The Authentic Executive: How Nervous System Regulation Builds True Leadership Presence
by Carl DuPont
How can I help? I often find myself starting with this very simple question when working with a client. My purpose in life is to help people reconnect with their voices, whether it's to embody executive presence in the boardroom, sing at the Metropolitan Opera House, or just having a difficult conversation with confidence, candor, and clarity. It’s all much easier said than done, however, and it’s not just a question of aesthetics. It’s one of survival, too. My philosophy is that our voices make us human, so they are a vital lifeline to who we are authentically. They help connect us to our caregivers (past), our community (present), and our legacy (future). This is the most important resource we have, and yet we can so easily take it for granted.
I lost my voice completely in the middle of a busy career of teaching, performing, and presenting. As the old folks say, I was burning the candle on both ends and in the middle too. All the warning signs of vocal fatigue, physical burnout, and mental exhaustion were there, but I was so single-mindedly trying to achieve my goal that I didn’t notice them. I just kept going. Up until that point, my voice always miraculously bounced back when I needed it, but the spring of 2018 was different. This time, I went out on stage to perform, and nothing came out.
It was only a complete re-education of my mind and body that allowed me to speak and eventually take the stage again. It is a slow, painstaking process of reclaiming and maintaining a regulated nervous system in a dysregulated world, but it’s worth it for anyone seeking change. As a certified Neurosomatic Intelligence Educator, here is how I use my expertise and experience to help others:
Assess
Our self-awareness is the most important tool we have in our arsenal. While it is easy to ignore the early warning signs: pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, these emotions arrive to show us what is important. As Richard Contino and Penelope Holt point out in Emotional Intelligence at Work, “Emotional needs, good and bad, are at play across every aspect of the business process.” They also advise that “the party line that emotions have no place in business is self-serving denial.”
Try it: Assess what you are feeling right now. What are the words that get stuck in your throat? Write about it for 5 minutes. Don’t let the pen leave the paper; keep writing. Name any emotions that come up. Studies show that naming negative emotions, also called affect labeling, can reduce their intensity and down-regulate distress according to the National Institute of Health.
Acknowledge
The next step is to acknowledge reality. I remember my first Alexander Technique lesson when the teacher told me, “You are where you are.” I thought it was the most inane thing I’d ever heard! I just needed this teacher to tell me how to fix my problem so I could get back on stage . . . and that’s when it hit me. I was striving, straining, and stressing about getting to the next thing, rather than being in the present moment. This approach often pulls us out of alignment and rarely helps us find resonance in the long run.
Try it: Acknowledge three objective truths about where you are right now. It could be your location, your clothes, or even the time of day. Notice any shift that happens when you make a regular practice of acknowledging what is true instead of letting the mind run away with worry.
Adapt
This is our most powerful tool as humans. It’s called neuroplasticity, and it’s broadly defined as the brain’s ability to rewire or establish new neural circuits. At any age, we can form new neural connections. It’s this adaptation ability that provides us with resilience, improves well-being, and can even boost brain health, according to Harvard Medical School. Our bodies and minds are like clay, so we can take advantage of that fact and repattern anything we’d like to improve about ourselves, even if it's just a little bit.
Try it: Record yourself saying an important piece of information three different ways. Deliver it horribly on purpose. Notice how your brain and body respond when trying something new. Do you notice any connections to other areas in your life? Are there more possibilities available to you than you could think of before?
Authenticate
The final step is to check in with your values. Align your adaptations to who you really want to be in the world. If you haven’t taken time to reflect on your values, or haven’t in a while, now is a great time. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Luke Kalb researches how cultivating a sense of meaning and purpose is part of building a good life. He recommends balance, relationships, and physical activity as key markers.
Try it: Use Brené Brown’s list of values to identify what is most important to you. Choose three small things you can do to embody those values in your words and actions this week.
I use these tools with myself and with Fortune 200 C-Suite clients to harness and sustain the change we want to see in the world. Th
Dr. Carl DuPont guides professionals in reconnecting to their authentic voice through a transformative approach that bridges performance expertise with scientific precision. As Director of the Kennedy Center's Washington National Opera Institute Program, Associate Professor of Voice at Johns Hopkins University's Peabody Institute, and Executive Education faculty at Carey Business School, Carl brings rare interdisciplinary insight to leadership development. His methodology integrates his experience as an international opera performer, published scholar, improv actor, Certified Neurosomatic Intelligence Educator, and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator. Carl's scholarly work appears in Oxford University Press and respected journals including The Laryngoscope and the Voice and Speech Review.Coaching clients range from Fortune 200 executives to international soloists at the Metropolitan Opera House and "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band. Carl has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, El Palacio de Bellas Artes, Leipzig Opera House, and the Salzburg Festival. He is the founder of DuPont Consulting, LLC and holds the Certificate in Management Development from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
