How executive development can go wrong
Developing Personal Executive Presence (PEP) is extremely useful for leaders who want to grow in their leadership capabilities. However, well-intended development efforts can lead to a variety of outcomes - desirable or otherwise. Here, we'll discuss an actual danger of developing PEP: the shiny shell.
We’ve previously defined two flavors of Executive Presence (EP): Inner EP and Outer EP. In short, Inner EP is your personal, private, inner experience of yourself which gives rise to your outward expression of leadership, which we call Outer EP, and which is experienced by others. For more details, read “What is Personal Executive Presence?”
This leads us to the definition of Personal Executive Presence:
Personal Executive Presence (PEP) is a state of freedom from inner conflict (Inner EP) resulting in a unique, personal and palpable presence that instills trust in others that you are, or deserve to be, in charge (Outer EP).
Or in the form of an equation:
Personal Executive Presence (PEP) = Inner EP + Outer EP
When the term Executive Presence is used in a business context, it almost always refers to Outer EP. A leader’s dress, grooming, voice, posture, verbal and non-verbal communication. This is because Inner EP is internal and private, while Outer EP can be observed by others and modulated through practice. Consequently, much of the training in EP focuses on shifting the habits and behaviors of your Outer EP.
Incomplete Personal Executive Presence: The Shiny Shell
While developing Outer EP can be a valid approach, its limitation is now becoming clear: if only Outer EP is changed, in isolation, it is no longer grounded in Inner EP. The “polished” Outer EP becomes a carefully crafted, shiny shell around the leader which is presented to the world, yet is not deeply authentic to them.
Cracking under Pressure
The danger of this approach becomes clear under pressure: the leader falls back on their personally authentic Outer EP habits, which are grounded in their personally authentic Inner EP which was never changed. Under pressure, the leader’s shiny but fragile shell cracks and their true face is revealed, which is always a direct expression of their Inner (less developed) EP. We can all think of examples; typically they result in less-than-effective actions and the public revelation of their shiny shell for what it is: a carefully crafted façade.
In contrast, a leader whose Outer EP flows organically from their Inner EP has no shiny shell. Under pressure, their Outer EP continues to flow from their Inner EP, and since the two were always authentic and in harmony, there is no change. The leader continues to act from their personal authenticity as they respond, under pressure, to the situation at hand. This capacity is often called “grace under fire”, a highly admired quality in top leaders.
Skillfully developing your Personal Executive Presence
The logical conclusion is then that the development of PEP requires work on the Inner EP. Any development of Inner EP naturally results in a corresponding change in outer EP. While training can certainly help to more fully bring out and finesse the new Outer EP, it remains sourced in the development of the Inner EP, and hence is grounded in inner authenticity that allows it to show up under the inevitable pressures of leadership life.
More about the development of Inner EP in future posts.
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