Be aware: Political references below. But I am not getting political on you!

Instead of me telling you to evaluate how you present yourself—those habits that can hinder you professionally (Do you use distracting hand gestures? Do you have a “too-casual” style of speaking?), let’s compare two vastly different speakers that we all have heard and seen many, many times: our present and most recent Commanders in Chief.

Set aside all partisan bias. When you think of George W. Bush, strictly as a speaker and presenter, what comes to mind? For many of us, the junior Bush came across as a salt-of-the-earth, laid-back Texan. Which he was (and is). But he was also a graduate of both Yale and the Harvard Business School. He also managed to defeat the formidable Ann Richards before assuming the highest political position in the land and, arguably, the world. But you wouldn’t know all of that, necessarily, by listening to (or watching) him speak.

The lack of confidence, and the lack of sophistication, that came across from the former president when he met with great leaders or addressed the country, made him an easy target for the pundits. Ultimately, the public started to question his ability to lead. How G. Dub carried himself certainly didn’t help his case.

Now, let’s look at Barack Obama. Again, putting any political bias on the shelf, the difference in how these two leaders express themselves is striking. President Obama consistently faced criticism that he wasn’t “ready” for the position. But, going off of his delivery and oratorical skills alone, it would be easy to forget any criticisms regarding his resume or tenure in the Senate. He certainly never “wore” any of his alleged “lack of experience” in his voice or on his face. He’s slick, well-composed, articulate and polished. And pundits on Fox or MSNBC can both agree on that.

See the importance of how you present yourself? We’d all like to think that we’re being judged solely off of our skills, talents and experience. But you will always be judged by how you project yourself—what you throw out there to others. That’s one of the powerful values of being aware of just how your present yourself—you know how others perceive you. Another advantage of being self-aware is that you understand yourself well enough to know how to best influence others.

In my work with clients, I use StrengthsFinder as a tool to increase awareness of innate talent, and align effort for increased performance and engagement. As such I’ve gotten to know quite a bit about how people tick—how they relate to others. You, for example, may be very relationship-oriented. Your influence comes from connecting with other people and drawing others in. Or you may be a “visionary”—the big thinker who is driven by strategy—you can see the “end” and know what it takes to get there.

Or you may be more scientific in nature. You may have an impact on others through your ability to not only analyze data, but to present it in a compelling manner that everybody can understand.

Ultimately, in order to be an effective leader, you need to know “who” you are. When you have a sense as to where your strengths (and weaknesses) lie, you are then better prepared to leverage your natural aptitude to contribute individually, collaborate strategically, and in the end, to achieve organizational outcomes.

First and foremost, you need to be confident in yourself. And that takes some real evaluation. It’s not always pretty, but it gives you a full picture—areas to leverage and ones that require improvement. This is true for both emerging leaders and seasoned veterans  — — those who lead teams of three or organizations of 3,000.

“Size” or experience isn’t what matters in this case; what matters is that you start to “size yourself up”—the pretty and the ugly– for the good of the whole.