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Executive Presence: How to Influence and Make an Impact

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This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what Professional Coaching is. It seeks to inform, create more awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the Coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.

See the original article in this Link.

 

Developing executive presence is one of the objectives that professionals and executives most seek in coaching processes since it helps to have greater impact and influence.

In an increasingly complex, interconnected, and rapidly evolving world, with more virtual than in-person interactions, where many collaborators work in matrix structures and belong to multiple teams, where power structures change, developing a system mindset, understanding connections, reading context, and developing relationships is increasingly relevant.

Some of the strategies of current professionals to be able to successfully surf the waves of change are:

  • deploy active listening and be present in every interaction,
  • create greater value with and for your people of interest,
  • have greater impact in your communications and interventions,
  • develop a growth strategy with a clear purpose,
  • simultaneously manage work, career, and personal and family life,
  • structure an active network of allies, mentors and sponsors.

In a coaching process, it is important to clarify with the client their understanding of what it means for them to develop executive presence, supporting them to analyse and prioritise their objectives, define their measures of success, and focus their action plan on the 20% that allow 80% of the results.

In the process of self-knowledge and self-management, it is key to clarify the purpose, the client’s north, and establish with them the predisposition to change, to let go of what no longer serves them, in a relationship of benefit versus cost. In many cases the cost is letting go:

  • an attachment to past behaviours and success factors,
  • the idea of control,
  • making excuses – not remaining a victim of circumstances,
  • the excessive need to be “I”,
  • thoughts and emotions from the past, opening to create a new and more emotionally agile version of the “I”.

It is opening oneself to uncertainty, not knowing, having to develop new resources and different solutions, seeking the opportunity and gift of each unforeseen situation.

In the process of self-knowledge, the coach supports the client to:

  • recognise your personal power and authenticity, your competencies, experiences and knowledge, what you bring to the table;
  • to evaluate how he presents himself in different situations, how he empathizes and creates rapport and relationships of trust, how he responds to others and in crisis situations, what are the triggers that can arise and that must be taken care of;
  • and what is the value and impact you want to create, what new perspectives or emotional changes can you bring to enhance solutions in critical situations.

Achieving the intended results with well-being also requires the client to work on continuous feedback with their stakeholders. It is important to map your people of interest, who your key internal and external stakeholders are, expanding your sphere of influence and impact, defining what formal and informal power structures to take into account, and what value to create with and for each stakeholder.

A process of continuous feedback and alignment of expectations allows the client a more real knowledge of the evolution of the perceptions of their people of interest, preparing them for faster strategic action in situations of changes in the organisational or business context.

A professional coach supports his client in his development process, stimulating reflection and creativity: “what if…?”, “what would happen if…?”, “what else…?”; acting as a mirror for the client: “this is what I am hearing”, “this is what I am observing”; stimulating the discovery of new lines of action: that “haven’t you tried yet?” “How would you say it?”, “How would you do it?”, and in some cases also supporting the client with experimentation or role play techniques that allow them to visualize different perspectives and actions and try them in a safe environment, in a continuous process of reflection, action and learning.

Author: Fátima Ribeiro

The author is ACC (ICF Associated Certified Coach), Coach in professional development, leadership and teams processes, and member of the Board of Directors of ICF Panama.

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Saboteurs and wisdom

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This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what Professional Coaching is. It seeks to inform, create more awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the Coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.

See the original article in this Link.

 

The concept of intelligence has evolved over time. At the beginning of the 20th century, IQ was considered the main predictor of success. In the 80s we began to hear about the emotional quotient connected with emotional intelligence, that is, self-awareness and self-management, and knowledge of others and relationship management, as a differentiating element for a successful life, having an impact of about 80% on success.

Currently, with the growing complexity and uncertainty of the context, concepts such as collaborative intelligence are gaining importance, that is, the ability to co-create together a result that is greater than the sum of the parts.

We also talk about intelligence for change, closely connected with emotional agility, that is, the ability to navigate different emotions and take actions based on values and long-term objectives, with resilience, that is, the ability to face change and adversity, and with the concept of antifragility, which integrates the ability to not only face, but also thrive in uncertain and adverse situations.

 Other concepts are communication intelligence, a conscious and intentional way of adapting messages to the objectives and context, for greater influence, impact and creation of value, and the intelligence of connecting, which reflects the ability to ask questions, design ideas and approach conversations to influence and mobilise others in the pursuit of an objective.

The very concept of work has evolved from essentially manual work, associated with the beginning of industrialization, to more cognitive work, associated with the acquisition of knowledge and active learning strategies with the revolution associated with the Internet and knowledge economy, to more emotional work, connected with the development of empathy and compassion, with the connection to a purpose and values, which enhances the development of relationships, connections and alliances at a more systemic level.

In its entirety, we are talking about intelligence concepts closely connected to the development of soft skills, about work on our being and thinking, in the management of emotions, beliefs and thoughts, in actions connected with a purpose and values, that drive the development of our potential, with simultaneous impact on results and well-being.

In a coaching process, thinking and creativity are stimulated to develop the client’s potential, connecting being, thinking and doing. The objectives of the process and actions are defined from the future desired by the client, its purpose and visions.

When considering a systemic perspective in working with the client, the different levels of context, from interpersonal relationships to the global context, the different concepts of intelligence referred to above are often found in the client’s challenges and in coaching conversations.

Another concept of intelligence that can be in conversations is the concept of positive intelligence developed by Shirzad Chamine, author and professor at Stanford University Business School. Positive intelligence is defined by Shirzard as a measure of mental agility, indicating how quickly we can navigate from “negative” responses to “positive” responses to different challenges.

In her work Shriszad identifies our main saboteurs, who impact our thoughts, our “internal judge”, through the way we react to challenges.

Through self-awareness, self-compassion and reflection exercises, connected with the various senses, that help us recognise the emotions present, and navigate a mental space of curiosity and creativity, we can develop mental agility that allows us to identify the gift and opportunity of each situation, even in situations that appear painful and/or challenging.

Fátima Ribeiro

The author is a Coach in Professional Development, Leadership and Teams processes, ACC (ICF Associated Certified Coach), and member of the Board of Directors of ICF Panama.