Effective leadership coaching is about more than achieving targets and climbing the corporate ladder. It is an inner journey that brings personal and career clarity. In a radically changing corporate landscape, leaders who focus on their self-awareness, self-worth, and confidence-building, will be best equipped to meet the complex challenges of a new era. Many leaders fail to inspire confidence and hope, often due to a key element that almost all executives overlook – leadership presence. In my two decades of working with leaders, and researching the qualities of 1000s of global leaders, at least 90% of them need to intentionally develop executive presence as part of their effective leadership skills.
Effective leadership: our approach needs to change
According to the 2024 University of Sydney Skills Horizon report (link to report), we are entering a ‘decade of disorientation,’ where leaders will be constantly challenged in how best to navigate a messy future. In this new normal, the following leadership skills will be paramount:
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Creativity
- Communication
In addition, I have noticed an increasingly important need for leadership maturity – leaders who have evolved beyond ego and can lead with purpose, integrity, and a focus on making a positive impact.
From my conversations with thousands of leaders and CEOs, I have come to realise that the biggest barrier to leadership maturity or executive presence lies within. Many leaders don’t consistently believe they are good enough and they don’t give themselves permission to stop posturing and show up authentically.
Defining executive presence
In her book, Executive Presence, Sylvia Ann Hewlett defines executive presence as a blend of three components: gravitas, communication skills, and appearance.
I often ask my leadership coaching clients to draw a pie chart and to allocate portions of the circle to represent how they perceive the importance of these three segments.
The pie charts usually differ wildly from Hewlett’s research findings. Many place much more emphasis on appearance and communication skills compared with gravitas. Then, they are surprised to learn that appearance counts for just 5%, communication – 28% and gravitas – 67%.
Hewlett defines Gravitas as showing confidence and grace under fire, being decisive, authentic, emotionally intelligent, having integrity, speaking truth to power, being altruistic, purposeful and able to inspire and sell a vision. In my work with clients on building leadership confidence, gravitas is the most important factor we work on to embody leadership presence.
Source: Sylvia Ann Hewlett
Three ways to cultivate your leadership presence
Here are the three principles I offer my leadership coaching clients for nurturing their leadership presence:
- Feel worthy: When you balance humility with self-confidence, others will naturally trust and have confidence in you.
- Act worthy: When you communicate clearly, act calmly, and operate as a team player, you will deliver value.
- Be worthy: And when you embody integrity and express yourself with purpose, care, and vision, others will be inspired by you.
Take the case of my client, Sari. After years of leadership coaching, I recently noticed a powerful shift in her demeanour. As she walked towards me, I noticed that something had changed. Her whole body expressed vibrancy; a confident openness to the world and readiness to meet it. She had the bearing of a strong, effective leader.
Leadership coaching is about continual growth and Sari’s transformation was striking. When she sat down, she paused, turned towards me, and opened our coaching conversation with an interesting, thoughtful question. She immediately captured my attention. I was in the presence of an impressive leader.
In our early coaching sessions, her sharp intelligence was not immediately obvious. She spoke with barely a pause and her rapid rate of speech often made her ideas seem disconnected. Now her presence was strong and assured. This transition translated into more clarity about her career next steps. It was a positive impact from leadership coaching.
Leadership maturity is intangible, but it can be learned
Each leader brings different strengths to their role and while some seem like born leaders and naturally exude presence, this doesn’t mean it’s beyond reach. It can be developed by anyone willing to do the work. Sari’s leadership presence was hidden beneath layers of personal experience and conditioning. Through coaching, she was able to pull back those layers and access her full potential.
Overall, the power of executive presence can translate into more cohesive teams, improved productivity and profits, a deeper sense of purpose, and a strengthened reputation. As the corporate landscape continues to evolve, leadership presence will become an even more valuable asset.
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A version of this article was first published in CEO Magazine: 3 Ways to Access the Power of Leadership Presence
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