In today's episode, you'll discover the quality that quietly determines who rises and who stalls in a company, even when the talent is off the charts.
Welcome back to Speak Up, the podcast for high-performing introverts, including you, social introverts where we reveal the charisma and communication secrets of A-listers so that you get the recognition and the opportunities you have earned.
I am your host, Laura Camacho, your magical executive presence coach, godmother, and strategist.
By the end of today's short episode, you will know...
The subtle cues that signal executive presence to senior leaders.
Why raw talent, even if it's massive, without executive presence can actually limit your career trajectory.
And ideas for developing your talent stack to multiply the value you offer to any organization.
So I'm going to start by telling you about two hockey players.
I was in Boston seeing some clients and sat at the bar eating dinner next to a guy who sells customized suits.
And he told me this very interesting story.
And he's from Canada.
So we're going to talk about two elite hockey players.
And it doesn't matter whether you follow hockey or not.
You'll love this.
One is Brent Burns.
He was born in Canada but raised in the U.S.
And he's not a flashy skater.
He is not the most technically perfect defenseman.
But he became one of the most respected players in the National Hockey League.
Why?
Because teammates coaches, the organizations that deal with hockey professionally consistently describe him as reliable, under pressure grounded, a stabilizing presence and someone that people liked to be around in their locker room.
Now, there's another hockey player also born in Canada, P.K.
Subban.
And he was electric.
Like he was so gifted amazing raw talent, speed that was off the charts would deliver highlight reel moments just captivating.
He should have had a longer career.
He's no longer playing.
He could have, though.
He had this talent.
His career tells a more complicated story that, despite extraordinary skill, He developed a reputation for being hard to work with polarizing disruptive, with team dynamics.
People did not like working with him.
And that perception, fair or not, I don't know.
I don't know either of these people.
But that changed how organizations invested in him.
And it's interesting, you know, I...
I love my Canadian listeners.
But I don't know if it had anything to do with.
Subban was came from the Canadian culture, whereas Burns came from the US culture.
I'm sure that's just a coincidence.
Anyway, here's the lesson that most professionals miss.
Because they think I'm not in this popularity contest.
I don't need to be liked.
I need to be good at what you do.
But there's this concept and you've seen that in other people that they create friction, that they create friction when they walk in the room, that people get nervous, they get kind of tense, they get defensive.
So if you're considering moving up to the C-suite, you need to answer questions like the people who would hire you to be in the C-suite are going to ask themselves questions about you like can I trust this person under pressure?
Will this person elevate or drain the teams working under him or her?
Do I want to put my credibility next to theirs?
So Brent Burns, who's had a much more successful professional career, but not because he had more talent, but because his presence amplified his talent.
And P.K.
Subban's talent was far more impressive, but he lacked this skill of being able to inspire others.
So why does this matter in the corporate life?
Because a lot of high performers are thinking I just need to get better smarter faster, more skill, get more done.
Everything else will take care of itself, which you know is a comforting thought perhaps, although it is a lot of pressure to do more.
But success, professional and personal, doesn't come from talent And hard work alone is required, but not sufficient.
It comes from your talent stack.
This talent stack concept was popularized by cartoonist Scott Adams, creator of Gilbert.
And he explained that winning careers are not built on being number one at any single thing, but rather combining multiple strengths that reinforce each other.
So that's what a talent stack is.
It's combining multiple strengths that reinforce each other.
And executive presence is what allows your talent stack to really pay off.
Because it's not just what you're good at, but it's also how do you show up in meetings and conversations.
How do others experience working with you?
How are you under pressure?
Do people enjoy working with you?
Do they see value in working with you?
That is executive presence.
And, by the way, I know a lot of you think that your value is underappreciated and that can be, but I'm not going to tell you.
Oh, go out and tell everybody how valuable you are.
That is not the answer.
The most technically brilliant person is not necessarily the one who gets promoted, as you know, or gets pulled into these strategic conversations, or gets grace when things go sideways.
You want to signal that, hey, working with me, It's easier, clearer, safer.
It's not being impressive.
It's being indispensable.
So you don't need to be louder.
You don't need to become an extrovert.
You don't need to prove your intelligence or your uniqueness.
I invite you to add executive presence to your talent stack.
And these are some practical things that you can do.
Read the room before you enter it or before you try leading the people.
Managing your energy as intentionally as your content and as your time.
Knowing when to push, when to stabilize and communicating in a way that makes others feel calm supported, not belittled.
So presence is a social and emotional infrastructure that allows your talent to travel further, because it ripples out and affects the way other people work.
You can have a lot of different talents, but your executive presence is a force multiplier that makes the stat work.
I want you to know that at senior levels, they are not going to ask, is this person intelligent?
Is this person smart?
That is taken for granted.
Of course you are.
What they might ask is, do I want to deal with this person at a 7 a.m. crisis?
Do I want to... go out to dinner with this person after a client meeting that went way over time.
That's presence.
And once you understand that, everything changes.
So remember, talent gets you noticed, it gets you the job, it gets you started.
But executive presence is what you need to make it to the senior leadership.
It's not a talent problem.
You don't have a talent problem if you're thinking that you're under recognized or invisible.
It's a talent stack problem.
So I suggest that you get a copy of my executive presence scorecard, which is a self-assessment.
It's very simple.
Email me at hello at speakupwithlaura.com.
Put the word score in the subject line and I'll send it to you.
You fill it out and you'll see where your strengths are and where your opportunities are on the four pillars of executive presence.
Have a delightful day and I will catch everyone on the next episode.
