4 Powerful Ways to Improve Your Leadership Presence

Like every other field, leadership has its rock stars—people with so much dynamism and energy that their influence stays with people long after they’ve left the room.

You may have been led to a career in leadership by one of them. And as you go through the everyday work of mentoring, guiding and encouraging that makes up most leadership, you may wish you could be more like them.

We can’t all be rock stars, of course.

But whatever your leadership work looks like, there are things you can adjust to magnify its impact. Here are four of the most powerful:

Your mental attitude.

Your mental attitude is a complex state involving your beliefs and values, your disposition and your actions. Your thoughts and actions have consequences, and powerful leaders make sure that what they say and do has the effect they intend. With a great mental attitude—which includes your emotional health, outlook on the world, self-image, and much more—you’ll strengthen your leadership and be more effective in understanding and relating to others.

Your physical attitude.

Your physical attitude involves your body and body language—the way your physical self reflects your inner being. It’s concerned with how you present yourself. Do you give off an air of confidence and assertiveness, or a message that you are uncomfortable? You can improve your presence just by being mindful of the physical message you are conveying. Whatever you’re feeling, keep your body language powerful and confident.

Your emotional attitude.

Your emotional attitude is the compass you use to navigate your emotional state—sadness, happiness, positivity, negativity, whatever you’re feeling. Your emotional attitude conveys your leadership presence, and leaders with highly developed emotional intelligence know how to manage their emotions to convey the kind of presence they want to communicate. The most powerful leaders respect and honor their emotional state; they’re comfortable with their emotions and know how to manage them.

Your metaphysical attitude.

Each of us has within us a spirit of who we are. This attitude is about how we connect with ourselves and others, but it’s also much more—it’s about being connected to something much larger than yourself and connect with others in a way that’s truly meaningful. It’s the most powerful leadership presence you can have. To cultivate a powerful metaphysical attitude, be an attentive listener. Seek to understand and learn. Lean forward. Let people sense your interest and respect. Remember, leaders become great not because of their power but because of their ability to empower and connect with others.

Lead from within:

Powerful leaders with a strong presence have a mental, physical, emotional and metaphysical presence that others remember and carry with them.

Additional articles you might enjoy: