Intentionally Showing Up: How Leaders Have Impact by Being Present

At Inzenius, we focus our leaders on coaching and being present to our employees to help them grow and deliver the most efficient and empathetic support service for our Rostering and Payroll software customers “Intentionally showing up is what turns happenstance into purposeful impact. In coaching and development work, an often-underexplored issue is how leaders can and should intentionally show up, which simply means being fully present. “Dave Ulrich Speaker, Author, Professor, Thought Partner on Human Capability (talent, leadership, organisation, HR)

Over my many years in leading teams to achieve excellence, I saw my role as a coach, not a boss. I coached team members to take on the challenge of being the best they can in delivering their services. To also not be afraid of experimenting and learning from such activities, even if, in some instances, the experiment failed, as they learned more from their failures than from their successes. 

I was fortunate that, during my career, my respected leaders followed this strategy of providing the opportunity and space for my problem-solving experiments, which led to many business innovations, including for Spotless, O,’Brien and Cown Casino, ith these 3 inventions, represent what was difficult but proven to be  possible 

• Multi-Pour Beer Machines: design and creation to enable the removal of beer cans from the MCG as demanded by the police. Referenced in the book, The Paddock That Grew by Keith Dunstan

https://www.amazon.com.au/Paddock-That-Grew-Melbourne-Cricket/dp/0091691702 

• The creation of Melbourne’s award-winning Colonial Tramcar Restaurant systems and processes

 

• The creation, patenting, development and commercialising of the Inzenius Rostering to Payroll software system.

  

Our agile matrix organisational construct delivers the best model for our modern, efficient customer-focused software as a service model, which comes with the responsibility for us all to be physically and psychologically focused on delivery by showing up, as in Figure 1 below and being present.

 

*Showing up is what turns happenstance into purposeful impact.” Dave Ulrich,

Do this Self-Assessment

In our leadership coaching and development work, an often-underexplored issue is how leaders can and should intentionally show up, which simply means being fully present. Leaders can master skills and tools for setting a vision, executing plans, managing others, building human capability, and demonstrating personal proficiency, and yet still not have full impact because they are not intentionally showing up.

Showing up certainly includes making a good first impression, but it is even more important in day-to-day activities such as formal meetings, informal conversations, one-on-one dialogues, presentations, digital presence, office space, and other daily interactions.

Intentionally showing up increases our impact by when we are present and attentive to our:

• Identity: What do I as a leader want to be known for?
• Influence: How do I get others to buy into my ideas?
• Respect: How can I be seen as a credible person with executive presence?
• Connection: How do I show others they matter?
• Contribution: How do I shape discussions?
• Learning: How do I make progress and constantly grow?

 Having coached numerous leaders, we suggest seven tips for how to intentionally show up to have more impact in these areas and in our work overall.

1. Focus attention; stop multitasking. Showing up requires focus, and our minds have the amazing ability to selectively focus and shut out other things. Consider being in a crowded room and being able to either focus on the person in front of us or listen to the conversation a few feet away. We choose.

A major limitation to focusing attention is multitasking. Most of us think we can effectively multitask. But let us be really blunt. We can’t! The research is clear that our brains can’t truly process two cognitively rich streams at once.

Try this quick test. Count from 1–26 as fast as possible. This takes about 5–7 seconds. Now say the ABCs from A to Z as fast as possible. That probably took around 4–5 seconds. Now multitask and mix the two. As fast as possible, recite the alphabet and alternate counting to 26. For example: A-1, B-2, C-3. Spoiler alert—most people can’t get past G-6 easily and have already used up 8 seconds. In spite of our being expert at both lists, going back and forth is difficult.

If we struggle to multitask doing something that we know well, how can we expect to focus attention on the specific relationship or task at hand if we are not present?

Leaders show up by intentionally choosing their focus.

2. Summarize more; talk less. Leaders show up when they not only listen attentively to others but also summarize ideas and focus on the implications of what is being discussed. Summarizing ideas goes beyond facts to synthesizing and integrating to make progress. For example. “I’m hearing that Mary thinks the issue is X, Sanjay Y, and Maria Z. The one thing all agree with is A, but we have not come to a conclusion on B. Am I getting that right? What am I missing?” Connecting different ideas takes full presence.

Leaders show up by being integrators who respect different ideas and then synthesize them to move them forward.

3. Attend to physical requirements. Physical requirements include being mindful of both our personal grooming as well as the environment around us. Our choices in physical appearance should be grounded in the “principle of non distraction.” We want others to pay way more attention to our message rather than the way we look; this means fitting in physically to ensure a focus on and the credibility of our message. Showing up means looking in the mirror to see if the image portrayed fits the setting and intent.

When we talk about our environment, we are referring to office space. When someone comes into our office, what do they see and feel? This includes spaces where people sit, types of furniture, lighting and colors, desk clutter or cleanliness, pictures on walls, and items on shelves. Evidence shows workplace design both reflects and shapes a company culture, impacts employee well-being and collaboration, and improves productivity. Even with the recent abundance of virtual meetings (teams, zoom, etc.), we have found that the setting background sends a message to those on the call. One of the most engaging exercises is to ask a virtual meeting participant to share something meaningful to them in their background. We have learned about people’s hobbies, heritage, and passions through the décor in their personal space which sends signals about the person and builds the relationship.

Showing up includes intentionally choosing our physical grooming and workspace to reflect our purpose.

4. Shape conversations. The content of our conversations indicates our priorities and helps us build relationships. When meeting with others, what are the most common topics of conversation? How much do we forge a personal connection versus just focusing on business? Additionally, do we emphasize what’s going well or what’s not going well? Are we asking more questions (being curious) or sharing more information (being directive)? Do we zoom in on the details of work or zoom out to keep a broad vision?

 Leaders can show up by carefully choosing the content of their conversations and the inherent messages such choices send.

5. Manage time. Time is often the most critical resource for any leader, and the calendar test is one of the easiest and most compelling signals of what matters most to a person. Where we spend our time signals what we are committed to (are we in or out of the office, are we having more formal meetings or personal conversations)? Whom we spend time with (employees, peers, supervisors, or customers) also indicates our commitment. When we analyze our leadership time logs to look back to see where our time was spent, we can plan forward and make changes so that our time in the future reflects our values and commitments.

We show up by intentionally managing where and with whom we spend our time.

6. Focus on others more than self. At times, leaders help by telling their story and sharing their ideas. But more often, leaders should help by giving others what they most need to meet their goals. In our teaching, we work hard to make our messages less about what we know and more about what participants need to know to accomplish their goals. Likewise, leaders can show up  and have more impact when they consider the needs of others. Also, praising others for their work makes others feel better and shows a commitment to improving.

Leaders who show up worry less about telling their story and more about helping others create theirs.

7. Follow up. Often we feel an intensity to act when we meet with others in person. But then with out of sight comes out of mind and our intensity dissipates. Showing up means demonstrating how important an issue is by following up in person, through personal notes, or institutional processes like performance review, development experiences, or career planning. This helps us keep that intensity we had in person.

Leaders show up by following up and staying in touch.

Conclusion

Showing up is not optional or accidental—it only happens when we make the conscious choice to do so. Consider how our brains have an estimated 2000–4000 thoughts per hour. Rather than letting the most immediate or distracting ones win, we can choose which ones we pay attention to and therefore choose how well we show up. Leading well not only requires demonstrating competence but intentionally showing up to make sure that impact follows. Intentionally showing up is what turns happenstance into purposeful impact. Figure 1 provides a simple self-assessment to diagnose how intentionally we are at showing up.