It’s Power Hour, kid.

🏋️‍♀️ Owning your power. Stepping into gravitas.

This is the fourth in series on Leadership Presence. This week I’ll dive into Gravitas.

What is gravitas? Does power mean being really really serious?

Of the four qualities I dive into for this series, gravitas is the one I rarely hear discussed in the workplace. When we think about gravitas, what comes to mind? Someone too serious? Someone controlling or demanding?

I define gravitas as an appropriate acknowledgement of your power as a leader. As well as your the ability to wield your power with grace and discernment.

Building leadership gravitas can help establish a strong presence, command respect, and influence others at work.

Here are a few ways someone could develop more leadership gravitas:

1. Cultivate Self-Confidence:
Confidence is a fundamental aspect of leadership gravitas. Don’t be bashful. Practice acknowledging your strengths, accomplishments, and expertise. Respect yourself by maintaining a positive mindset. When you project confidence, others are more likely to view you as a credible and influential leader. (I wrote more about confidence in an earlier version).

2. Be in Your Body (yes, you have one. It’s the thing below your neck):
Executive presence is something we hear often but don’t really know how to “do”. Executive Presence has to do with how we show up in our bodies. How you carry yourself, the confidence conveyed in your tone of voice, and how you interacts with and respond to others. Practice maintaining a composed and poised presence, especially during challenging situations.This doesn’t mean you are ignoring big issues, but you are practicing responding instead of reacting (or overreacting) under pressure. It’s super helpful to have a coach for this type of practice.

3. Build Strategic Thinking and Decision-Making Skills:
Building the ability to think strategically and make sound decisions is important. Sharpen your strategic thinking skills by staying informed about company goals, industry trends, anticipating future challenges, and analyzing complex situations. Just start by spending a little time each week doing this. The combination of strategic thinking and effective decision-making contributes to your credibility as a leader. This is a practiced skill gained over time, so you’re going to get it wrong sometimes. Pressure test your ideas with trusted peers and see how they can improve.

4. Grace Under Pressure:
Learn to handle pressure and setbacks with resilience and grace. Develop your emotional intelligence by practicing stress management techniques before the emergency or high-stakes situation. Having a mindfulness practice or getting support from mentors or coaches can help steady you in uncertain times. Your ability to navigate adversity with grace enhances your leadership gravitas. People feel safe when you’re at the helm.

5. Build a Track Record of Accomplishments:
Demonstrating a track record of accomplishments and results adds to your leadership gravitas. Make a list. Write it out. Your proven ability to drive outcomes and deliver tangible results establishes you as a leader who can be trusted and relied upon. You may not think you have a “track record” but give yourself some time to think back on successes, achievements and goals met. Generally we all have a few big accomplishments or challenges met in our professional history that can serve as a good starting point.

People want to feel safe to trust the leaders on their teams. This means making a commitment to reliably show up as responsible and caring.

Remember, leadership gravitas is not built overnight. But knowing which components are important to practice can help. Gravitas requires learning from experiences and consistently demonstrating your leadership capabilities. By cultivating self-confidence, developing a strong executive presence, enhancing strategic thinking and decision-making, exhibiting resilience under pressure, and building a track record of accomplishments, you can develop a strong leadership gravitas that garners respect and influences others effectively.

P.S. Coaching helps build these skills.

I love sharing wisdom in this newsletter. The truth is that “more information” can only take you so far. If any of these skills seem like something you need to build and practice, let’s connect. I offer a free 30 minute consultation to hear more about what you’re up to and see if we’re a good coaching fit.

I regularly work on these skills with my clients and bring deep experience, perspectives and easy ways to build more leadership presence. Click to book some time.