One of the questions I often get asked is, “I hear so much talk about the need to develop ‘executive presence,’ and I’ve read different articles about ways to define it… but how can you MEASURE it?”
That’s a great question for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that you can’t improve something that isn’t measurable… or at least, you can’t be sure if it has improved.
The good news is that measuring things like “executive presence,” and “leadership communication skills” are not nearly as complicated as you might think.
And the best part is that much of it can be self-assessed very easily. Trust me: If you focus on the right things, and if you can show evidence to yourself of your own improvement, others will recognize it too.
There are really only two steps:
- Identify the qualities that would be included as part of the framework
- Be honest with yourself in identifying evidence of where you do or do not demonstrate relevant behaviors.
“But Laura,” you protest, “How am I supposed to know what qualities should be included, and what kind of evidence should I look for?”
I’m glad you asked!
After 15+ years as an executive communication coach, I’ve narrowed it down to 10 core communication competencies that are at the foundation of a leader’s brand, and I’ve put them together into a simple tool that gets right to the heart of the matter.
I’m happy to share with you my new, FREE, 2-minute, 10-question quiz: the “Leadership Communication and Influence Self Assessment.”
Each question presents you with scenarios and experiences you’ve had many times over, and asks you to rate your confidence, skill, and/or effectiveness for each.
It’s 100% self explanatory, but if you’d like a bit more insight into why these 10 factors made the cut, tune in for this week’s special episode of the Speaking to Influence podcast.
Warning: DO NOT OVERTHINK THIS. To the extent that you like to preface such answers with “Well, it depends…”, that’s fine! Give yourself a score that factors in the moments of success with the blips of inconsistency. You’ll know what score is right.
But what is most important is that you’ll identify two things:
- Your natural and conditioned areas of strength which you should celebrate and leverage for all their value, and
- Your comparative areas of weakness, which create an imbalance to your overall brand as a credible, trustworthy leader.
And on the podcast, I’ll walk you through all 10 questions so you can take the quiz with me in real time, to understand why each question matters in the context of building your brand as an inspiring, influential leader who people actually want to follow.
Better yet, if you want to DEBRIEF your scores and discuss priority ACTION STEPS you can take to improve your scores, you can use this link to register for one of my upcoming live, group calls where we’ll do exactly that.
I’ll share resources, tips and other ideas for how to undeniably improve your scores, your leadership communication skills, and your overall success!
Feel free to forward this newsletter or just the link to anyone you think would appreciate the opportunity to take the quiz for themselves as well.
