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How do you signal to the world you\u2019re leadership material?<\/p>\nHow do you signal to the world you\u2019re leadership material?<\/p>\n
According to a new year-long study of over 4,000 college-educated professionals and 268 senior executives, you must be viewed as a leader in order to get promoted into top jobs. That takes executives presence, which is defined as having gravitas, excellent communication skills and a polished appearance.<\/p>\n
These skills are required, but that doesn\u2019t mean you rack up bonus points for having them. Instead, you get demerits for your mistakes, as superiors silently cross you off their good lists. So what are the pitfalls to avoid? The study uncovered the 10 worst communication mistakes\u00a0that will instantly derail your promotion hopes.<\/p>\n
No. 1: Racially Biased Comments<\/b><\/p>\n
Of executives surveyed, 72% said racially biased comments are a major blunder for men and 70% said the same for women. This is the top offense for good reason. These remarks easily offend or insult, reflect poor judgment and reveal low emotional intelligence, according to the researchers.<\/p>\n
No. 2: Off-Colour Jokes<\/b><\/p>\n
This second worst communication mistake is similar to the first. Telling inappropriate jokes makes people uncomfortable, revealing an inability to properly read the audience\u00a0and environment. On the flip side, 61% of executives believe being able to sense the mood of others and effectively adjust your language, tone and content is one of the top skills required to advance.<\/p>\n
<\/b>No. 3: Crying<\/b><\/p>\n
Rightly or wrongly,workplace tears\u00a0do not communicate leadership potential\u2014especially if you\u2019re a man. While 59% of executives say crying makes a woman look bad, 63% believe it\u2019s a top mistake for men. \u201cYou have to be able to control your emotions,\u201d a male banking executive told researchers.<\/p>\n
<\/b>No. 4: Sounding Uneducated<\/b><\/p>\n
Executives say it\u2019s important for leaders to portray gravitas, worldliness and intellectual horsepower. Thus, sounding uneducated will immediately undermine your chances of ascension. One IT manager told the researchers, \u201cI\u2019ve been with bosses who look like they would be competent, and then they blow it when they open their mouths and sound like complete buffoons.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 5: Swearing<\/b><\/p>\n
Cursing is a gender-neutral faux pas. It\u2019s generally considered unprofessional and unfitting of a leader. Interestingly, it\u2019s also a major mistake online, which in itself is a communication minefield. Those polled said the top three online communications blunders are posting unflattering messages about colleagues, posting unprofessional photos and being too personal.<\/p>\n
<\/b>No. 6: Flirting<\/b><\/p>\n
Even though some believe flirting can be a currency\u00a0in the office, nearly half of executives say it will undercut your professional reputation, regardless of whether you\u2019re a man or woman. Flirting\u2013the subtle suggestion of the possibility, but not the probability, of something sexual occurring between two individuals\u2013can easily be taken the wrong way.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
No. 7: Scratching Yourself<\/b><\/p>\n
Not only is this off-putting, it\u2019s distracting. The study researchers found that fidgeting in general detracts from your executive presence. Fiddling with your clothes or mobile devices in meetings makes you appear ill at ease or as if you\u2019re not paying attention.<\/p>\n
No. 8: Avoiding Eye Contact<\/b><\/p>\n
Body language experts say avoiding eye contact makes it seem like you might be lying or have something to hide. If you\u2019re in a meeting, it may also give the impression that you\u2019re uninterested. On the other hand, looking people in the eyes makes them feel like you\u2019re listening.<\/p>\n
No. 9: Rambling<\/b><\/p>\n
If you can\u2019t keep your message succinct and coherent, you won\u2019t appear in control. You also weaken the power and impact of the points you\u2019re trying to make. You have to get the power of silence. People like to fill spaces with chatter. But if you leave spaces around your important thoughts, you give weight and gravitas to what you say.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
No. 10: Giggling Too Much and Speaking Shrilly<\/b><\/p>\n
Leaders say that giggling or laughing too much is a top communication blunder for women, and speaking shrilly is a top problem for men. Appropriate laughter and tone of voice are major indicators of gravitas. Researchers discovered that the high-pitched shrill voice comes off as overly emotive and causes other to tune out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How do you signal to the world you\u2019re leadership material? According to a new year-long study of over 4,000 college-educated professionals and 268 senior executives, you must be viewed as a leader in order to get promoted into top jobs. That takes executives presence, which is defined as having gravitas, excellent communication skills and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3048,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47\/revisions\/3048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafigo.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}