JOHN BALDONI, president of Baldoni Consulting LLC, is an internationally recognized executive coach, speaker, and author. In 2011, Leadership Gurus International ranked John No. 11 on its list of the world's top 30 leadership experts. He is a regular online contributor to CBS MoneyWatch, Inc, and Harvard Business Review.

12 STEPS TO POWER PRESENCE

AMACOM

Contents

Chapter One

LEADERS PROJECT POWER through their presence.

You can define leadership presence as the presence of authority imbued with a reason to believe. What matters to us most is authenticity. That cannot be faked, but it can be amplified.

Leadership presence is more than style, more than communications. It is the projection of the leader's authentic self. That authenticity is made up of a person's beliefs and convictions and reinforced by behavior. That is, it's not "talking the talk" that matters, it's "walking the walk" that makes the difference. It is what leaders do to convince people to believe in them as people and as leaders.

Leadership presence is the outward manifestation of leadership behavior. While leaders project their leadership, followers authorize it with their approval. Leadership presence is "earned authority." Those two words are important. Earned means you have led by example. Authority means you have the power to lead others. While organizations confer management roles, it is up to the leader to prove himself or herself by getting others to follow his or her lead. A leader must earn the right to lead others. Title is conferred; leadership is earned.

While leaders project power through presence, it is followers who authorize it with their approval.

Consider these examples:

* The plant manager who holds meetings on the shop floor to be close to the work

* The school principal who walks down the hallway greeting by name the children, who grin and send him a cheerful greeting

* The military officer who stays with his troops when the action gets hot and provides a voice of calm when all hell breaks loose

* The coach who shows players how to play the game right and in the process demonstrates what it means to succeed in school and in the community

* The research director who asks questions to stimulate new lines of inquiry and genuinely listens to responses * The quarterback who steps into the huddle and has every player look to him not only for the play but also for direction

* The mayor who holds weekly meetings with staff directors and encourages them to present their ideas about how best to serve the city

* The CEO who works in an open-plan office and eats in the cafeteria so she can stay in touch with people and listen to their concerns as well as their ideas

You can think of many more examples from your own life. Whichever example you consider, it is important to understand that just as leadership is a reflection of earned authority, leadership presence, which enhances the leadership moment, is derived from the support of others. It cannot be assumed through birth or heritage, though many kings and queens have acted as if they have it and don't. Leadership presence is a form of communication and as such can be taught and put into practice.

Some of us have presence; others must develop it.

Watch how leaders we admire carry themselves. See how they enter a room and engage other people. Look at how they interact with others, both above and below them in rank and authority. Watch how they build coalitions and are able to get things done. Often such leaders are the ones who tackle the impossible tasks and somehow get them done. How? It is because they have created a strong team of people who believe in themselves and their mission and will do whatever it takes to get things done right.

Leadership presence, the power to lead, does not come automatically with rank. While many CEOs and generals may hold heavy titles and their presence may seem lofty, the proof of their leadership is in what they accomplish. People get put into high positions and often don't succeed, a phenomenon documented by Dr. Laurence J. Peter in his 1969 book The Peter Principle. Such failures often stem from a lack of leadership presence. These managers fail to build rapport with their people. They assume it is "my way or the highway" and do not accept the counsel or opinions of others.

One of the clearest indicators of leadership presence is the silence that occurs between leader and follower. No pomp. No circumstance. Just being there. This leadership presence occurs on the factory floor when a new hire is schooled by a veteran. You find it on the battlefield in the quiet moments between officers and their troops. And you find it in boardrooms when the CEO has the support of her team. No words are spoken. There is a quiet sense of trust that has developed among all parties.

But here's the key point. While trust is a reciprocal act between leader and follower, it starts with the leader. He must trust his followers by giving them a stake in the enterprise as decision makers and contributors. Followers repay that trust by demonstrating their faith in the leader. That trust contributes to leadership presence in its most pure form and it is something to which all leaders can aspire.

Leadership presence is a powerful attribute of a leader; it amplifies and strengthens a leader's ability to connect with people he or she must lead.

