Leadership Presence at your Laptop

FIVE tips will make your 'virtual leadership presence' much more alive in this crisis.

Jane Goulding is the totally new CEO of a global speciality retail brands business based in London. She was meant to take her post in September this year, but given the incredible, immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the Board and retiring CEO, decided to accelerate her transition to May. Decisions for the present, and the future, need to be taken now.

I've known Jane a long time. She's a seasoned executive with great strategic leadership and interpersonal instincts. She video-called me to discuss her instant transformation as a 'virtual, incoming, and external CEO' last month. Jane told me that the online, on-boarding calls with Board and executive team members were a "really weird" experience so far—"sort of connected, yet quite impersonal". We discussed some of her business crisis management ideas, and the communication message action agenda she intended to pursue. Then she asked me a simple question which prompted this article. "How do I create any sense of leadership presence with people I barely know, when I can only use my laptop?"

I’ve advised thousands of executive leaders (including Jane) on how to make small, yet significant changes to their body language behaviors to boost perceptions of leadership presence in the physical world. In the COVID-19 era of near absolute digital connectivity, there’s a new set of rules, and your old analogue approaches need to adapt extremely quickly to your pinhole camera.

Before February 2020, if a leader like Jane with personal presence had something important to say, she knew how to stand confidently on stage and hold the eyes and ears of her audience. Her leadership presence could be felt through the reactions of everyone attending. When that speech became a videocast, different camera angles could be used. Materials were easily overlaid with URL links inserted to online resources to visualize leadership messages and presence in the physical combined with virtual world.

Why is virtual leadership presence so different?

‘Leadership presence’ is a combination of the authenticity, visibility, and communication approach of a leader as perceived by everyone else. These traits are reflected in the leader’s credibility, character, style of engagement, ability to listen, and capacity to influence or inspire well beyond the authority of their position. Yet leadership presence is always affected by the communication situation and medium.

In the COVID-19 era, leadership presence via live performance barely exists. Right now, leadership presence is perceived from what is seen and heard through the camera and microphone on your laptop, tablet or device. It is not person-to-person engagement nor charisma. It is a totally different communication context. Exchanges between leaders and followers are technologically mediated—almost in entirety—WebEx and Zoom, to Teams, Skype and FaceTime.

Your leadership presence happens through the digitally disembodied spirit of you through apps and screens, not the blend of the personal, supported by digital distribution, as was the way of the past.

What makes this leadership communication context so different?

It is the leader seen as a screen shot,

not a stage performer,

nor a personal conversationalist.

Quite simply, a device camera exaggerates the eyes, face and top half of the leader. The digital microphone transmission compresses natural voice sounds. The view of the leader is like a close-up TV interview, rather than a bigger onstage drama or an interpersonal discussion. It is the difference between Michael Jordan in the Nike swoosh, versus a ringside view of Jordan and Chicago Bulls on rampage at the United Centre. It is the leader seen as a screen shot, not a stage performer, nor a personal conversationalist. This is why it felt so weird to Jane.

What can you do about it?

As a leader, your presence IS you.

You are judged by the unconscious perceptions of those with whom you interact, and those judgments influence the effectiveness of your message. The way you project engagement, confidence and interest—or the lack thereof—determines how your message is interpreted. This applies in the digital world just as much as the physical world, as Jane was discovering.

In what I describe as our “socially distant, yet virtually connected” age of communicating through COVID-19 restrictions, you must use specific techniques that highlight your presence through authenticity, visibility and communication approaches that match the media you have to use. My research and practice point to five key elements which will substantively improve your 'virtual leadership presence' in communication in the current situation. This was the essence of the advice I gave to Jane during the second part of our call.

1. Control Body Language to increase perceptions of competence, involvement and hope.

Make sure that your body language is open—that means avoiding closed arms and hands. Your hand ‘open ratio’ should be at least 70%—speaking and listening online. This shows confidence and engagement rather than arrogance or withdrawal or closure. Make hand gestures, within or below the camera frame, clear and deliberate and without sudden ‘jarring’ screen movements.

Use inclusive gestures where your hands are drawing people to you, rather than palms pushing them away, or worse, finger pointing, that stabs at them in their eyes. If you have to point out—then, point downwards.

Keep your body completely still in front of the camera. Find a comfortable, fixed chair or standing position.

Your controlled posture is essential for focus. Too much swaying movement makes people 'sea-sick'.

Openness and body control are crucial in physical communication. In virtual, they are must haves, all of the time. Why? Because and close-device cameras exaggerates movement and closure within the screen.

2. Engage Eyes and Face to elevate perceptions of trust, relationship and commitment.

It is imperative to keep your eyes towards the camera when you speak, and also when you listen. We tend to watch the screen more than the pinhole camera which is actually transmitting us.

Yet, what people see on the other side of the digital screen is the image from that tiny camera. Since cameras are not embedded within the screen, when you look mostly at the screen, you are not looking into your audience—and they know it, even if you don’t. If you wear glasses, think about using very light or no frame glasses to open your face into the camera.

And, of course, make sure that your face expresses the genuine emotional content of your message. 

There are times to intuitively frown (seriousness, concern or contemplation); and times to smile (hope, inspiration or appreciation). Express facial emotions naturally.

You don't need to 'act'—just relax and express your message genuinely without freezing up. Allow the face and eyes to do the work they need to do for you instinctively.

