultimately motivating others to follow their lead. It is a combination of communication skills and emotional intelligence that enables a leader to connect with and inspire their team

Competency and Efficacy

Traditionally presence would be explained as the “it” quality that leaders exhibit naturally drawing followers to them.  Think of Simon Sinek.  He exudes humble confidence and has a way of making complex theories simple enough for everyone to understand.  His quiet but emphatic tone conveys a passion that is contagious to his listeners.

Based on the work of Ruben and Gigliotti (2017) in Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence, they describe leadership presence as having competency and efficacy.  These are just two of the five components necessary to become an effective leader.  And thankfully, for people like me who do not possess Simon’s natural charisma and charm, it is something we can develop with practice.    

Competency is relevant for engaging in social influence across a broad range of settings and situations. It is the set of skills deployed during the Activation, Cultivation, and Resonance components of leading (I’ll explain more about these other three in a moment). Competencies are simply bundles of habits.

Efficacy is knowing when to deploy these skills.   

To be an effective leader involves some degree of understanding, developing, and selectively employing competency in a strategic and purposeful manner.

Effective leadership begins with an analysis of where on the continuum of resonance, activation, and cultivation the targeted base of followers is located. Applying relevant analytical, personal, organizational, positional, and communication competencies to maximize intended outcomes is a next step in successful leadership.

Resonance, Activation and Cultivation

Your followers will experience resonance when they both hear your message and feel its impact.  People will take action when trust is built, and leaders communicate authentically.  One way to check for resonance is by establishing a clear purpose.   

You need to ensure your message is received as intended to create a connection which promotes engagement and your team’s activation. Activation is how you get someone excited about something. It’s buy-in from those you are leading and checking for understanding of new concepts.    

Cultivation is a form of long-term development and growth of potential followers and supporters. This is done through the design of meaningful connections.   

I had the privilege of joining some very talented women in a podcast discussing some of these leadership components.  They shared their perspectives based on findings from  Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence (Ruben & Gigliotti, 2019)  outlining 5 key components every leader should know and what they shared is  going to surprise you. Click on the link below to hear their experiences and learn how they used these components to cope with the challenges of leadership. 

 

5 Key Components to Achieving Leadership Presence

 

So how do you inspire others to follow you? 

· Check for understanding of new concepts?  

· Prevent resistance to new ideas?

· Establish clear purpose?

· Build strong connections with your  team?

 

Hopefully you will be able to answer yes to all these questions after watching the podcast.  Most importantly you should remember that leadership is a continuum.   It is a lifelong journey that will coerce you to develop skills you never knew you possessed and challenge you to reevaluate your beliefs.  And maybe, one day, you will be the leader that I petulantly envy from across the room.