One New Years Resolution Every Leader Should Make

Much of the value that a leader adds to the organization comes from presence, not decisions, strategy or execution. This year, make the resolution to prioritize your presence. Here are three practical things you can do to become a more powerful and positive presence.

Attend to your presence in your hellos and good-byes. Take a moment to individually acknowledge your staff when they arrive and depart each day. Each personal greeting, even a few seconds, is an opportunity to communicate how much you appreciate the people you work with every day. “Good morning, Tom, did you have a nice gathering with your extended family  on the weekend?” “Have a good night, Susan, and hey, really appreciated your wisdom at the tactical meeting today. Good luck with the parent-teacher interviews.” These seemingly simple gestures are powerful opportunities to build rapport, show empathy, and cultivate meaningful relationships.

Pay attention to helloes and good-byes. Pay attention to hellos and good-byes. Each personal greeting, even a few seconds, is an opportunity to communicate how much you value the people you work with every day. Click To Tweet

Attend to your presence with how you receive good news. This only takes a few extra seconds but is a powerful presence builder if handled well. Couple things here: First, honor the good news report by giving it your full attention (not looking at your phone or secondary screen that is tracking your email). Second, demonstrate genuine appreciation for the person or team responsible for the good news not just the good news itself. Change from, “That is great to hear” to “You and your team have done great work, thank you.” This simple shift in your presence with how you receive good news demonstrates that you value people over results.

Attend to the symbolic nature of leadership. You make hundreds of decisions a day, often driven by pragmatism and efficiency. It is important to remember that everything you do, in the eyes of your people, has a deeper, symbolic, meaning. Your behaviors, actions and choices send constant messages, telegraphing your values, priorities, and more. Everything communicates, and followers are highly attuned to these messages. You may think you are going to the lunch room to consume a mixture of proteins and carbs to give you energy for the afternoon, but your people see something deeper. Your presence, with your team, communicates what you value. Your people will quickly see through the clever stunts, artificial contrivances and photo-ops trying to manipulate a situation. Symbolic leadership is not showmanship and the meaning is defined by the receiver. Great leaders anticipate what meaning will be assigned to their actions. Only by standing in the employee’s shoes can effective symbolic leaders ensure that the right messages resonates.

Leadership presence is the ability to project a demeanor that engages and inspires your team. It goes beyond mere physical appearance and encompasses the totality of how leaders carry themselves, communicate, and interact. Presence plays a crucial role in influencing organizational culture, fostering team cohesion, and driving success. Effective leaders understand the impact of their presence and leaders work to intentionally cultivate a positive and powerful presence. Leadership presence can be developed and refined over time. Making a resolution to prioritize your leadership presence might be your most decision all year.