Chapter Two

ORGANIZATIONS NEED PEOPLE who will stand up for what is right. It sounds so simple, but when organizations come under pressure from competitors, regulators, or market forces, the press for survival becomes paramount. That is why organizations need leaders who are willing to insist on ethical actions in tough times as well as in good times. In truth, most organizations do so; those that do not make headlines. But we can never take such integrity for granted; it must be continually reinforced at every level of the organization. Here are some suggestions for putting character into gear:

* Think character. Thoughts lay the foundation for action, so when it comes to character you want to be thinking about your role as a leader and how it influences the actions of others. Thinking becomes a preparation for how you will shape the organization. You want to ensure that people you manage as well as those you recruit hold values that complement the vision and mission of your organization. That is, you want people to believe in what your organization does. Character emerges from doing things the right way at the right time. Moral principles should be at the core of your leadership as well as at the core of those you lead.

* Communicate character. Leaders need to speak with integrity. As a leader, what you say matters, so you must carefully choose what you say and how you say it. Speak directly and clearly. Be concise when explaining things. At the same time, be willing to engage in conversations with others. Do not insist on getting in the first word, or the last. Work to make listeners comfortable in having a conversation with you. Good leaders invite feedback, and not just happy talk. They welcome critical conversations in which others are encouraged to speak their minds. Character emanates from your communication, the way you speak as well as the way you listen.

* Act on character. When it comes to character, what you do matters most. It is not good enough to think good thoughts or speak of good intentions; you need to put your intentions into action. You do this through your behavior. You seek to put the needs of the organization first and you act accordingly. You do what the organization needs you to do. In good times, this can be very rewarding because you are doing things that make life better for others: hiring, promoting, and growing the business. In tough times, you are making hard choices about cutting costs, limiting promotions, and even having to let people go.

You can never have too many people of good character. You want to think about ways to perpetuate character throughout your organization. Employees who come into your organization need to strongly manifest an ethical core that governs their behavior. Holding them accountable as you hold yourself accountable ensures that leader and followers are abiding by principles that truly mean something.

You reinforce character through organizational values. If you want people to treat others with respect, that is, tolerate alternative points of view, insist on honesty in all actions, and be transparent in their motives, then you write these values down and insist that everyone abide by them. Beginning of course with yourself.

Another way of thinking of character as it applies to presence is as a foundation for your brand. Every successful product projects characteristics that consumers find appealing. The same goes for your character. Presence, when rooted in the authentic leadership self, is a demonstration of integrity that encourages others to follow your lead. Why? Because they consider you the real deal, a person of good character.

Chapter Three

AUTHORITY DOES COME FROM TITLE, but it is earned through actions. Inept executives fritter away their authority by their behavior, taking the counsel of none but themselves and failing to listen and learn from others. Authority is what holds leadership promise together. With it, you can lead; without it, you might as well do something else.

Many leaders come to authority naturally; they embrace it totally and wield it like a sword to demonstrate their power. Others adopt it reluctantly, seemingly shirking from the responsibility. In truth, neither approach is wholly right nor wholly wrong. Leaders must embrace command, but they must recognize that their power stems from the people they lead.

There are five attributes of authority as it applies to leadership:

1. Decisiveness. Leaders need to exert their ideas. No Hamlets ("To be or not to be") wanted. The ability to make tough decisions is crucial to a leader's ability to lead. We remember General Dwight D. Eisenhower making the decision to launch a full frontal assault of the Normandy coast on D-Day. His final decision was short and to the point: "Okay, we'll go." But the decision was the culmination of years of military buildup of men and material as well as days of deliberation over weather conditions. By contrast, another former general, Alexander Haig, serving as secretary of state, jumped to a press podium in the White House on the day in March 1981 when President Ronald Reagan was shot and exclaimed, "I am in control here, in the White House." Bad move. The vice president, the speaker of the house, and president pro temporare of the Senate were very much alive and, according to the Constitution, ahead of him as potential successors. Rash decision making can be disastrous. You can take time to consider the options and deliberate the conditions and consequences, but ultimately you must pull the trigger on the decision. I will talk more about decisiveness later in Step 5.

