Insider Conversation About Professional Reputation and Executive Presence
Allison Kluger is a Lecturer in Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a strategic communication and media coaching professional.
Reputation and executive presence are core foundation pieces to success even if they aren’t maybe always given steady attention, ongoing study and proper weight.
Allison Kluger knows though and educates and advises on those topics as a Lecturer in Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a strategic communication and media coaching professional.
She shared in conversation in this feature how those two pieces of the puzzle work in practice and why they are crucial components for earning positive attention and trust to gain influence, prove skillfully persuasive and lead at one’s highest level.
“It always interested me if people are aware of what they are putting out in the world and if it is being received the way they intend,” Kluger says.
“Reputation is built on others’ perceptions of you, not what we think of ourselves. So, if you are consistent in showing up as a positive, hardworking, collaborative, creative person, then that will become your reputation. Do your work, always be respectful — when they go low, you go high — and show up as the best version of yourself.”
Perfection of course doesn’t happen and if the errors aren’t scandalous or egregious, Kluger has encouragement to offer.
“The good news is that a lapse in your reputation does not need to destroy what you’ve worked so hard to build,” Kluger says, “But to recover from a misstep you need to demonstrate the four elements of Daniel Diermeier’s Trust Radar from his book, “Reputation Rules.”
She explains those points.
“If you behave poorly or make bad decisions that affect how people view you or your business, you need to first show Empathy: ‘I am sorry for those I’ve harmed. I realize you must feel hurt, misled, bamboozled, etc.’
“You need to let your audience know you understand that you caused a breach in their trust.
“The second element is Transparency: ‘What I can tell you now is that we had a change in leadership, and this has affected our company’s morale,’ or, ‘I made an error in judgement. I thought I was doing blank, but it turned out that I misinterpreted what the reaction would be.’
“You need to tell what you know at that time. Saying ‘no comment,’ only foments people’s anger and disappointment. Be accountable, be honest, give as many facts as you can.
“Next is Expertise: ‘I am going to use all my connections and experience to fix this issue by doing blank.’
“You need to put the person, who is most senior or appropriate, to deal with fixing what happened. This means it could be you if you have the most power.
“This signals that you are taking things seriously and are determined to make it better.
“Finally, you need to show Commitment. You need to be committed to seeing the solution and repair through to the end. You can do this by outlining a plan and having a series of checks and balances in place so everyone can observe the change,” Kluger says in conclusion of the four elements of Diermeier’s Trust Radar.
She talks about responding best to when a reputation becomes poor.
“How do you change a bad reputation? You behave your way out of it,” she says, explaining how that can be successfully done. “You do this by acknowledging (the problem), being consistent and committed, and showing up each day doing what you promised.
“You need to repair broken trust. People are very forgiving if you admit wrongdoing and seem committed to making amends,” Kluger says.
She talks about how she does this herself when teaching the courses she leads: Reputation Management, Personal Branding, Executive Presence, Strategic Pivoting for Your Next Chapter, and Strategic Communication.
“I show up the same way, every day,” Kluger says. “The evaluations I get are complimentary about my content, frameworks and assignments but more often they talk about how I make my students feel: supported, always available, honest with feedback but in a way that makes them know I really care, interested in their lives, kind, funny, cool.
“Many students say that they want to stay in touch and be my friend or be in my life after they graduate because I am a positive and inspiring influence in their lives.”
The byproduct, she says, is “As a result, I advise many of my graduates and sit on their advisory boards.”
Successful people or aspiring professionals aren’t always aware of their decision-making process, communication and other behavior and how it impacts their reputation.
“Many leaders don’t realize that how they act and behave and what they say has a trickle-down effect on those that work under them, alongside them and above them,” Kluger points out.
“As human beings we are all looking for social cues on how to respond, lead or act in a specific instance. If you are a leader who comes in slamming doors, or acting irritable, everyone around you will feel insecure and wonder, ‘What did I do wrong.’
“A great leader makes those around her feel safe, heard, seen and secure. She realizes that how she acts influences those around her,” Kluger adds.
At the same time, there is more required of this leader.
“She needs to demonstrate a certain gravitas that indicates that she is in charge, that things are in good hands and that she can handle anything that comes her way,” Kluger details. “She needs to be transparent and share information in a manner that is inclusive and honest. But she must role-model how to act in times of stress and uncertainty.”
There is a saying that she is fond of and communicates regularly about how one is experienced, perceived and judged.
