How You Can Enhance Your Executive Presence

Being an organizational power player is definitely not an entry-level job. And to become such as player, you have to offer more than strong technology skills. You also must project an image that screams "executive material" to your peers and managers. The recent book, Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success (HarperBusiness, available now), breaks down the winning profile in a number of compelling categories that we're highlighting here: Your workplace "look"; your ability to receive and act on feedback; and the somewhat subjective but clearly critical concept of gravitas. Author Sylvia Ann Hewlett reveals that falling short of these and other essential qualities could very well ground your career aspirations. However, she also provides how-to takeaways that are readily adaptable, no matter where you are on the corporate ladder. Hewlett is founding president of the Center for Talent Innovation, a New York-based think tank that focuses on helping professionals realize their potential.