#505 Interviewing At The Top: Executive Presence, Confidence and Decision Power in C-Suite Selection - Interview with Frankie Kemp
Interviewing At The Top: Executive Presence, Confidence and Decision Power in C-Suite Selection - Interview with Frankie Kemp
Reaching the C-Suite is rarely a question of competence. It is a question of perception, positioning, and presence.
In this high-level leadership discussion, Niels Brabandt and Frankie Kemp explore why experienced professionals often fail at the final hurdle of executive interviews. Their conclusion is clear. The decisive factor is not capability. It is how that capability is communicated and embodied.
The Hidden Barrier to C-Suite Entry
Many senior professionals encounter a recurring pattern. Despite strong track records and consistent performance, progression stalls at the highest level.
The reason is not a lack of expertise. It is a shift in evaluation criteria.
At executive level, organisations no longer assess technical competence alone. They assess leadership presence, strategic fit, and perceived authority.
This requires a fundamentally different approach to interviewing.
From Candidate to Decision-Maker
One of the most powerful insights presented by Niels Brabandt and Frankie Kemp is the need for a complete mindset shift.
Senior candidates often approach interviews with a deferential attitude. They present themselves as applicants seeking approval.
This is a strategic error.
At C-Suite level, the dynamic changes. Candidates must position themselves as decision-makers evaluating the organisation as much as the organisation evaluates them.
This reframing transforms both confidence and communication.
The Role of Nonverbal Communication
Executive presence is established within seconds. Before a single word is spoken, nonverbal signals define perception.
Frankie Kemp highlights that posture, spatial awareness, and physical positioning are critical indicators of leadership capability.
Leaders who appear overly submissive or excessively dominant undermine their credibility. The objective is calibrated authority.
This includes:
- Claiming physical space without appearing aggressive
- Matching the energy and posture of the panel to build rapport
- Using controlled movement to convey confidence and composure
These elements are not cosmetic. They are strategic tools that influence trust and decision-making.
Imposter Syndrome at the Top
A paradox emerges at senior levels. The more experienced an individual becomes, the more likely they are to question their own adequacy.
This phenomenon, often described as imposter syndrome, is particularly prevalent among high performers.
Niels Brabandt emphasises that this internal narrative is visible externally. It manifests in body language, tone, and decision-making behaviour.
Preparation must therefore address not only content but mindset.
Confidence Without Arrogance
A critical challenge for leaders is balancing confidence with approachability.
Excessive caution signals insecurity. Excessive dominance signals arrogance.
The solution lies in controlled assertiveness. Leaders must demonstrate authority while maintaining alignment with the expectations and dynamics of the interview panel.
This balance is achieved through deliberate preparation, including structured self-assessment and rehearsal.
Strategic Preparation for Executive Interviews
Preparation at this level goes beyond rehearsing answers.
It requires:
- A clear articulation of strategic value
- Alignment with organisational priorities
- Awareness of personal strengths and gaps
- The ability to respond to high-level competency questions with precision
Frankie Kemp highlights the importance of comprehensive preparation, including structured analysis of strengths and positioning.
Conclusion: Executive Interviews as Leadership Tests
Interviewing at the top is not a procedural exercise. It is a leadership test.
Organisations are not selecting candidates. They are selecting leaders who can represent, influence, and drive outcomes at the highest level.
Niels Brabandt demonstrates that success requires more than experience. It requires presence, confidence, and the ability to operate as a peer from the first moment.
For decision-makers, the implication is equally clear. The quality of leadership selection depends on recognising these factors and evaluating candidates accordingly.
Niels Brabandt
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More on this topic in this week's videocast and podcast with Niels Brabandt: Videocast / Apple Podcasts / Spotify
For the videocast’s and podcast’s transcript, read below this article.
Is excellent leadership important to you?
Let's have a chat: NB@NB-Networks.com
Contact: Niels Brabandt on LinkedIn
Website: www.NB-Networks.biz
Niels Brabandt is an expert in sustainable leadership with more than 20 years of experience in practice and science.
Niels Brabandt: Professional Training, Speaking, Coaching, Consulting, Mentoring, Project & Interim Management. Event host, MC, Moderator.
Podcast and Videocast Transcript
Niels Brabandt
Maybe you want to get into C-Suite, and now you wonder, how do I actually get there? And maybe you're sitting here and think, I already tried, I tried once, and then I tried twice, and I'm running into blocks, any kind of glass ceiling, any kind of anything that stops me, however always reaches out to me, getting me stopped somewhere. And we will help you today, backed by popular demand. Hello and welcome back, Frankie Camp.
Frankie Kemp
Hi Nils, it's so nice to be back and speaking with you again.
Niels Brabandt
Thank you very much. The audience demanded you back, so here we are again, so you did something right. So when we talk about—let's get straight into it—when we talk about interviewing at the top, people want to go to the C-Suite, and let's face it, they did reasonably well with their career up till now. So they said, I am not a failure in career. I didn't struggle so far, but suddenly there's a certain level where, for whatever reason, there's always a reason why they don't pick me, they don't promote me, or they tell me, oh, you're not there yet, maybe next year, but they already told that to me for the last three years.
Niels Brabandt
What is your advice for people who say, hey, interviewing at the—is there anything these people need to do differently?
Frankie Kemp
So in my experience, when I've trained people to go onto C-Suite leadership level, it's often the nonverbals or this attitude that they're going in with. Now, for many of them, they've got through roles, through people that they know, and through promotion. Suddenly they're in this unusual situation where they are being interviewed by a group of people they don't know. As a result, what happens is you've got this feeling that these highly experienced people are going there with cap in hand, begging for the role.