“I always say that ‘reputation is like an echo. It precedes you into a room, and it remains long after you have left the room.’”
Kluger goes on to explain how this plays out.
“A solid reputation will do the work for you before you get there. With a positive reputation that precedes you, people are more likely to be open to you, like you, respect you and trust you,” she says. “Alternatively, if people don’t know you and then they have a great interaction with you, that can open doors and create a new or better reputation.”
An interaction that impresses of course creates momentum in your favor.
“This is when your primary audience will pass on accolades to a secondary audience. And your reputation keeps traveling,” Kluger says.
There is a way for the bold and courageous to learn where they stand, reputation-wise.
“I advise my clients and students to do a survey that has them asking those (people) around them — family, friends, colleagues and mentors — how their reputation could be described: ‘What are strengths, what are blind spots, what is their superpower?’ Something very simple,” Kluger explains.
“Once they get some feedback, they need to determine if they want to tweak something.”
She tells a story to illustrate.
“For example, one leader was identified as always being late and that this showed he didn’t care about others’ time,” Kluger begins. “While it was funny initially, it became something everyone tolerated and resented.
“I counseled this executive to start showing up 10 minutes early to everything. The first time he was teased: ‘What are you doing here early, you are always late!’
“I told him to say, ‘I know, but from now on I’m going to show up early.’ ‘Sure, sure, we’ll believe it when we see it,’ was the response. But he showed up early to every Zoom call, meeting and event,” she remembers.
The result from the effort, through sustained effort, to change the perception and judgment, was noticeable.
“What went from, ‘Oh, still showing up early, I see,’ became an acceptance and appreciation of a new behavior he consistently demonstrated,” Kluger says, adding, “He was consistent. He erased the old reputation of being late, to creating a new reputation of always being early until it became a non-issue.”
She then points out an important lesson to remember and apply.
“So, one small tweak, followed by consistency, can change a reputation a leader does not want to embody,” Kluger teaches. “This is such a positive message: no one is stuck in a bad reputation. You can evolve and create new trust.”
Executive presence is a task and challenge worthy to pay constant attention and develop in a way that is helpful to people being led, as well as ourselves.
“One of my earliest days as an associate producer at Good Morning America, a senior producer saw me crying at work,” Kluger says.
“She told me, ‘Allison, you can’t cry at the workplace. Do you know why? You’re young, attractive, and female, and nobody will think you’re reliable, and they won’t trust you to do the job. If someone asks, say you’re having a great day, because nobody wants to hear you’re having a bad day.’
“That straight talk taught me something,” Kluger remembers. “I needed to act the part of someone who was reliable and capable if I wanted to be perceived that way.”
This led to a change to achieve that goal.
“I became the person who was unflappable,” she says, before detailing what it made possible in her career. “I started getting jobs producing live remotes, being on air, and in the control room, and it became authentic.”
This didn’t necessarily change the totality of who she was, she stresses.
“I’m still a very sensitive person and I still cry, but to be the leader I wanted to be, I had to act like the leader I wanted to be,” Kluger says, because. “That’s executive presence: the way you carry yourself, present yourself, communicate with others and project competence and calm.
“Executive presence is very much how you control a room, the impressions you make, and how you affect the people around you. It’s how you communicate verbally and through your appearance and physicality. It’s not just appearance, such as how you look, but more how you communicate with people initially and convey your intentions,” she says.
Bottom line, Kluger asserts, is that “Developing good executive presence matters. Making an impression is not a choice. It’s an inevitability. Whether you know it or not, eyes are always going to be on you, and you’re never sure who is viewing you. You can make a great, bad or neutral impression.”
She offers a suggestion for additional positive impressions.
“Social outings are opportunities to make new connections and if you don’t try, that’s a lost opportunity,” Kluger says. “And there’s also an opportunity to make a great first impression, and those people who are conscious of how they initially come off have a leg up in terms of executive presence.”
She points out different, simple ways to do it.
“In new situations, you can offer to introduce someone to a person they don’t know who can help ease their way. You can make someone feel valued and that person in turn will value you. You can compliment someone on a job well done. You can offer recognition, admiration and appreciation and they will remember that when you leave,” Kluger recommends.
Then she offers a question to ask oneself.
“Do they feel better for having been in your presence?
