Executive presence is one of those elusive leadership qualities that every rising star in the corporate world needs to develop. The Shire Corporation recently invited us to guide 10 of their European managers through the process of improving their executive presence.
The Shire corporation is an established leader in one of the toughest areas of medicine: the treatment of rare diseases. Their work in the field of biotechnology is unrivaled. They provide specialized medical solutions in more than 100 countries for patients who suffer rare or hard to treat diseases.
Shire’s corporate culture is reflected on their website, “We are committed to recruit, develop and retain top talent who take a responsible and ethical approach to all that we do and who want to make a difference in the lives of patients across the globe.”
These are the leadership qualities they value most in their employees. They recognized the tremendous potential among 10 of their recruits and asked Magnovo to help prepare them for advancement.
Learning leadership qualities
We met on Shire’s Lexington Massachusetts campus to work with men from Denmark, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland. Our team mastered the cultural differences and language barriers successfully and enthusiastically.
The Shire recruits’ main goal was learning how to achieve a more commanding executive presence in committee meetings. Each sought to learn how to maintain control of meetings and handle feedback more effectively.
Understanding executive presence
The biotechnology industry is tremendously competitive. The pressure to excel and be more productive can drive ambitious managers to become combative. It can be hard to maintain your cool if you feel that you’re under attack. We targeted leadership qualities including concise communication and grace under fire.
Executive presence in the heat of battle isn’t something you can fake. It’s not just a facade. To be authentic, it has to be an outward reflection of inner strength. When it’s genuine, executive presence is one of those leadership qualities that resonates with people and improves team bonding.
Our executive presence training teaches the value of empathetic communication. It instills confidence by helping trainees learn how to adapt without feeling compromised. Our clients invest in developing these leadership qualities in employees and the payoff is always huge for everyone involved.
The feedback from the Shire trainees was consistently positive. We’re confident that the 10 rising stars we trained will exceed their bosses’ expectations. And we look forward to working with Shire again.