As another turbulent year draws to a close in the shadow of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant, many leaders are looking forward to some well-deserved rest and deep relaxation over the traditional, holiday slow-down here in Rwanda and most other countries around the world. Hopefully, this can also be a time for quiet reflection on their successes and disappointments in 2021 and for serious planning for 2022, both professionally and personally. Many leaders are naturally ambitious and want to achieve ever-higher levels of authority, power, prestige and influence but they sometimes wonder how to go about getting what they want … or at least what they think they want. The first step, as always, is for leaders at all levels to do a frank and thorough self-review, with such questions as: 1. What do I enjoy most (and least) about my current leadership role? 2. How effective am I in my current leadership role? 3. What do my close colleagues and counterparts think of my leadership effectiveness? (If you don’t know, ask!) 4. What are the most useful (and transferable) leadership knowledge and skills that have I learned in my current leadership role? 5. Am I ready for a new leadership challenge? Am I really ready? 6. Would I be willing to relocate myself (and my family) for a new leadership challenge? 7. What would be an ideal leadership role for me now, if I had no constraints? 8. What is stopping me from pursuing that ideal leadership role? 9. What are my top three priorities for 2022 in terms of my leadership role? 10. What other important leadership issues do I need to reflect on right now? Once leaders are fully rejuvenated and focused, they can begin preparing their action plan for 2022. As many organizations devote the first month/s of the new year to annual performance appraisals and conversations, this an ideal time for leaders to voice their professional and personal ambitions. Cogently argued, written justifications for a new leadership role - or at least expanded responsibilities or a pay raise – can be a good way to get your boss’s attention. But very often that is not enough. To really get your point across, it is often necessary to present your case in person (or on Zoom), like a trial lawyer trying to convince a jury or a vendor trying to close a sale. And the higher you are and the higher you want to go within an organization, the more people will need to be persuaded that you are indeed the right person for this new position at this particular time. “Promotion is not just about competence and reasoning”, says one senior technology banker. “It’s about personal branding, professional networking and making a good impression with the important people you know and don’t know.” And this is where the ambiguous concept of Executive Presence (EP) can be a crucial factor. As was already shared on 14 October in the first column in this three-part series on EP - https://www.newtimes.co.rw/opinions/leading-rwanda-executive-presence-confidence-and-regeneration - Welsh economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett has articulated the most widely accepted definition. For her, EP is a “heady combination of confidence, poise and authenticity” that you “bring into any room just by entering it”. She identifies three main components: ‘gravitas’ (how you act); ‘communication’ (how you speak); ‘appearance’ (what you look like). ‘Gravitas’ comes from the Latin word for ‘serious’ and in the EP context, it usually means the ability to exude integrity, calmness and confidence, even under the most pressing circumstances. Many leaders have been asked to display such ‘gravitas’ during the Covid crisis of the last two years, finding a delicate balance between taking tough decisions and showing authentic compassion. ‘Communication’ is not just about what you say or even how you say it. In high-stakes leadership conversations, it is also about when and where you say it to whom and for how long. Most ambitious leaders would relish a two-hour plane ride on their own with a key power-broker or influencer but sometimes you only have two minutes after a meeting or a brief email. Whether the communication is in person or remote or if it is oral or written, here are a few practical suggestions: 1. Prioritize the key points you want to get across 2. Customize your content and delivery for your potential audience of 50, 15 or 1 3. Share memorable short stories and anecdotes, as well as convincing data 4. Close with a powerful brief statement or request The third area of EP is probably the most variable and controversial but it can also be the most impactful. Neuroscience shows that the brain notices ‘Appearance’ before anything else and it takes only 0.2 of a second to make a first impression for good (or not so good). Especially with people you don’t know or don’t know that well. Context is everything in terms of appearance. How you groom yourself, what clothes you wear and even whether you should smile or not will depend on the circumstances. A bank executive in Kigali may dress very differently from an agri-tech entrepreneur in Gisenyi. US Americans seem to value smiling at work more than Rwandans. As with many aspects of leadership behaviour, EP is an art rather than a science and ultimately, the deciding factor for a promotion may not be how you acted, how you spoke or how you looked. As Mormon leader, Carl Buehner once said: “They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel.” How can you create the right impression on the right people next year? This is the last ‘Leading Rwanda’ column of the year and the first one of 2022 will be published on 10 February. The next ‘Letter from Kigali’ column will be published on 27 January. The views expressed in this column are entirely those of the writer who can be reached at jeremy@jeremysolomons.com
