Author: Joachim Dehais, PMP
It is a brand new year, you have received gifts of calories and material, so why not gift yourself leadership? That is what the book Executive Presence by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, promises.
The work is based on a short survey sent to industry heads about what makes a leader and what are the greatest mistakes. The content is delivered pragmatically, with three axes: communications, appearance and feedback, and for each explanation, examples and advice.
In communications, we find the classical items such as verbal excellence, conscientiousness, assertiveness, and relatability. The key killers to communication excellence lie in attention deficit and nonverbal signs of weakness.
When it comes to appearance, the key to shining is grooming, followed by classical beauty and age appropriateness. The key killers are over/undergrooming and insecurity.
When it comes to feedback, the author recommends - as would I - to gather frequent and constructive feedback. What may be lacking here is recognising destructive feedback, as well as asking about project insecurity.
Eventually, the author refines the different standards for men, women and various ethnicities.
The analysis is quite egocentric unfortunately, and fails to make an unbiased analysis of intersectional pressures on subgroups, often siding with the politically convenient ones.
Overall, the book is a good reminder of what makes us appear successful, with assertiveness and emotional security being at the heart. While I find some of the politics-infused examples distastefully irrelevant, the things that I find are truly missing are:
- A reflection on the contexts that welcome leadership. Game theory and survivorship bias would do short work of some of the statements therein.
- A broader cultural reflection, as we remain on the textbook American leadership model.
- An integration of the drivers behind the judgments made in the survey, a survey that in itself is a rather tenuous base for a publication.
- Exercises to build the aspects recommended.
Joachim Dehais, PhD, PMP