Executive presence is the ability to command respect and influence through your personal style, behavior, and communication. It is the combination of factors that enables you to effectively lead and inspire others, both within and outside of your organization.

As leaders, it is important that we cultivate our executive presence in order to be effective in our roles. This means being confident, decisive, and authentic, as well as having a strong sense of purpose and vision. It also means being able to communicate clearly and effectively, both in person and through virtual channels.

But executive presence is not just about personal style or charisma. It is about building trust and credibility with those around you, and inspiring others to follow your lead. It is about being a role model and setting the tone for the culture of your organization.

In short, executive presence is critical for effective leadership and driving results. It is something that we should all strive to cultivate...

We all know that one person at work — you know, the self-centered, annoyingly successful, blowhard who takes every opportunity to brag about his own work. “Did you hear that I landed the Boothman account? Yessssssss!!”

Ugh. (Insert eye roll here.)

Meanwhile, you keep your head down and work hard, holding fast to the belief that your work should speak for itself, and when it does, you'll get the recognition you deserve.

Let’s do a reality check here. Is this approach reeeeeally working for you?

Most of us aren’t great at self-promotion. But quite honestly, you're not doing yourself any favors by keeping quiet or playing small. Like it or not, promoting yourself at work is crucial, and your success depends on it.

In its most simplistic form, self-promoting comes down to this: You let your co-workers and your bosses know what you do, what you excel in, and what you accomplish in your job.

But if you're not sure how to start, I’m excited to share some...

Professional engagements are moving to web conferencing due to Covid-19.

I was interviewed by WCCO, an affiliate of CBS, to discuss strategies job search strategies.

Whether you're a professional doing team meetings or part of a job interview, these Top 5 Tips will help you make a memorable and lasting impression.

You'll definitely want to pay attention to Tip Number 4!

Here's to developing your professional brand and reputation.

Polly

I want to give you a simple yet genius technique that will help you be more powerful, charismatic and persuasive — in just 3 seconds flat.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Pause.

When you’re in a conversation, a pause of silence gives you the wonderful opportunity to listen and to make an impact on the people around you.

Being a really good listener is one of the most underrated secrets of success. Its crucial if you want to be more charismatic, more persuasive, and a better negotiator.

Plus, truly listening to someone and having them feel that they were truly heard is one of the biggest gifts you can ever give. The pause gives you presence. And people can feel it.

The problem is, most of us suck at listening, and we don’t even know it. We’re always interrupting people with our points of view, feedback and ideas.

But when you remain quiet and just zip it shut, you’ll be surprised how often people will open...

Survive No-Shave November With These Tips

Put down your razors! Guys, this is all about growing out your facial hair for a good cause. No-Shave November is a movement meant to spark conversation and raise awareness around prostate cancer. 

For guys, it’s not always easy to grow and maintain facial hair. Yeah, some guys wait all year for the chance to show off their miracle-grow superpowers, but sprouting a fearsome forest on your face doesn’t exactly say "professional" to your boss or clients.

CLICK HERE to watch the video, How to Survive No-Shave November

With these manscaping tips, you can sport a workplace-approved beard (this November and beyond) while keeping your professional reputation intact.

Don't let the thought of a straggly beard keep you from supporting No-Shave November. Use these tips to grow and tame your beard all year long.

XO

Polly

PS Do you know someone who is doing the No Shave November challenge? Don’t let them struggle through it. Let...

Today, this article is all about making confident and charismatic impressions.

Why is this so important? Because if you make a positive impression when first meeting someone, the rest of your relationship will be influenced by it, thereby tipping the scales in your favor.

On the other hand, a lousy first impression can prove almost impossible to overcome, often deciding the outcome of a meeting, job interview, or first date even if the rest of the interaction went pretty well.

So how can we make a charismatic and confident first impression?

As we covered in the previous articles, we know that people will jump to conclusions about others with very little information to support their gut feelings, and that we tend to trust the nonverbal over the verbal. So, if your body language is anti-charismatic, it doesn’t matter how great your message is. 

Make sense? 

If you display high confidence through your body language, people will tend to assume that you have...

Hey, it happens to the best of us. Sure, we want to make a good impression, but we hate small talk so it gets awkward fast. Alas, here are 10 Killer Conversation Icebreakers to get - and keep - the conversation going.

1. What are you working on that you're passionate about?
2. I'm looking for a good non-fiction to read. What do you recommend?
3. Where would you like to retire? Why this place?
4. What is the most exciting thing you've ever done?
5. What is something you would like to learn to do?
6. What is the most unpleasant job you ever had to do?
7. If you could invite 3 people (living or dead) to your home for dinner, who would they be, and why?
8. What lesson did you have to learn the hard way?
9. Who has been the greatest influence in your life?
10. If your closest friend wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

I love these questions, because small talk turns into BIG talk, fast! What are your favorite conversation icebreakers? I'd LOVE to add them to my list! 

Want...

How do you want to be remembered by others? 

Think about your character and legacy. Look out there, beyond your meetings, beyond your month's to-do's and all the things you have to do. Ask yourself this simple question, "How do I want those whom I love and serve to remember me?"

It's important to take a step back because when you're constantly juggling and feel depleted, because you're not thinking about the future. You're just trying to survive and get through today. You start to lose your clear intention for how you want to show up with your family and teams. Your executive presence suffers. The quality of your interactions suffers.

Can you relate?

Let me tell you, its not about having more time. Because we all know there's never enough of it. 

It is about imagining your interactions with people, and asking yourself why they love and respect you. How would they describe their interactions with you? Make a list and then choose to demonstrate those qualities each...

A sense of duty to a higher calling is deeply felt by top performers.

Its not rare to hear them speak of "being called," destiny, legacy, drive, or a responsibility to others as primary motivators for why they perform at the levels they do.

They strive for their best, because they know their performance will affect their future and the futures of others.

Having a sense of duty to something beyond yourself is a strong driver in motivation and performance.

Are you a political candidate giving interviews to the media?

Most candidates make the mistake of not having a clear message that they want to share. At best, they wing it when giving an on-camera interview, and that is a HUGE mistake. It can lead to rambling, and their message is often be filled with ums and ahs, detracting from the strong presence they want to convey to voters. 

Do you want to be seen as a leader or a follower?

Here's an important tip! Boil your message down to the three points that are most important.

A lot of people believe this is dumming down your message for the media, but its not. You're prioritizing what's important to you, and these points are what you'll come back to again and again and again in the interview.