The Introvert and Executive Presence
To be a leader that people actually want to follow, you must be conviction-driven and confident. Your convictions are deeply held beliefs that inform your decisions both in work and life, no matter how messy a situation. And confidence is the delivery of your convictions—because when you’re confident in your decisions, your words and actions follow.
However, confidence in an extroverted person will likely come across differently than it would in an introverted person. And that’s why it’s so important for a leader to first gain an awareness of their own wiring. By understanding how you deal with stimulation, where you find energy, and how you show up, you’ll be better equipped to capitalize on your strengths and grow your weaknesses.
In this article, we unpack how executive presence might show up in an introvert and also share three areas for an introvert to develop and strengthen their executive presence.
How Executive Presence Might Show Up in an Introvert
Active listening. This is a gift to another person. Introverts often listen more than they speak and when done so with curiosity, the person they’re in conversation with might feel both heard and seen. And when someone feels validated by you, they’ll likely also feel psychologically safe with you. When a leader can create an environment of psychological safety in the workplace, then the organizational culture will thrive. Everyone wants to be respected and understood—and active listening can communicate both. An introvert can harness their executive presence through their innate skill of active listening and be seen as a wise, perceptive, and thoughtful leader.
Empathy. Many introverts are highly observant, perceptive, and reflective thinkers, aware of the emotional states of both themselves and those around them. And empathy in a leader is a highly influential skill. When you become known as someone who understands and accepts others for both their strengths and weaknesses, flaws and successes, you’ll be better positioned to speak into their careers, leaderships, and lives. By taking the emotional temperature of the rooms you enter, you can lead groups toward health—a true quality of executive leadership.
3 Areas an Introvert can Grow in Executive Presence
Decision-making. Often an introverted person is deeply thoughtful. You’re known for cautious decisions and wise responses; and people come to you for advice. But as a leader, you might need to make a decision more quickly than you’re comfortable. And that’s the beauty of being a conviction-driven leader. When you’re clear on your convictions, you can more easily sift through what’s right and wrong for you, your team, and your organization. Risk is always involved in growth and innovation and that can be uncomfortable for an introverted personality type. But again, if you’re clear on your convictions, have a compelling vision that you’re working toward, and have built in both margin and redundancy, then you can move forward in risk and trust that you make good decisions. Your decision may lead toward failure, but that doesn’t mean it was wrong, it just means you get to learn, adjust, and try again.
Communication. This involves both giving and receiving. For an introvert deeply skilled in active listening, the receiving element of communication usually comes naturally. People feel heard, validated, and understood by you. But do you feel heard, validated, and understood by them? An introvert may struggle more with getting their point across in a manner that is received by those with personality types different than them. A thoughtful introvert can come across as shy or reserved and may even have a hard time maintaining eye contact. But you can grow in these areas. Speak truth to yourself. Remind yourself that you’re in a position of leadership for a reason. If people come to you for advice, then you can believe that others want to hear your opinion too. You’ll grow in your executive presence when you can believe that you have something worthwhile to say—it always starts in the mindset. And lean into your strengths by thinking through how to prepare yourself in advance of a presentation or group meeting. You’ll set yourself up for success if you think through any potential questions you might face so that you can give those thoughtful answers that you prefer to communicate.
Trusting yourself. Introverts often seek outside counsel—which is a wonderful leadership quality. But seeking the perspective of others must be used to help you gain insight and clarify your own thinking, not sway you entirely toward the thinking of another. Harness that gift so that it is used to widen and inform your perspective. Then you can speak confidently in the knowledge that your approach has included the experiences, backgrounds, and insights of others. That not only validates your words to those around you, but also to yourself. And don’t disregard your gut instinct. An introvert with high EQ usually has strong self-awareness and empathy. When you understand the emotional states of those around you as well as yourself, you’ll be able to discern what needs to happen, allowing you to cut through any emotional chaos and take positive action.
Executive presence is key to leadership. New research has indicated that executive presence accounts for 26% of what a leaders needs to be promoted. So if you’re wanting to strengthen your executive presence and prepare yourself for your next leadership role, we’d love to work with you. Our team of coaches and mentors have real-world experience to draw upon and they’d love to partner with you in your leadership journey. Reach out to learn how we can help you.
