Your Private Preview of STAND OUT!

I am excited to share with you an overview of my new book, STAND OUT: How to Build Your Leadership Presence. As subscribers to my newsletter, you are the only ones to preview the introductory chapter, and I would love to know what you think of it. You can reach me with comments or questions directly though LinkedIn or you can email: Carol@CarolKinseyGoman.com. (BTW: The book is available on Amazon, Barnes &Noble, Porchlight, Kogan Page's website now, and will be available on September 10 in the UK and September 29 in the USA.)

Introduction

I was recently asked to coach a candidate for a senior-level leadership position in a Silicon Valley technology firm. I learned that this man’s work was of the highest caliber and that his advancement had been fast-tracked—until now.

When I asked the president of the company why this talented man’s career had suddenly stalled, I was told that he didn’t have the leadership presence needed to advance higher in the organization. My coaching assignment was to help him communicate with increased credibility, confidence, composure, connection, and charisma.

Notice that my job wasn’t to help him develop those qualities but rather to help him display them. The ability to do so is, in a nutshell, the essence of projecting leadership presence.

I’m an international speaker, the author of 13 business books, and a leadership presence coach for managers, team leaders, entrepreneurs, and senior executives who are looking for ways to become even more effective in their ability to impact and influence others.

I wrote this book for you and the other high performers I haven’t had the opportunity to coach personally. I want to help you stand out as the talented leader you already are.

As a leadership contributor for Forbes.com, each year I receive dozens of books to review. I scan each one to find the actionable tips that I can pass on to my readers. You won’t have to scan to find tips in this book. Stand Out is filled with tips, strategies, and action steps that you can apply immediately for positive results. Here is a brief overview:

Chapter 1, “Leadership Presence,” begins with the definition of “leadership presence” as “a blend of attitudes, qualities, and behaviors that makes you stand out and gives your career that extra boost.” But leadership presence isn’t automatically assigned to you because of your title or expertise. Instead, leadership presence is what people say about you after you leave the room. It’s all about the perception people have after interacting with you of how well you display credibility, confidence, composure, connection, and charisma. This is why impression management is the key, and aligning people’s impression of you with your best authentic self is the goal.

Chapter 2, “Credibility,” covers the communication skills leaders need to be perceived as competent and believable. You’ll find tips for structuring your comments in ways that underscore your expertise. You’ll learn how to monitor signs of engagement and disengagement so that you can judge how your comments are being received and get tips on how to respond if you lose people’s attention. Although face-to-face communication gives you the best opportunity to impact and influence others, I’ll also show you how to increase your credibility in an email, a telephone conversation, and a videoconference.

Chapter 3, “Confidence,” focuses on the trait most commonly associated with displaying leadership presence and the one that’s almost impossible to fake. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to overcome the obstacles to building a positive self-image and how to tap into your authentic confidence, even if you are feeling unsure. Since confidence is being evaluated every time you speak, your communication style and word choices are highly influential. I’ll show you which words makes you appear less confident than you really are and give you tips for displaying your confident best whether you are participating in a meeting or giving a formal presentation.

Chapter 4, “Composure,” helps you stay poised under pressure by creating the habits that keep stress at a positive, healthy, and energizing level. You’ll learn strategies for interrupting the trigger-response reaction, understand when and why you should say “no,” and gain tips for keeping cool while handling interruptions, answering tough questions, responding to challenges, and dealing with a bully.

Chapter 5, “Connection,” provides an overview of ways to empathetically connect and inspire those with whom you work. In this chapter, we’ll look at the powerful impact of emotional intelligence on your ability to display leadership presence through actions that include empathetic listening, creating psychological safety, and showing social sensitivity. You’ll learn the five quickest ways to connect with someone and why connection is needed more than ever to address what is currently being called a loneliness epidemic. 

Chapter 6, “Charisma,” is about how you can exude charisma without necessarily being flamboyant, extroverted, or commanding. In fact, for business leaders, charisma is less a quality in itself as it is a style of leadership presence based in your special character and talents. Whether your style of charisma is based on confidence, credibility, composure, or connection, you’ll discover that your innate charismatic qualities are best revealed when you play to your strengths. 

Chapter 7, “Body Language for Leadership Presence,” covers the impact of nonverbal communication on leadership presence. When I started to coach organizational leaders, I saw that most were nonverbally illiterate—completely out of touch with the effect their body language had on others and unaware of the clear signals that were being sent by clients and colleagues in every business encounter. But that won’t be you! In this chapter, you’ll learn the two sets of nonverbal signals that people look for in all leaders, how to make a positive first impression in the first few seconds of meeting someone, how to use body language to highlight your verbal messages, and how to read the nonverbal signals that indicate bluffing or deception.

One of the most career-limiting comments I’ve heard was from a senior executive in human resources when a highly qualified candidate didn’t get a promotion. The reason provided was “The evaluation committee had no idea who she was.” Chapter 8, “Self-Promotion,” gives you guidelines for increasing your visibility so that people know how talented you are. You’ll get tips for personal branding, preparing your elevator speech, using social media, finding mentors and sponsors, and sharpening your networking skills.

Chapter 9, “Leadership Presence for Women,” offers insights into the strengths and attributes that women bring to the organization. It looks at the unique challenges women face when it comes to being perceived as leaders and offers proven strategies for overcoming those challenges, including how to bridge the confidence gap, develop conscious competence, and stop waiting to be perfect. You’ll learn the body language traps that women fall into and tips to avoid them. You’ll get a list of dos and don’ts about what it means to dress for success and why I advise women leaders to bring their femininity to work.

Chapter 10, “Cross-Cultural Leadership Presence,” compares and contrasts leadership presence in different cultures. If you work internationally or lead a global team, this chapter will show you how, from culture to culture, the norms differ in regard to the amount of eye contact you should make, whether you should be direct or talk around an issue, and if being reserved or enthusiastic gives you leadership presence. You’ll learn the cross-cultural communication skills a leader needs to display to be seen as confident, credible, and empathetic, and the universal qualities that we look for in all leaders.

The Conclusion, “Leading in Times of Uncertainty and Change,” reflects the challenges and opportunities that leaders in today’s organizations are facing.

One final note: Throughout this book, you’ll see graphics that visually reinforce my key points. I would like to acknowledge the work of Brian O’Mara-Croft, of Visual Congruence, who created all these graphics and is my go-to resource for all PowerPoint slides and media materials.

I would also like to thank Kathe Sweeney of Kogan Page for the time, energy, and talent she put into editing and (most of all) for her unwavering support.

Last, a huge thank you to my husband, Ray K. Goman, who had to live with me through the writing process.

This extract from Stand Out by Carol Kinsey Goman is ©2021 and reproduced with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.