3. Emphasize Vocal Quality to increase perceptions of clarity, comprehension and purpose.

Listen closely to the speed, articulation and pitch modulation of your speaking. If you sense that you are speeding up too much; then take longer pauses and over-articulate or move the lips more. Feel your lips working, and slightly over-move them compared to regular conversation to increase articulation clarity.

Push your voice sounds forward towards the device microphone to help overcome digital sound compression and make volume comprehensible.

Open body language with natural gestures and straight posture will give you more pitch modulation anyway, and help avoid a monotone voice—boring in the live world—but, deathly in digital. Good posture also builds breathing from the diaphragm which makes voice sounds and pauses more resonant and engaging.

4. Create Digital Spatial Awareness to enhance perceptions of trustworthiness, inclusion and meaningfulness.

During live performance, leaders can own, share, or be consumed by their space. In digital transmission, consider where your face and body are placed in relation to the total camera frame and projected visual image. That is the virtual space you are creating for others to engage within.

You can lean slightly forward, but never lean far back when talking. Don't overcrowd the screen with yourself, nor withdraw too far, and seem distant.

Natural and open works—imagining the virtual connections are there with you, within the visual communication space itself.

Create a professional backdrop to your screen-speaking that is meaningful for the content, especially in important content discussions (it does not have to be a bookcase; but it’s not the kitchen sink!)

Consider how you dress your top half—formal or informal—color of top in relation to background and your skin/hair color. What image do you want people to take-away? A glass of water makes sense—would you usually sip a glass of wine during a major town hall address? Remember your time of day is not the same as many virtual attendees.

5. Align Virtual Presence with the Message to ensure perceptions of engagement, credibility, and action.

In every communication exchange—live or though media—there are message (substance) and presence (style) dimensions that are interpreted in combination by people listening or watching. We all do this communication interpretation—mostly unconsciously.

I will never argue that style is more important than substance. It is not for a serious leader. However, I will argue that a leader who combines substance with style is likely to be much more effective most of the time. This is especially the case in virtual leadership presence, where specific style aspects are magnified in device screens and sounds.

If your body language presence does not align with your message, then credibility is deeply challenged.

A leader who says, “we have to do this, and I am listening”, yet tilts backwards and closes his arms does not convey that message at all.

When this occurs close-up and on-screen to the viewer—the misalignment is more obvious, and the negative effect is amplified.

Check the microphone (in device or accessory) and screen camera (added or within device) for sound and vision quality. Muting and unmuting your screen and/or mic are minor operational points, yet important—do this intelligently from the perspective of how others will likely perceive or engage with you at a distance, and in the moment.

This Really Matters

Like you and Jane, I’m watching leaders every day through my screens—and micro-reviewing their presence and messaging elements. The leaders doing it right and wrong will be the subject of much research and case studies to follow this COVID-19 pandemic. 

Yet, an essential ingredient in building effective leadership communication capability is always the combination of ongoing feedback and practice. Jane assures me she has been using the process we discussed, during her first month as 'virtual CEO'—and found it invaluable.

Record yourself from time to time in your device during virtual calls, meetings, or presentations. Review the video—once with the sound turned off (to focus on the 'as you are seen' elements); then with the video turned off, but the sound on (to focus on the 'how you sound' elements); then altogether sound and video (to focus on the overall presence impression). Reflect to yourself: what do you notice is working effectively in your virtual presence, and what do you need to keep front of mind to improve and practice?

Get feedback from other people you are interacting with as well. Reflect on the feedback (your own, and from others) against the five elements I've highlighted above.

Jane has specifically asked her Board Chair and the CFO to let her know how she is going—in message and presence. She asked them to be honest and straightforward. Despite the virtual constraints, she wants to make sure her leadership interactions work as effectively as possible.

Another invaluable technique I recommended to Jane, was to watch videos of other people, for example, other CEOs and government leaders—and imagine you were giving feedback to them. Don't send them an email or text with your observations! Use this exercise for self-development. Observing other people actually helps build a lot of awareness in ourselves very quickly—positives and negatives.

In a crisis, clear, credible and consistent communication really matters. The crisis messaging will acknowledge the problem or issue, express empathy, and explain the actions, as I noted in my recent INSEAD Knowledge article: Jacinda Ardern and Andrew Cuomo Are Crisis Comms Champions.

Of course, you need to understand how the authenticity and visibility of your leadership is being perceived. This is much more than presence; bringing in the totality of your leadership character, actions, behaviors and interactions—virtually and physically. While I have concentrated on the visual you, remember you are also 'visible' through your leadership presence engagement via text messages, WhatsApp posts, and emails as well.

For now, in this near-complete digital environment, I urge business leaders like you and Jane, to incorporate the five virtual leadership presence tips into your communication activities immediately. The really great news is that these work extremely well across all cultures, genders and generations. These will make a big difference to your stakeholders when you log into a video call that is 'digitally alive' and yet, your leadership presence is mediated by the app, screen, mic and pinhole camera.

You can show or adjust your virtual leadership presence as you want to—the tips above will take care of that. Make sure the substance of your leadership content matches it as well or better. Style alone is not enough, but this is more important than you might think—give time and attention to this, notwithstanding the pressing needs of confronting the urgent crisis tasks directly in front of you.

Psychologically, almost all of us long for face-to-face engagement as part of our lives—professional and personal. And this will return in time. However, 'virtual leadership presence' is a part of our leadership responsibilities and persona right now—and Jane understands this. It is not an optional extra in our leadership journey today—whether we are a newly minted leader like Jane, or someone who has been with their team a long time.