2. Accomplishment. Leaders must, plain and simple, get things done. We want our leaders to do what they tell us they will do. When the CEO of a public company promises a new product or service as well as increased earnings and profits, he must deliver. Otherwise we tend to doubt his sincerity. Is he preening for the cameras? Is he angling for another job? Or is he clueless as to the real situation? Some executives are notorious for blue-sky predictions about production and revenues. All too often the situation changes and they end up with egg on their faces. Contrast their dismal performance with that of executives who know how to mastermind a turnaround. Very often by working together with the existing employees, these executives can right the ship by reducing debt, cutting costs, and improving earnings. Getting things done is essential to authority; it the raison d'tre of leadership.

3. Persuasiveness. Operating in a vacuum—or in a closed office—does not a leader make. No leader of an enterprise larger than a three-person operation can do much by himself. Sometimes autocratic executives will get into trouble because their heavy-handed management style turns people off. Then when the heat is on and they need the support of others, they will often find no one standing behind them. All leaders need the cooperation and collaboration of others. Therefore, leaders must bring others to the cause; that's a key measure of leadership. Essential to that mantra is an ability to communicate the objectives in ways that encourage people to buy into the process. You need to make the objective not only tangible but possible, as well as good for the enterprise. Some tasks are onerous—layoffs, closures, and terminations—but if they are done for the good of the organization, and ultimately the people in it, then they must be done. It is up to the leader to make the case.

4. Courage. Leaders must hold to the power of their beliefs and convictions, provided they are ethical, honest, and in keeping with organizational goals and beliefs. Standing up to bully bosses requires guts. Standing up to shareholders who want job cuts for short-term profits also takes guts. Standing up to public perceptions that seem reasonable but are unrealistic and uninformed also requires a measure of guts. But courage is essential to leadership. We know well the stories of soldiers in the field who perform acts of heroism to save their buddies. What we do not know so well is the courage all soldiers display when they go out on dangerous missions day after day. Police officers and firefighters, too, put themselves in harm's way regularly. Similarly, people in business demonstrate courage by blowing the whistle on illegalities or standing up for a fellow worker who is being harassed. Some even question the ideas of a senior leader. We do not celebrate courage enough in our corporate culture, but we should because it can be the backbone that individuals need to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. As Tadashi Kume, former executive of Honda Motor Company, once said, "I tell people that if the [company] president says a crow is white, you have to argue that a crow is really black."

5. Inspiration. Ever look up in the sky at night and see the moon on a crisp, clear night and wonder what it was like up there? Mankind has been doing that for time immemorial. In 1969 that look skyward became reality for two astronauts who set foot on the moon. Ten more astronauts followed their steps in subsequent years. Their quest inspired a nation and along the way revolutionized computer technology as well as many other things. Entrepreneurial ventures have something of a moon-shot quality to them. These ventures, be it a new software company or a technology outfitter or a service provider, require a healthy dose of dreaming to succeed. People who work for those ventures feel jazzed when they come to work; they are inspired by doing something new, different, and beneficial for their customers and themselves. All of us want to belong to something greater than ourselves, and inspiration is essential. Authority coupled with a sense of aspiration bonds people to the leader.

Decisiveness. Accomplishment. Persuasiveness. Courage. Inspiration. These attributes reinforce your authority to lead.

While authority is essential to leadership, it does not come automatically with rank or position. Authority, like trust, must be earned, but here's the difference. Trust requires time to develop. Authority, especially in most hierarchies, is assumed. People will grant you permission to lead. They want you to lead; they want you to succeed. Why? Because your followers have a vested interest in the organization; your leadership is vital to their success. That said, authority can be lost. Before that happens, it is important to understand the nature of authority and how it develops.

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Excerpted from 12 STEPS TO POWER PRESENCEby John Baldoni Copyright © 2010 by John Baldoni. Excerpted by permission of AMACOM. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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