Frankie Kemp
And one of the fundamental reframes that you need to do is this, if you're in that situation, is to think to yourself, I have all this experience and I need to check whether they're right for me. Because we think that we're interviewing to parade ourselves to them, but actually, don't waste your skills, your talents, on an organization which could crush you politically or ability-wise. Because I've seen that when people are really desperate because they don't believe in themselves and they take on roles where the red flags are flying like a Grand Prix racing track, and then they're ignoring them again.
Frankie Kemp
No, no, because you don't believe in yourself. The thing is, sometimes having so much experience is a little bit of a curse because you're like, oh, I can't see where I fit, which is why I work with people, because I'm pulling out exactly what they've got and how it meets the competencies of the role that they're going for. And coming back to attitude, recruitment consultants or headhunters don't help because one thing that they—I can't believe they're still saying this—they'll lean forward and say almost conspiratorially, you do understand that this is a competency-based interview. Well, of course it's a competency-based interview. Every interview is competency-based.
Niels Brabandt
Trust me, that's the whole point of doing them, isn't it?
Frankie Kemp
Well, they don't want to know about what you're incompetent at. So what you need to do is go, right, well, I'll make sure that I prepare for that with that in mind. Just humor them.
Niels Brabandt
Yeah. Do you think that imposter syndrome could play a role here as well, that some people are very good at what they're doing, but the more they know, the more doubts they all forgather?
Frankie Kemp
Yes. I mean, isn't there research that backs that up? That the feeling that you don't belong or that you'd rather not—you don't belong, but you're not enough—tends to predominate in those who have more experience and more ability.
Frankie Kemp
And as soon as if you're wearing this, you actually do wear it in a way that it is recognized within the first few seconds, the way you walk in and the way you sit down. And the process to undo that begins before you walk into the room.
Niels Brabandt
Excellent. So how do people now can be sure that when they say, hey, I need more confidence, need to believe in myself, how is it possible not to then fall for the trap of maybe come across as either arrogant or, worst case, even condescending to the other side because you are overconfident suddenly?
Frankie Kemp
So that's an interesting question. How do you stop yourself coming across as arrogant? I think a lot of that is in the nonverbals, making sure that you get the balance between owning the space. So for example, let's talk about that side of the scale first. I've seen extraordinarily experienced leaders in digital, in finance, in agriculture, whatever, in technical leaders. They walk into the room and they sit there. They're in the head teacher's office, right? So that's one end of the scale. And they've got their hands beneath the desk and they're sitting there waiting to be asked the questions.
Frankie Kemp
Then you have the other end of the scale leaning back. Yes, exactly, Nils. Bigger of four.
Niels Brabandt
What's up, Frankie?
Frankie Kemp
Yeah, what's up? But it's more like.
Niels Brabandt
We got the deal, right? This is all my thing, right, isn't it?
Frankie Kemp
Yeah. So the way you're sitting there, that makes me think I'm on the other side and I'm like, oh, we don't play it his way. No. You need to build rapport nonverbally. Now, there's so much research behind this. The matching, physically or vocally matching other people means that they see us as part of their tribe. You increase your ability to be liked and trusted.
Frankie Kemp
However, you do want to take up more space. So this is something that I have to show people how to do in a way that doesn't look arrogant. You're not an apprentice at the beginning of your career. You don't have to sit there all closed in. You need to push the chair back and stage manage your space. I'll give you an example. I have an exceedingly experienced client who's worked in defense. He's worked for the military. He's working for the government at the moment.
Niels Brabandt
Important roles where your accountability really matters.
Frankie Kemp
Exactly. And I warned him that in many panel interviews, they will position the chair in a certain way, either consciously or unconsciously. They want to see what you're going to do with the space. And they will position it underneath the desk. What they did in the interview that he went into for a local council is they had a children's chair in the middle of the room. It was like a potty. It was like a little chair.
Frankie Kemp
And I told him, I said, you claim your space. And we had done the work where we'd gone through his strengths. We'd done a complete SWOT analysis, which is what I do with people. So they're totally prepared for any gaps. They are very aware of their strengths. And we talk about how to claim your space verbally as well, but here we're talking about the physical environment.
Frankie Kemp
And he looked at it and he laughed and he went, I'm not sitting on that. I'm not five. He said, can I get an adult's chair, please? And he was laughing. So he did it in a very light way. And they also sort of kind of scattered around trying to find a chair for him, which they did. And he went, oh, thank you so much. That's really comfortable. That's much better. It's nice to be on eye level.
Frankie Kemp
So he's using kind of rapport, conversation, polite requests to calibrate his assertiveness. And then what he does is he claims the space, but he doesn't do it in the most exaggerated way. So for example, it's none of this with the figure of four where you have your ankle draped across the thigh. But it's more a sense of leaning back. And if somebody else is speaking to him and they're leaning forward, he will lean forward too, but he's not banging his fist against the table because he's got his chair further back.
Frankie Kemp
And really, if I can give you all one tip that will help both relaxation, body language, and actually your voice, pulling the chair back and leaning at the beginning of the interview drops the breath so it becomes abdominal. That deepens the voice. It allows greater expansiveness of movement. And that movement dissipates nervous energy. So it makes you feel more relaxed and sound more confident and also gives you more presence. You look and sound like a leader.
Niels Brabandt
Excellent. I think these are the perfect final words for this interview. And here are the news now. This is a part of three interviews, actually, because next up we're going to talk about presence without being loud. But for now, Frankie, thank you very much for your time.
Frankie Kemp
You're welcome, Nils.