Leadership development is a key reason why executives go through coaching. A second key reason is to learn to develop their sense of presence.
These findings are from a new study conducted by Coach Source, a provider of executive coaching services (and for whom I have done some coaching work.) More and more organizations realize that not only must executives need to manage well; they need to look the part, too. That is, they need to radiate confidence and be able to bring others together for common purpose. Some call this executive presence, but I prefer the term leadership presence because presence is not something that you wear – like a new suit – it is something that defines your ability to lead others.
Brian Underhill, Ph.D., who together with Kimcee McAnally, Ph.D., led the research that gathered responses from 600 professionals engaged in coaching either as coaches, HR professionals or executives who had received coaching.
According to the survey, 57% of organizations that hire coaches, and nearly 40% of coaches identify presence as “one of two top purposes for their coaching.” [The other being leadership development.]
With the “war for talent” heating up, Underhill says, “organizations have a need to quickly groom and develop leaders into more senior roles, especially in overseas locations. Developing executive presence with a leader who is being promoted quickly into higher areas of management would be an obvious need for organizations.” Presence is an essential attribute for a leader especially one who is leading at a senior level.
Executive presence is defined, in the survey, as a combination of appearance, influence, confidence, gravitas and even decisiveness. To me, presence is “earned authority.” It does not come with position; it is earned through one’s competency, credibility and yes confidence. According to Underhill, “executive presence could be a bit of a ‘catch all’ phrase to encompass a wide range of desirable leadership behaviors. At the moment, the best definition I've heard about executive presence is ‘we know it when we see it.’”
That phrase says it all, because what people are looking for in leaders are ones who inspire followership. A leader who carries herself with dignity and respect for self and others radiates a sense of control that appeals to others. In short, presence is “the right stuff of leadership.”
Some confuse charisma with presence. To me, charisma is an attribute of presence; it is the head-turning appeal that men and women who possess it radiate when entering a room. It’s a nice to have, but not a must have.
By contract, presence – as the sense of authenticity – is a must-have. More specifically it is a must-do. That is we just leaders not simply how they look, but how they conduct themselves. A leader who invites others to them to share ideas, collaborate, and then create a future in which individuals and teams benefit is a leader worth following.
Developing presence is something that can be done through executive coaching, but Underhill notes that intercultural training might be a good first step. “I would also caution organizations not to assume their idealized view of "executive presence" is always the right answer,” says Underhill. “Don't let that view eliminate leaders of diverse backgrounds, creative mavericks etc. It isn't necessarily a good thing for the enterprise to have all its leaders think and act in an identically perfect manner.”
Presence as an attribute runs deeper than how a leader looks or dresses. It is fundamental to how a leader interacts with others. It is his or her behavior, and most importantly it affects how the individual leader is perceived. As such it is critical that organizations focus on it. A strong leader contributes to a healthy organization that others want to belong to and contribute their ideas and their passions.
