On Having an Aura

Illinois Senator, and fellow Land of Lincoln resident, Barack Obama took another step in history yesterday by filing the necessary paperwork to establish a formal presidential exploratory committee. Regardless of your political leanings, you're gonna wanna watch this guy - he's got a definite charisma-thing going on.

Back in 2004, shortly after his powerful keynote address to the Democratic National Convention, the Chicago Sun-Times interviewed me to get an executive coach's assessment of the man's appeal.

I used the acronym A.U.R.A. to help explain it:

A=Assured: "People with charisma tend to be very much assured. They're confident but not necessarily arrogant." They also have a vision, Zweibel said, a savvy, and are "larger than the stage they're on. Clearly, in this case, [Obama] was larger than the stage he was on."

U=Unique: "They are something new. ... [Obama] is new, he's young, he looks different. Kind of almost too thin, tall." Part of this is "a magnetism that catches your imagination, forces you to pay attention," and mystery. "Think about Obama and it's like, 'Yeah, where is he coming from? How did he stay hidden for so long?'"

R=Relevant and Resonant: "In a way, he was showing us he's like us, even though he's not like us. And he was saying he's different from us, even though he's similar to us. So I thought it was wonderful how he approached it from both sides."

A=Alive: "And clearly he was. There was a spirit, a joy, an enthusiasm in him. There was an energy and a focus and, I guess, a clarity."

In the coming weeks/months/years, notice how this Lincoln-esque Illini ("almost too thin, tall" from Illinois) uses his A.U.R.A. to amplify his impact. And notice those around you, too, who do - and do not - exhibit charismatic tendencies or their own.

Practice how assured, unique, relevant and resonant, and alive you can be in your interactions with others. You'll soon be impressed with what you can do when you put your mind to it!

And so will they.