Some people have it, and some people don’t. Do you walk into a room and command presence? Do people give you their full undivided attention?
If you are a Chief Audit Executive, you are going to want to tune in for this one!
Today we are joined with Hal Garyn to discuss Executive Presence, what it is, how important it is, and how YOU can increase your executive presence.
If you are ready for an executive development program to help you increase your executive presence, consider joining the CAE Forum where you have access to confidential advisors, and a consistent community of like-minded peers.
https://jasonmefford.mykajabi.com/caeforum
To download the paper Hal wrote on Executive Presence for Chief Audit Executive, visit: https://jasonmefford.mykajabi.com/caeb-paper-03
Listen in at: http://www.jasonmefford.com/jammingwithjason/
Transcript
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Jason Mefford: hey everybody I am excited to have my friend, how garen with me here today we’re going to be talking about a really important topic that if you’re a chief audit executive you’re gonna want to hear.
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Jason Mefford: And that is about executive presence and how important it is, as a chief audit executive to have executive presence.
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Jason Mefford: And, as I said when you listen to this you’re going to realize how important it is and we’ll give you some tips on how you can increase your Executive presence so with that let’s get started with the episode.
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Jason Mefford: Well hey how I am excited today to talk to you about something that both of us this this term of executive presence right that we’ve been talking about for a little while and so welcome.
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Jason Mefford: And let’s let’s let’s just kind of get in first off because you know, in case that term might be a little.
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Jason Mefford: unusual to some people let’s let’s just kind of start off maybe talking to people about what is executive presence right, so that they can understand what it is that we’re talking about then we’ll then we’ll the will show how water why that is important right yeah.
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Hal Garyn: So it’s an intangible if you think about you know, at some point in time, in your career when you were starting out or developing in your in your career and.
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Hal Garyn: An executive someone who was high up in the organization stop by the meeting you are in walked by the cube.
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Hal Garyn: Things felt different you didn’t know exactly what it was, but there was this air about the person.
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Hal Garyn: And it was this intangible about the presence there was something special about them and how people felt about them in the organization, they were respected looked up to if they had something to say they were listened to.
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Hal Garyn: And it is something that is it extends beyond position or position title it’s a it’s an intangible presence or a feel.
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Jason Mefford: Well let’s you know some some other words, maybe that that that people might have thought about, because I think that.
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Jason Mefford: That example that you just gave is Gray right because again all i’m sure all of us right have felt that at one point.
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Jason Mefford: In their life somebody walks into the room and there is something different about that person.
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Jason Mefford: Like you said, people respect them, they listen to them, you know another word that i’ve heard is oh he’s carrot, you know, he or she is charismatic.
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Jason Mefford: Right is is I think another word sometimes that because, like you said it’s it’s this intangible we don’t quite.
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Jason Mefford: know what it is, but we feel something different right and i’ve experienced this with lots of people, you know where you can just almost like feel their power or feel their love.
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Jason Mefford: When you’re talking with somebody right and so that’s that’s really kind of what we’re talking about here with this executive presence right.
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Hal Garyn: Yes, and you think about it when it relates to the internal audit position and someone who is aspiring to or is currently the chief audit executive it’s not that you want to wield power it’s not that you want to have everybody genuflect when you have.
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Hal Garyn: Something say you know it’s not about that.
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Hal Garyn: But it is about influence.
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Hal Garyn: And you want to be able to influence the organization from the power of what you have to say.
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Hal Garyn: Because you know you strongly believe in your views and what you have to relate, as with regard to the organization.
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Hal Garyn: And people will listen to you if, as the chief audit executive, you can exude for lack of a better term.
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Hal Garyn: This intangible known as presence as an executive you look at the fellow executives, you have in the organization and you can immediately think yeah they’ve got it yeah they’ve got it yeah there are there are there, there are a project in process, you know.
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Hal Garyn: They don’t have it, you know you, you can and and then you think about how you how you interact with them how you see the organization interact with those individuals you’ve bucket it and you know which one you which group, you want to be in.
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Hal Garyn: gotta make sure you put yourself there as a CA.
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Jason Mefford: Well, and it’s interesting that you say that right because because again it’s like.
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Jason Mefford: You know i’ve been in meetings like this where, where there’s different people right one person opens their mouth.
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Jason Mefford: And you know all of a sudden, you know, like you said genuflect I love that that’s a $10 word house, so thank you for coming to today’s episode right.
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Jason Mefford: But but but they defer to that person right, I mean when they open their mouth everybody shuts up and they look at that person and they’re actually listening right, and you can feel that you can sense that.
