Women at Work

The Essentials: Executive Presence

Mar 4, 2024

Learn from expert guests Megan Bock and Laura Sicola on how to cultivate executive presence. Discover tips on improving influence, engaging virtual audiences, and staying true to yourself. Explore strategies for mastering communication skills, building visibility, and embracing leadership opportunities. Enhance executive presence through authenticity, adaptability, and navigating the path to authenticity in professional settings.

43:24

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Episode guests

Megan Bock

Laura Sicola

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Enhancing executive presence involves stepping out of comfort zones and embracing discomfort for growth.

Balancing different energies in communication and adapting to audience needs enhances engagement and authenticity.

Deep dives

Developing Executive Presence and Overcoming Discomfort

To enhance executive presence, it's crucial to recognize and address discomfort in behaviors that may not feel natural. The journey to improving involves practice, stepping out of your comfort zone, and embracing discomfort until it becomes more comfortable. This transformation doesn't equate to inauthenticity but rather signifies growth and adapting to new ways of expression.

Introduction

3min

Navigating High-Pressure Environments and Remote Visibility

6min

Building Executive Presence Through Effective Communication Skills

7min

Embracing Competence and Leadership Opportunities

11min

Enhancing Virtual Communication and Audience Engagement

5min

Enhancing Executive Presence Through Authenticity and Adaptability

10min

Navigating the Path to Authenticity in Professional Settings

4min

Executive presence is a mix of gravitas, communication skills, and appearance. But how do you learn to command a room if you only have a few opportunities to be in front of your colleagues, except for the occasional video call? This is the situation that one of our listeners is in. She joins Amy B and two other women who’ve each cultivated a strong executive presence, Megan Bock and Laura Sicola, to get advice on what hers can look and sound like.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to improve your own influence and impact, keep a virtual audience engaged, and grow while staying true to yourself.

Guest experts:

Megan Bock is the chief operating officer at Federato, a company that uses machine learning to assess risk. Cultivating an executive presence helped her rise up through the insurance industry and into tech.

Laura Sicola is a cognitive linguist who coaches leaders on communicating strategically. She hosts the podcast Speaking to Influence, and she wrote the book Speaking to Influence: Master Your Leadership Voice.

Resources: