Here is an excerpt from an article written by Sylvia Ann Hewlett for Harvard Business Review and the HBR Blog Network. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, obtain subscription information, and receive HBR email alerts, please click here.
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Chen Wu
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Aspiring leaders have long been told that to be considered for senior management roles, especially those in the C-suite, they must demonstrate “executive presence” (EP). In most corporate settings, that has traditionally boiled down to three attributes: gravitas, strong communication skills, and the “right” appearance. But what exactly constitutes EP now? After a decade marked by tumultuous economic, cultural, and technological change (think climate threats; the Covid-19 pandemic; war in Europe and the Middle East; the #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQ+ rights movements; worsening political divides; and the rise of Zoom, Instagram, and other online platforms), how have expectations about ideal leadership traits changed?
Surveys I conducted in 2012 and in 2022 tell a story of significant shifts embedded within continuity. The 2012 survey targeted 268 U.S. business executives at the director level or above in various industries; the 2022 survey targeted 73. Both groups were asked to rank the importance of 25 leadership traits.
Confidence and decisiveness have not gone out of style; those are still the most-sought-after traits contributing to gravitas, which accounts for the lion’s share of EP. However, inclusiveness, in all its manifestations—respecting others, listening to learn, telegraphing authenticity—has shot onto the list of the most-valued components of all three dimensions of EP. That change reflects the new weight of diversity, equity, and inclusion in business strategy.
The old ideal—shaped and embodied by white male CEOs who ruled the U.S. and European corporate worlds through the beginning of this century—has long been eroding. In sharing my latest research findings here, I aim to shed light on what the preferred leadership model looks like today. Women and people of color no longer have to fit into a mold not fashioned for them. But they must still cultivate a confident, decisive, polished, and commanding persona without running afoul of biased social norms that punish them for overstepping. Meanwhile, executives who neatly match the old profile can’t rest on their laurels, assuming that the EP that once afforded them power will continue to do so. They must stretch themselves in new ways to meet evolving expectations for leaders to be “real”—online as well as in person—while simultaneously ensuring that team members feel seen, heard, and valued.
What follows is a guide to the new rules of executive presence—a look at the traits that increasingly matter, some ways to cultivate them, and a dozen people who currently exemplify them.
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Here is a direct link to the complete article.
Sylvia Ann Hewlett is an economist, the CEO of Hewlett Consulting Partners, and an award-winning author whose books include Executive Presence 2.0: Leadership in an Age of Inclusion and The Sponsor Effect: How to Be a Better Leader by Investing in Others. Hewlett is also the founder and chair emeritus of the think tank Coqual, and she has taught at Columbia and Princeton universities.