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Jason Mefford: versus other people open their mouth it’s like oh boy, here we go again here’s Jason right and all of a sudden people just kind of tune out right.
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Jason Mefford: And as you were as you were saying that it reminded me, I think it was the financial service firm ef Hutton.
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Jason Mefford: But they used to have those old commercials right when ef Hutton speaks people listen, you know kind of a thing that’s that’s really what we’re.
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Jason Mefford: kind of getting to or wanting to get to aspiring to get to because again if you’re if you’re the chief audit executive and you’re opening your mouth.
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Jason Mefford: You want people to listen right so So what are what are some things that people have to do, I guess, to to develop this more or maybe, how can you know.
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Jason Mefford: Maybe it will go down there are trying to keep this a little bit shorter of an episode two, but you know, maybe, how can How can people develop this more, and how can they really.
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Jason Mefford: Do like a gut check, because I think a lot of times we feel like maybe we have more of the presence than we actually do if we’re really honest with ourselves.
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Hal Garyn: I think it starts with there’s a couple of things that come to mind Jason, but I think it starts with.
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Hal Garyn: That that he was a title of a book, are you know but it’s certainly will use phrase, I think, therefore, I am.
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Hal Garyn: Do you think of yourself as an executive.
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Hal Garyn: And you think about the organization, as your fellow executives do.
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Hal Garyn: Do you use language that is like the executive team uses.
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Hal Garyn: Or you thinking like an internal auditor you grew up now granted some people have become chief audit executives and very successful at it by transferring in from another role.
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Hal Garyn: With no internal audit experience, but the vast majority of internal audit authors, who have GU become chief audit executives have done it with a if not a career a track record or a history of being in the internal audit profession for some time.
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Hal Garyn: you’ll learn how to become a really good internal auditor you learn how to manage internal lot of projects and people and internal audit processes and all that.
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Hal Garyn: And now, as the cae all of that stuff is important because it got you to where you are but it isn’t what’s going to make you successful in their role right now.
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Hal Garyn: what’s going to make you successful in that role right now is the executive team and the organization look at you, as a leader and executive and executive with presence, so it starts with what goes on up here.
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Hal Garyn: Do I have the self confidence and am I aware of and attuned to.
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Hal Garyn: what’s going on around me how am I perceived and do I have the self confidence to handle and carry myself as an executive.
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Jason Mefford: And I think what you just brought up, there is one of the important parts right is that self confidence part because.
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Jason Mefford: You know if in, and we can tell right, we can tell when somebody does not really feel confident and in this is where you know again it it kind of goes back to the whole you fake it until you make it right because.
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Jason Mefford: You got to practice, I mean that’s that’s part of it right, but but as you’re talking, you know, and this is one of the things that i’ve.
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Jason Mefford: done for a long time, coaching people as well right and getting people to think about look it’s not necessarily what you do.
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Jason Mefford: But how you do it and how you are being right are you being confident right and there’s there’s some there’s ways to learn how to do this right.
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Jason Mefford: we’ve been helping people do this for a long time, there are ways to be right, and so, for example being confident being committed right are ways of being.
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Jason Mefford: I can, and the problem is most people we’re just focused on the doing.
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Jason Mefford: But you’re doing is only as good as the person the being who’s doing the doing right, and I know that it’s a little conundrum there.
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Jason Mefford: yeah you know but i’ve i’ve seen this in people that i’ve coached forever i’ve seen it in you know people that I look up to as well, some of these people that do have that presence, they are being a different person and that and, therefore, when they do things people actually notice right.
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Jason Mefford: huh huh.
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Hal Garyn: yeah tell me when you went you know well, back in the days when we used to walk the halls.
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Hal Garyn: Of the organization good the good old days you know you know how did you carry yourself.
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Hal Garyn: You know the executives you as an example the executives that you had come to admire and choose to want to emulate.
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Hal Garyn: Are they, the ones who walk down the hall with their head down not interacting with other people on their way to the next interaction because they’re so rightfully so so deep in thought.
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Hal Garyn: That they because they they seem impersonal.
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Jason Mefford: well.
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Hal Garyn: Are they the person who walks down the hall greeting other individuals having conversations as brief as they may be being approachable.
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Hal Garyn: Yet still having that air of carrying yourself as an executive and which one do you want to be, you know and it to me it really comes down to again, how do you carry yourself.
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Hal Garyn: Throughout the organization what impression every interaction.
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Hal Garyn: Whether it’s the first.
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Hal Garyn: the middle of a series of interactions or the last every single interaction leaves an impression.
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Hal Garyn: Not just what you said or not just what was discussed, but what people think about you as an individual.
