Being a Charismatic Leader: 2 Surprising Truths You Can’t Ignore!

As a leader, you know that charisma can take you places - it can elevate your career, inspire your team, and make you unforgettable.?

We all want to exude charm and captivate those around us, but many believe that charisma is an innate quality that can't be learned.?

That’s not true.?

While there are indeed people born with charisma, it can certainly be cultivated and grown through intentional effort.?

Today, let’s go over 2 truths around charisma and how you can become a leader who is influential and powerful.

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#1. The Missing Key to Confidence

Charismatic leaders are very confident.?

However, confidence is not about trying to please everyone, but rather about being comfortable in your own skin.?

True confidence means that you are okay with who you are, even if others don't always like you or agree with you.

It’s the difference between “people should like me no matter what” and “I will be okay even if they don't like me.”

Confidence can be built over time, and practice is key.?

One of my clients, a young professional with brilliant ideas, hesitated to put them across in high-stakes meetings.?

The CEO told me that she was somebody whose acumen and insight sometimes was far better than some of the MDs in the room but she hesitated to speak up.?

The shift we made together is that confidence is not something you think your way through, it is something you act your way through.

We used a very simple strategy.?

I told her to start stepping up in every meeting and sharing just one idea and see how it resonated.

When she got that feedback, which affirmed her knowledge and people started building on her ideas, She became much more confident.

And, through her ideas, more charismatic.

#2. Mastering Human Communication & Body Language

The second thing you'll notice about charismatic leaders is the way they communicate.?

They talk to people as though the person that they are talking to is the only person in the world.?

They make the other person feel special. They make the other person feel heard and understood.

The audience reflects back that sense of charisma on to them.

It’s not just about content, it’s also about connection.?

Charismatic leaders don't just convey a vision, they embody it, they bring positivity and hope for the future with a healthy dose of realism

They recognize that emotions are contagious.

So they make sure that their emotions are worth catching,and that is what makes them much more charismatic than an average communicator.

Let me give you an example of one of my CEO clients who is leading a massive change management project right now.?

Everybody in the company knows they need to change the business model because of the shifting winds of change that are growing in every industry.

However, it was only the day he stood up and shared a deeply personal story about how he feels the actions of this company and the changed business model can help people evolve in their personal lives and make a difference to their children and their children's children, did everyone stop and take notice.

He established a heart-to-heart, human-to-human connection that added to him being much more charismatic.

By tapping into his emotions and connecting with his team on a human level, he was able to inspire them to take action and embrace the change.

Remember, charisma is a quality that can be developed with the right mindset and strategies.?

If this article resonates with you, I invite you to subscribe to the Leaders Upgraded newsletter. Every week, I share 1 power move to massively elevate your leadership and unapologetically own your value and visibility.

Click here to subscribe.

By focusing on building connections, sharing your ideas, and tapping into your emotions, you too can unlock your charisma potential and become a more effective leader.