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Executive Presence

Stand out when you enter a room

Are you ready to be heard?

Lead teams, influence stakeholders and take command with the power of Executive Presence.

Importance of Executive Presence

Executive Presence is the intangible element that sets apart a truly inspiring leader.

It includes your appearance and body language; your presence and charisma; how you communicate, how you listen; your behavior under pressure, your ability to maintain a sense of calm, mature, gravitas.

Why does Executive Presence matter?

When you’re in a leadership position, you’re under scrutiny. People are observing, responding to, and gauging not just the words you use, but:

  • How you speak
  • Your body language and appearance
  • How much you listen to the team’s responses
  • How you respond when there are challenges
  • How you bring people together to achieve solutions.

This level of scrutiny needs a similar thoroughness in how you present yourself and handle your role.

A strong, well-rounded Executive Presence signals you are a consummate professional, in control of each situation, and ready to lead successfully.

What is Pragati Leadership’s Executive Presence Program about?

Executive Presence embraces the intangible aspects of being a great leader. These aspects include a leader’s gravitas, communication skills, appearance.

A survey by the CTI of 4,000 executives with college degrees found Executive Presence accounts for 26% of what it takes to qualify for the next round of promotion.

Given the importance of Executive Presence in defining successful leaders, smart organizations increasingly invest in specialized training to groom their top talent in these skills.

Our Executive Presence program grounds you in a deep understanding of how to internalize the pillars of Executive Presence and go from a managerial leader to an inspiring one. A leader who enables greatness.

Key Highlights of our Executive Presence program

A framework for transformation

Analyze and apply Executive Presence via the 3 pillars of Persona, Essence, and Approach, explore the 15 sub-pillars below these, and find your starting Executive Presence Index score

Multiple dimensions of learning

A mix of experiential learning, group and one-on-one discussions, presentations, role plays, individual and group assessments and more, to engage multiple learning styles

Making it real

Move from theory to practice with guided roleplay of real life situations like negotiations and town halls, set concrete personalized 30, 60, and 90-day roadmaps

Keeping it real

Sharing of knowledge resources for ongoing reference and learning, and building partnerships between participants for long and short term accountability and inspiration

Who is the Executive Presence program for?

Executive Presence programs are ideal for first-time leaders as well as for mid-career leaders gearing up for greater challenges.

We also understand the unique arcs of diverse leaders, and have a special focus on programs that empower women leaders.

Executive Presence

Program Modules

Session 1 – Foundation

  • What is EP, Main Components of EP
  • Importance/ Relevance in current and future role
  • Introduction to Pragati Leadership's PEA framework - Persona, Essence, and Approach
  • Self-assessment on skills connected to Executive Presence

Session 2 – The PEA Model

  • Deep dive into the three pillars and 15 sub-dimensions of Executive Presence
  • Executive Presence Index activity to derive individual EP ratings
  • Understanding authenticity and practices for building genuine presence - journaling, mindfulness, reflection
  • Body language essentials - reading gestures, power poses, and executive non-verbal communication

Session 3 – EP Applied

  • Masterful Storytelling and Delivery
  • Components of compelling stories - structure, emotional resonance, metaphors, and personal narratives
  • Story crafting activities using business scenarios and organizational challenges
  • Delivery nuances and practicing storytelling with authentic emotion and impact
  • Video analysis of exceptional storytellers and identification of EP elements

Session 4 – Business Application

  • Applying storytelling and EP across business situations - town halls, negotiations, appraisals, decision-making
  • Mastering impromptu speaking and public speaking through practice sessions
  • Individual action planning - 30-60-90 day milestones
  • Start-Stop-Continue framework
  • Accountability partnerships and resource sharing

Program Details

Duration

2 days, in person or remote

Focus areas

  • Why Executive Presence matters
  • The pillars of Executive Presence
  • Assessing yourself
  • Communication skills and storytelling
  • Emotional intelligence and gravitas
  • Appearance and your executive brand
  • Role-playing real-life scenarios
  • Practising your skills
  • Personal roadmap

How is Pragati Leadership's Executive Presence program different?

A track record of 30+ years of mentoring, over 1,40,000 leaders mentored, across 1500+ organizations

Cross-industry relevance, from finance and banking to software and technology, from engineering to retail goods, and more

Our PEA, or Persona, Essence, Approach framework of Executive Presence

A unique methodology of collaborative, engaging interventions for lasting insights

Driven by our unifying quadruple bottomline: People, Purpose, Planet and Profit,

FAQ's

What is Executive Presence and Why Do Leaders Need It?

Executive Presence comprises of the intangible qualities that an inspiring leader embodies:

  • Personal presentation and a presence that draws attention and inspires trust
  • Communication skills, empathy, active listening
  • A sense of gravitas and emotional maturity.

Leaders with Executive Presence are able to project confidence, command attention and trust, and inspire others.

Executive Presence matters because great leadership is about connecting with people, bringing them on the same page and inspiring them towards shared goals.

This demands a mix of charisma, empathy, and superior communication – qualities that are an intrinsic part of Executive Presence.

  • Leaders with strong Executive Presence are more effective in high-stakes situations — negotiations, town halls, board presentations, and team alignment conversations
  • Teams led by leaders with Executive Presence demonstrate higher engagement and clearer direction
  • It closes the gap between technical competence and leadership impact — the single most common career growth bottleneck for high-potential leaders

Pragati Leadership’s Executive Presence program is built on the proprietary PEA framework – Persona, Essence, and Approach. This allows for a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of personal presentation, effective communication, and more. After taking stock of their strengths and weaknesses, participants are enabled in the process of learning and practicing the building blocks of Executive Presence. Finally, participants are guided through finding their first business application for what they’ve learned, as well as in goal-setting and a plan for ongoing learning.

The objectives of the Executive Presence program are threefold:

  1. Self-evaluate using the PEA framework — Participants learn to assess their own Executive Presence across Persona, Essence, and Approach, identifying specific strengths and development areas
  2. Apply the three pillars in real-time scenarios — From crucial negotiations and team presentations to appraisals and stakeholder meetings, participants practise Executive Presence in the situations that matter most to them
  3. Create and communicate compelling narratives — Participants master the art of authentic, story-led communication that integrates Executive Presence principles into their everyday leadership voice
  • For individuals, the Executive Presence program aims to inculcate an understanding of the PEA pillars of Executive Presence, practical experience in applying them in real-life scenarios, and a clear idea of how they are used to pursue business goals and take their leadership journey further.
  • For organizations, Executive Presence training impacts the effectiveness of leaders in crucial stakeholder relationships and interactions, and delivers improved team performance, driven by leaders who convey clarity, authenticity, and gravitas.

Learn how to show up, be heard, and drive success.

Power your organization with leadership that inspires.
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