Due to the highly visible nature of GTM work, PMMs are often expected to present to senior leadership their plans in order to get budget approval, communicate targets and report progress. The more impactful the work, the more PMMs are expected to present to senior executives and often to the entire organization in town hall meetings or company retreats. Executive presence is therefore a critical soft skill that PMMs need to master.
Executive presence is multi-faceted, it combines how you are seen, understood and experienced by peers and senior leadership. You may have a lot of experience as a PMM and even as a leader, but without executive presence, your chances of getting things done in a very collaborative environment are low. A PMM that has executive presence is able to read the room, be prepared to answer the non-obvious questions, predict potential areas of discussion and anticipate conflict. They deliver their message with confidence, clarity, are very succinct, don't read from slides and most importantly connect with their audience.
Executive presence also means PMMs know how best to leverage an executive's priorities and time and use it strategically to take them along their GTM journey and get early buy-in.