If people don’t warm to you, it’s going to be hard to keep them engaged and paying attention to your vision. That can all be learned, developed, and measured. Similarly, in her book Dare to Lead, Brene Brown reveals the four skill sets she believes nurture leadership presence, This is what some call executive presence. It brings to mind the saying “Grace under Fire.” Because true leadership is revealed at those times when things are not going well, and they are able to demonstrate their willingness to lead and provide you the confidence they are capable of sorting things out and inspire. Transparency is about demonstrating there are no hidden agendas, half-truths or coverups. There is less misinterpretation and misunderstanding because the language being used is straightforward, not sugar-coated but still delivered with compassion. Leaders who speak their truth like Arianna Huffington who lead with compassion and wisdom, and share their own stories of fallibility and vulnerability connect deeply with their audience.ĭirectness implies clarity. Having presence provides the courage to speak up and make an impact. It helps to distil your thinking because by staying present your mind is uncluttered by thoughts from the past or concerns about the future. This allows the other person in the conversation to feel heard and better understood. In his book, Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way, Rasmus Hougaard describes four factors required for empathetic and compassionate leadership.Īs Simone Weil said, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”īeing present enables you to focus on what is important right now. It’s easier to accept a decision that will impact you negatively when you know the person making it has taken the time to consider all alternatives and is being as fair as possible. Presence demonstrates you care about others, and isn’t that something we all want?īeing fully present enables you to connect at a human level with compassion and empathy for the struggles being endured. It’s one thing to have a vision but it’s essential to have the communication skills, charisma, and ability to connect quickly and easily with others. Unable to communicate her vision, appearing unempathetic to concerns expressed, she was seen as unapproachable.įinally, she lost the backing of the board and staff and resigned. Trust in her ability to initiate and implement desired change cratered. While working so hard on her vision, she forgot to show up. She was pleasant to interact with, clearly had the interests of her pupils and staff at heart and worked hard to build a caring and supportive environment. “The Ghost” was the nickname given to the headmistress of a local school during her tenure. ![]() Leadership presence is invaluable to inspire hope, motivate engagement and create new solutions to make work, work better against a backdrop of massive change in the where, the how and when we work and the shift in mindset and expectation of customers, stakeholders, and employees.Īnswering the question of why leadership presence matters so much can be found in examples of where it’s lacking. It’s been an especially difficult time for those in positions of leadership attempting to keep business not just afloat, but sustainable, taking care of the health and wellbeing of their employees and grappling with how to be best prepared for what comes next. The last few years have been challenging, riddled with uncertainty and anxiety. (Spoiler alert: A statement of the obvious is about to be made.) We are drawn to them like moths to a flame because we are captivated by their thoughts, their ideas and we want to listen. There’s nothing ‘try-hard’ in their approach. One quality of a leader with presence is their ability to make it appear effortless. “The ability to connect authentically, with the thoughts and feelings of others.” Halbert and Lubar In their 2003 book Leadership Presence define presence as This could be a politician, an actor, a sports star, or a CEO. Think of a leader or person with authority you believe has presence. The value of being present lies in the mental, emotional social and cultural moment of being. ![]() This made it much harder to grab some quick shuteye or leave early when facing terminal failure in a mathematics or chemistry paper.īut being present isn’t about just showing up physically. It also meant I invariably sat towards the front of the exam room where seats were determined alphabetically, under the beady eye of the adjudicator who sought to ensure there was no cheating going on. Having a surname starting with B meant that morning roll call at school was over quickly for me.
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