by Caroline Leach | Feb 16, 2025 | Careers, Leadership
Pings. Dings. Rings.
Our work days are overflowing with distractions.
In a busy environment, how can you increase your executive presence?
By doing the opposite.
By releasing the pull of technology.
By being fully PRESENT with people.
Being present is a topic Tom Larsen and I explored last fall in a talk at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Tom leads the EMBA Career Strategy & Development Team, and I’m an executive coach for students in the program.
Executive presence is about a feedback loop:
1️⃣ PLANNING: how do you want to show up?
2️⃣ EXECUTION: how are you showing up?
3️⃣ REFLECTION: how did you show up?
4️⃣ IMPROVE: what do you want to change?
Being present is part of the planning process. It’s being deliberate and deciding in advance how you want to show up.
Tom shared a story about a senior executive he’s coaching. This leader sets simple rules for how they require their team to show up in board meetings: no phones, no computers, and only the paper they need to engage in the meeting. Instead, this leader encourages the team to observe how other leaders and board members interact with each other.
Try these tips in your next video call or in-person meeting:
- Silence your phone.
- Put your phone away.
- Maintain eye contact.
- Sit or stand up straight.
- Ask clarifying questions.
Make it just you and the person or people you’re meeting with in the moment.
Put everything else aside. Just be there.
If unrelated thoughts pop into your mind, jot them down for later.
How do you also handle the reality that business moves quickly and you want to be responsive to your colleagues?
Check messages before and after meetings. Build in a few minutes between meetings, by scheduling them for 25 minutes instead of 30.
Better yet, do a calendar audit and decline meetings you don’t need to attend.
Do I always follow my own advice?
Not as often as I’d like.
But think about a meeting where you and your colleagues were fully present with each other.
How did the quality of your discussions and decisions differ from meetings where you and others were distracted?
What are your strategies for being fully present with people?
by Caroline Leach | Jan 31, 2025 | Leadership
Just weeks ago, the year seemed shiny, new, and full of possibilities. So much has happened since then. As a result, what’s important for leaders?
Pondering this question reminded me of a talk I gave with Tom Larsen last fall at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Tom and I spoke about executive presence for Executive MBA students. Tom leads the EMBA Career Strategy & Development Team, and I’m an executive coach for students in the program.
As Tom shared, executive presence is about a feedback loop:
1️⃣ PLANNING: how do you want to show up?
2️⃣ EXECUTION: how are you showing up?
3️⃣ REFLECTION: how did you show up?
4️⃣ IMPROVE: what do you want to change?
How are you executing and showing up when business moves faster and becomes more complex each day?
As leaders, we need to move quickly and easily, even and especially in difficult situations.
It’s about BEING AGILE, moving speedily and seamlessly, and being adaptable, responsive, and effective in the face of rapid and unprecedented change and uncertainty.
Here’s what I shared with students about agility:
👉 Don’t get stuck on or too attached to points of view or courses of action.
👉 Pay attention to what’s going on around you – with your team, organization, industry, and the world – and how that may impact your priorities and focus areas.
👉 Be flexible, and bend in the wind – don’t be rigid and break in the wind.
Related to that is the Italian concept of “sprezzatura.” It’s an effortless grace and the art of making the difficult appear easy. It’s maintaining calmness and nonchalance while executing complex tasks. And it links to agility by having a light touch and not being too attached to the outcome.
To do this well requires that you take good care of yourself, so you have the capacity and the wherewithal to pivot and spring into action when needed.
How are YOU being agile as a leader?
by Caroline Leach | Nov 30, 2023 | Leadership
How can you lead successfully in a diverse world? This was the topic of a vibrant panel discussion recently at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Speaking to Executive MBA students, we talked about what defines a high-performing and inclusive business; examples of successful equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) practices; and key leadership traits to foster inclusion.
High-performing and inclusive leaders lean into:
1. Humility
2. Empathy
3. Curiosity
3. Authenticity
4. Vulnerability
In our complex world, leaders can’t always know all the answers. Problem solving is a collaborative effort. It means ensuring a wide range of voices and views are involved in giving input and making decisions.
I learned so much from fellow panelists TeNita Ballard, MBA, John Iino, Terra Potts, Alexis Tirado, and Mark Zee.
It was a delight to help organize this panel with school EDI leaders Mana Yamaguchi (and panel moderator) and Purvi Mehra MD, along with career development school rep Ryan Hayes.
The Career and Leadership Development director Tom Larsen along with Jasmine Perrett were instrumental in bringing the experience together.
Many thanks to all who were involved!
A special bonus: it was also hashtag#BruinFamilyWeekend. My son Connor Leach and I enjoyed chatting with and hearing from faculty, staff, parents, and students. Connor is a UCLA anthropology and history major. So proud of him, and energized by the learning scene!
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