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Hal Garyn: And so we have to be deliberate.
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Hal Garyn: about the perceptions, that we want to leave behind what the people.
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Jason Mefford: yeah I was gonna say, and I think this this.
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Jason Mefford: This kind of wraps up this is going to hit home hard, probably for for a few people when I say this because you know, like you said you’re talking about.
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Jason Mefford: You know that these these interactions leave an impression we have to be deliberate about what we’re doing, but even something as simple as our posture.
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Jason Mefford: You know and and again for a lot of people that grew up in internal audit we’re thinkers right, and so we tend to be in our heads thinking a lot.
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Jason Mefford: i’ll find myself, you know walking and I joke with my wife that i’m like an absent minded Professor right because I i’ve got things on my mind i’m working through stuff right.
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Jason Mefford: And i’m oblivious sometimes to everything else that’s going on around me and and obviously when i’m acting that way.
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Jason Mefford: Other people aren’t seeing my power or my presence like that right, we have to be more deliberate in it.
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Jason Mefford: and, especially, you know, again, most people in our profession are introverts you know and it reminds me of that old joke right and usually it’s an accountant, but you can use an internal auditor to write.
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Jason Mefford: out how do you know the difference between an introverted and extroverted internal auditor.
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Jason Mefford: i’ve heard this one.
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Hal Garyn: steal.
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Jason Mefford: steal my thunder.
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Jason Mefford: yeah so so the introvert is looking at their own shoes and the extrovert is looking at your shoes right.
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Jason Mefford: And it is because so much of the time we’re just heads down thinking trying to get stuff done we’re doing doing doing doing doing and we’re not being intentional.
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Jason Mefford: About you know, like you said, the the impression that we’re giving about being personable to other people actually being somebody who is likeable, you know as well, which.
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Jason Mefford: I think are some good hits so so let’s kind of wrap up wrap up for this episode, but maybe we can leave people with a couple of.
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Jason Mefford: You know, things for them to think about you know if we summarize a little bit about what we talked about today right is you know, think about.
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Jason Mefford: Not just what you’re doing but who are you being and how is that being being what kind of an impression is that giving to other people.
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Jason Mefford: You know, simple things about you know your posture about you know how you carry yourself how you hold yourself, the way that you’re talking.
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Jason Mefford: Right, because I can be talking like this, or I can be talking like this right, I mean even even things like the the you know the tone of voice that you’re using volume or other stuff right.
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Jason Mefford: And, and I, and I like to think I think you had said before, to you know is is maybe this week is a good time to stop and reflect right on.
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Jason Mefford: How do you think people are perceiving you do, you have that confidence that you need if you don’t Then again, maybe that’s something that you need to work on and there’s.
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Jason Mefford: there’s ways to work on that so if you’re curious about it reach out, let us know right because they’re there are actually ways to develop and build this you’re never.
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Jason Mefford: stuck where you are that’s the whole great thing about personal development as well right, so all right any final thoughts today how.
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Hal Garyn: yeah I would just suggest that maybe people.
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Hal Garyn: love it if they’re listening to this, you know, take a look at your calendar over the last couple of weeks.
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Hal Garyn: We are so busy running meeting the meeting the meeting, and now it may be zoom call the zoom calls zoom call but it’s still occupies much of your time and we don’t we might take time.
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Hal Garyn: In preparation for the content of those interactions and, but do we also take time thinking about what impression do I want to leave.
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Hal Garyn: Because I know what I want to say I know what’s on my mind, I know how the meeting is probably should turn out but do I also add to that what impressions do I want to leave look back at your calendar of last two weeks reflect on what impressions you think you left with those individuals.
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Hal Garyn: Based on those interactions and if you don’t like it or you think you could do something different, look at the next two weeks, you got coming up and be deliberate about that aspect, it is as important as the content when you’re an executive.
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Hal Garyn: Whatever questions are you leaving.
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Hal Garyn: And how do you carry yourself through those things as an executive and that’s all presence yeah.
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Jason Mefford: Great stuff how great great practical stuff as well, and so again yeah if you think if you look back to you know meetings you’ve had the last couple of weeks.
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Jason Mefford: Maybe there were some things that you’d like to do different don’t beat yourself up over it right, but think about okay now in my future interactions, how can I be a little different.
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Jason Mefford: How can I manage the impression you know and like I said it’s it’s not just the content of the meetings but it’s kind of that context and the impression that you want to leave as well, so with that we’re going to wrap up for today, but thanks hell, for taking time.
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Hal Garyn: My pleasure thanks Jason.
