Having gravitas at work means you are taken seriously, your contributions are considered important, and you are trusted and respected. 
Gravitas increases your ability to persuade and influence and is likely to fuel the extent to which you rise in an organization. The organization also benefits: You’re more likely to add value if your voice is taken seriously.

What gravitas is

If you’re explicit with your values and goals, you are more likely to act in ways that support them. 
Ask yourself, “If someone were to describe me to others, what would I want them to say?” Or, like Mitan, set a specific goal that relates to your work, and find your own ways to achieve it that are in line with your personal values.

Be clear with yourself about what you want

Great leaders proactively seek to discover what others’ experiences of them are, take responsibility for them, and learn from them.
For example, “What could I do differently to make my leadership and our working relationship more effective?” He asks his team and peers for real-time feedback after any meetings or presentations.

Be open to feedback

When getting a cursory response — “No, that was great, you were excellent” — ask follow up questions. “Thank you, and what are two to three things I could do differently next time to be better?”

Be persistent in asking for feedback

Carve out small windows of time between small talk and specific agenda points to find out what’s going on with and motivating the people you’re working with. 
For example "how things are going for you — any changes since we last spoke, what your priorities are right now, and what are the biggest challenges you’re facing.” You may feel that you’re being nosy, but whether it’s with colleagues or clients, when you ask these questions with genuine interest they tend to be well received.

Create time for broader and meaningful conversation

“I’m not confident enough. I should be more confident, I know, but I’m just not.” Telling yourself you don’t have enough confidence can be a vicious cycle, with that negative self-talk decreasing your confidence further.
Instead, choose to be courageous, acting in pursuit of their goals even though they perceive risks and threats. It's okay to be vulnerability and find the need for courage. Confidence can often grow from these acts of courage.

Beware of the imposter syndrome

Integrity actually fuels courage. As we commit to integrity, we ignite our ability to speak up when it’s not comfortable and to share our views that might be different and therefore risky.
In doing so, we increase the extent to which we positively stand out at work, and we can do so with authenticity.

Commit to integrity

The best kind of gravitas comes from this authenticity, from deep interpersonal trust that you build by being clear about the impact you want to make on others, empathizing and finding out about the people you work with, and adhering to your sense of integrity. You can increase your gravitas and still be you.

You can increase your gravitas and still be you

Five tips to build it — in a way that’s authentic to you.

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Gravitas Is a Quality You Can Develop

Staying accountable to your own goals, dreams and vision for your life that creates the success.

Accountability determines success

<ol><li>Am I clear about my deepest desires and goals for my life?</li><li>Why do I want what I want? </li><li>What else is possible for me this year?</li><li>What am I making the feelings mean, and how can I take action anyway?</li><li>Am I making excuses, like, “This is too hard,” or “I don’t feel like it today?”</li><li>Do I feel passionate enough about this goal? Does it wake me up in the morning with excitement?</li><li>Is my vision big enough that other people want to help me achieve it?</li><li>Am I putting my goals onto the calendar?</li><li>Am I protecting the time I’ve scheduled and getting things done? </li><li>Am I sharing my goals with others and being out loud about my vision?</li></ol>

Powerful questions to build accountability

People think others will hold them accountable. Truth is, accountability starts and ends with you. 

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

Accountability: The Crucial Inner Work that Leads to Success

So before you lash out at someone who has a different opinion– think. The ability to reason is what sets us apart, so we should do it more often. Set aside differences. Start learning about other points of view. Gather facts and make your own decisions. Then communicate ideas to solve problems instead of perpetuating or escalating them. Never resort to name calling or swearing. This just sets everything back even further. Try talking to the “other side.” And keep trying even if you get shut down.

Ability to reason

communication

Communication

Talk Like Spock - To Improve Your Communication Skills

So what gives people gravitas? “A sense of weight, importance and power,” said Brett. “Someone serious, whose words you listen to, someone you trust and respect.” And those who didn’t possess it? “Lightweights, people who talk too much or joke around. Or worse, the ones who spin the truth so you don’t know whether to trust them.”

Find your gravitas

• Gravitas is associated with ideas of weight, influence, or authority, and also sobriety and seriousness (From its Latin root, gravis, meaning heavy).• Physical attributes such as height, attractiveness, and tone and volume of voice can lend gravitas to the way people carriy themselves or make themselves present.• It can be a combination of good judgment, authority, personal power, and the ability to speak the truth and command respect.• Roles can often provide gravitas, such as CFO, Risk Manager, or Ethical Officer.• Gravitas can be the result of great communication or networking skills. You know when to use relationships and leverage the authority of others.• Crises reveal people with gravitas and expose those who lack it.

Gravitas Is a Quality You Can Develop

Accountability: The Crucial Inner Work that Leads to Success

Talk Like Spock - To Improve Your Communication Skills

In Search of Gravitas

Ying Ying Lee