“When it comes to executive presence, you want to make people feel like you’ve got their back and you can take care of it, whatever ‘it’ is,” Kluger advises. “It doesn’t mean you have every superpower — some things you’re going to be excellent at and some you’ll just get through. If you’re not the right person to handle something you say, ‘I’m not the appropriate person for this, but I know who is. Follow me.’”
Communication and mannerisms are additionally a part of executive presence.
“Do you look people in the eye? Is there a warmth emanating from you? Are you saying things that will benefit people or inspire them? Or instead, are you looking over their shoulder to see if there’s someone else better that you should be talking to,” Kluger asks, stating plainly that “The combination of warmth and competence is very powerful.”
She points out general differences or perceived ones between men and women.
“Men tend to over-index on competence but when they introduce additional warmth, their leadership perception increases dramatically. Women are expected to be warm, so they need to be. But they also must balance warmth with competence. All competence with no warmth makes people assume women are bitchy, bossy, cold.
“So, the balance of both is integral to strong leadership and executive presence in women. While this does not seem fair to women, I encourage them to take this knowledge and run with it. Women are incredible at multi-tasking and nuanced communication. So leaning into this combo is liberating,” Kluger says.
She offers five guidelines for building executive presence, the same ones she communicates to students and clients.
Be aware of your appearance. Are you dressing appropriately for meetings or events when you’re meeting someone who is new?
If you are too casual or sloppy, people will ascribe traits to you. They may think you’re lazy or not senior enough to do your job. It really matters how you show up.
The world is very casual these days but I always dress as if I am the leader I want to be. Again, it’s a first impression, make it powerful.
The worst that can be said is, “Wow, you are dressed up, we’re casual here.” And you can say, “Duly noted. I dressed up for today, but next time I’ll dress more casually.”
For women, it is important to dress with power. Women are judged much more harshly than men and many times it is other women doing the judging.
Be aware of how you communicate and how you use your voice. Be clear, present, and strong and project an action-oriented aura.
Rather than saying “I was wondering” or “Perhaps” say “I believe” and “My plan is this.”
Try and reduce filler words: “uh, um, kind of, sort of, generally, actually.”
Instead, pause, speak at a slow pace that shows you are confident and are not rushing. If you rush it makes you look less confident and indicates that you don’t think you deserve the spotlight.
Be aware of your energy. When you walk into a room, do you stand straight, with good energy and are you prepared to interact?
Make sure you’re aware of people and people are aware of you, because if you’re not — and they’re not — they may come away with a neutral or negative impression.
Remember that eye contact, a firm handshake, a smile and your first and last words are part of the first impression you make.
Be an active listener. There is no greater gift that being present. Focus your attention on the person you are speaking with. Make them feel seen and heard.
Consider your differentiating factor. What is it that makes you special, and how do you broadcast it, so people are aware of it?
Embrace that which makes your different. This will help flesh you out into a three-dimensional person.
Don’t dump your emotions on others. If you are upset or angry, do not take it out on others around you.
Anger is very scary and can be misinterpreted by those around you. It makes others feel as if they are responsible when it probably has nothing to do with them.
If you are angry or frustrated with your colleagues, anger is the surest way to make them less likely to listen, process the situation at hand, and make positive changes to rectify the damage.
I often say, ‘if you treat someone like an idiot, they will act like an idiot.’ If you show no faith, they will internalize your disappointment and fail.
Rather, if you say, “I understand this was an error, but I have faith in you to turn this around. How can I support you?” then you’ll have the most committed employee who feels energized and who wants to improve what’s going on.
Finally, don’t cry at work unless you give context. For women crying in a work arena is damaging to their reputation. Women are already thought of as softer and more emotional. If you cry at work, you are pushing your emotions onto someone else who is not ready or willing to deal with it.
It leads to making others feel uncomfortable, confused and resentful.
However, if you give context, “I’m having a rough day, I had a death in my family and I’m going to do my best to power through today,” then people understand your extreme emotion and they can show empathy and support
If you’re in a bad mood because you are late to work due to traffic and you’re cranky, take a moment, get coffee, shake it off, make a joke: “Traffic today really put me in a foul mood. Give me a moment to drink my coffee and gather my equilibrium and I’ll be right with you.”
Finally, if you are emotional and don’t want to share the reason why, find an office to cry in, or a friend or buddy whom you trust to take a walk with.
Public emotional displays impact those around you. If you don’t give context or supply a narrative, people make assumptions and a bad reputation can be started.
