7 WAYS TO EXPAND YOUR PRESENCE AS A CEO

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Not only does the outside world judge a company based on the performance of its, so do the employees. As a CEO, should know the importance of boosting the morale of you team for both the employees and customers to rally behind you. But, as you should personally know, that’s no easy feat to accomplish those tasks. You can, however, get one step closer to becoming a top notch leader by having a greater presence through these seven ways.

1. Work on your conversational skills.

In a more friendly word, walk the walk and talk the talk. Looking and acting like a leader is one of the first places to increase your presence as a leader. Communication skills are one of the most important traits that an executive should possess. Without these skills, you won’t be able to express your ideas, display your confidence, and hear the suggestions or concerns coming from your team.

Practicing the following will improve your communication skills;

• Be conscious of your body language and master how to read the body language of others.
• Always avoid using conversation fillers like ‘um,’ ‘em,’ ‘azin,’
• Prepare a small talk script so that there aren’t any awkward silences.
• Tell a great story of life experiences.
• Ask questions and repeat the last few words of the other person.
• Remove any distractions, such as notifications and your mobile device.
• Always come down to the level of your audience perspective.
• Be brief, but also specific.
• Develop empathy so that you can understand others.
• Give others a Listen ear without interrupting them.

Once you’ve perfected these skills, you’ll be able to put your team at ease, as well inspire and motivate them when morale is low.

2. Have lunch with employees.

Going through researches, you will understand that some of the most powerful executives and leaders are known for having lunch with their employees. Tim Cook, for example, has been enjoying lunch with random team members for years. Research have also shown that eating with co-workers have the following benefits;

• Opens new opportunities within the organization.
• Strengthens the relationship between the CEO and the employees.
• Employees gain new insights regarding the organization.
• New ideas are formed and shared.
• It reduces stress, which is beneficial for the health of your employees.
• Boosts morale.
• It creates a stronger company culture.
• Can improve profits.

3. Get out of the office.

Don’t barricade yourself inside your office. The best executives don’t hide in their office or at meetings all day. Besides having lunch with employees, they get their hands dirty sharing some of the workload with their team. Amancio Ortega, the founder of of Zara and currently the second richest person in the world, is admired, according to the Telegraph, for “sharing a table on the factory floor, with some of the designers, fabric experts and buyers.”

These were his words “When I know what’s going on in the trenches I have a much better understanding of what’s really going on with my company.”

4. Be active online.

CEO’s should have a strong online presence. Being active on social media is also an excellent way for you and your team to connect both outside of the office and directly if there is ever a question or concern since there may be times when you can’t meet face-to-face.

In fact, 76 percent of executives feel that CEOs should be using social media themselves. There are many reasons why:

• It indicates that the company is innovative.
• It gives the brand a face or personality to identify with.
• It strengthens relationships with the media.
• It helps find and attract new customers.
• It gives the company a competitive edge.

5. Hold yourself accountable.

Don’t be a boss who only showed up to point fingers when there is a problem. It’s not productive, and it will turn your team against you. Instead, hold yourself accountable and look for ways to prevent the problem from further occurrences.

That doesn’t mean that you have to be in charge of everything — that’s impossible. You can delegate tasks to the best team members possible and establish specific goals that you and your entire team can support. This way, if something does go wrong, it still rests on your shoulders.

6. Make your team have the feelings that you have their back covered.

This is more than just being supportive and understanding. Having your team’s back means that you give them credit and recognition for their hard work, as well as reward them to show your appreciation.

Furthermore, it means that you should get to know your team so that you can understand their strengths, weaknesses, and how they think so that you can properly inspire them on a daily basis.

7. Ask for feedback.

Some CEO’s finds it difficult to ask for feedback, this is basically because they don’t want to hear any criticism and employees are fearful in upsetting them, but honest feedback can help your business grow. Instead of avoiding feedback, welcome suggestions and ideas from your team by giving the following techniques a try;

• Replace the tired suggestion box with something like a flow chart where everyone can add their opinions.
• Ask your team insightful questions like what they would change, what are customer saying, and how you can help them become more successful.
• Assign feedback coaches so that employees can share ideas with someone they trust.
• Follow up with employees after you’ve taken their suggestions into consideration.