The Executive Presence Triad
Listen to understand, show up prepared, and hone feedback toward what you want.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 79%
Malik reduces executive presence to three things. First, effective listening — listening to understand rather than waiting for a pause, and proving it by asking clarifying questions. Second, how you show up: are you early or late, what do you offer, are you prepared, and do you actually know how you know you are prepared. Third, how you receive feedback: deliberately ask your managers, executives and other leaders how you can show up as your best self — but aim that at what you want, not what they want you to do. Whether the goal is a promotion, mastery of the craft, or a move to another career entirely, you show up for yourself above everyone else and stay solid in who you are and what your message is.
Origin
Malik teaches this as one of two courses (Executive Presence and Scale Up) drawn from running a global consulting firm for sixteen years and starting eleven companies.
Core principles
- 01Hearing is not listening — listen to understand, not to find your gap to speak.
- 02Clarifying questions are the proof that you listened.
- 03How you show up to meetings — early, prepared, offering something — is the visible half of presence.
- 04Feedback should be solicited deliberately and aimed at what you want, not at what others want from you.
- 05Show up for yourself above everyone else, and be solid in who you are and what your message is.
How to run it
- 1
Listen to understand
Stop listening for the pause where you get to speak. Listen to actually understand what was said, and ask clarifying questions to demonstrate and verify it.
Pro tip The test: 'did you hear me' is not the point — did you listen to understand?
- 2
Audit how you show up
Examine the mechanics: are you early or late, what are you offering to the meeting, and are you prepared — and can you articulate how you know you are prepared?
Watch out Feeling prepared is not the same as having a definition of prepared. Write down what it means before the meeting.
- 3
Solicit feedback deliberately
Go and ask your direct managers, executives and other leaders how you can show up as your best self. Do not wait for a review cycle to hand it to you.
- 4
Aim the feedback at your goal, not theirs
Filter what you hear against what you want — a promotion, perfecting the craft, or moving to a different career — rather than what they want you to do.
Pro tip Name the goal explicitly first, or you will absorb whatever agenda the feedback carries.
- 5
Show up for yourself
Prioritise showing up for yourself above everyone else, and be really solid in who you are and what your message is.
Common mistakes
Listening for the pause
Waiting for your turn to speak is hearing, not listening. Without clarifying questions there is no evidence you understood, and presence collapses into noise.
Taking feedback aimed at someone else's agenda
Feedback from managers is shaped by what they want from you. Unless you have named your own goal first, you will optimise toward their outcome rather than yours.
Is it for you?
Best for
Young professionals and emerging leaders trying to build credibility and move up.
Not ideal for
People whose problem is technical competence rather than how they are perceived.
From the transcript
“effective listening skills listening to understand not just for a pause or not not hearing so people say hey did you hear me that's not…”
“how do you show up for meetings are you early are you late what do you offer are you prepared and how do you know…”
“how you can show up in your best self to be able to really hone in on those skills for what you want not what…”
“showing up for you above everyone else and just being really really solid in who you are and what your message is”
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