Developing Leadership Presence: Five Key Practices for Senior Leaders

Leadership presence isn’t just about commanding a room or delivering inspiring speeches. It’s about how you show up—mentally, emotionally, and energetically—every day. Leadership presence helps build trust, fosters engagement, and inspires action. However, it’s not something you’re born with; it’s a skill you can develop. Here are five essential practices to strengthen your leadership presence.

Slow Down to Move with Intention

There's nothing worse than watching a high level leader spinning wheels, cancelling appointments, and constantly changing priorities. In a high-pressure environment, leaders often feel the need to rush, react, and multitask. But true leadership presence comes from slowing down. Leaders who pause before responding or making decisions project confidence and thoughtfulness. Slowing down creates space for clarity and intentionality, helping you respond with greater impact rather than reacting impulsively.

Pro Tip: Notice your pace and activity. How do people perceive you on the other end? Are you too busy, always unavailable, preoccupied, running late? Are you constantly interrupting, looking at. your watch, or multi-tasking? Before your next meeting or critical decision, take a deep breath, ground yourself, and ask: What’s the most intentional way to proceed?

What Not to Do:

• Don’t rush to answer questions or make decisions just to fill silence.
• Avoid multitasking during conversations—it signals to others that you’re not fully present.
• Don’t react emotionally or impulsively in high-pressure situations.

Stop Intellectualizing—Lead from Experience

Senior leaders often rely on intellect and data to make decisions. While analysis is important, over-intellectualizing diminishes your presence. Leaders who are fully present use both their intellect and their lived experience to connect authentically. They don’t hide behind jargon or theories but instead engage in meaningful conversations.

Pro Tip: Let go of the need to always be right. Stop using facts and stats to win arguments. Try sharing personal stories or practical insights in your next conversation to create authentic connections with your audience.

What Not to Do:

• Don’t overuse jargon or complicated frameworks to demonstrate expertise—it creates distance.
• Avoid dismissing emotional or experiential input in favor of pure data.
• Don’t lecture others; instead, engage them in two-way conversations.

Cultivate Curiosity to Build Rapport and Trust

Curiosity is a hallmark of great leaders. When you approach conversations with genuine interest—rather than with preconceived answers—you build trust and uncover new opportunities. Curiosity also helps you stay open to diverse perspectives, fostering creativity and collaboration.

Pro Tip: Stop viewing your people as a cog in a wheel, with your only interest being organizational outcomes. View them as human beings with their own concerns and interests outside of the corporation. In your next conversation, ask open-ended questions like, What’s your perspective on this? or What else should we consider? This shifts the focus from telling to learning.

What Not to Do:

• Don’t assume you already know the answers—this limits opportunities for growth.
• Avoid asking surface-level questions just to appear interested.
• Don’t cut people off or rush through conversations; it stifles openness.

Do Your Inner Work

Leadership presence starts from within. If you haven’t done the inner work—resolving personal conflicts, clarifying your values, and addressing emotional triggers—your presence will lack authenticity. Leaders who align their actions with their values inspire trust because they embody integrity. There's a difference between business growth and inner growth. If you're good at what you do but you lack self-awareness, or if others perceive you differently than you perceive yourself, chances are you need to work on your inner game. Coaching can help you see things you haven't seen before and practice in a safe space.

Pro Tip: Reflect regularly on your leadership journey. What values guide your decisions? If you don't know, look at where you spend your time and energy. Do you say you value family but never see them due to travel and other obligations? This signifies either a lack of alignment or a lack of awareness. What emotional triggers need your attention? Doing the inner work strengthens your authenticity and presence.

What Not to Do:

• Don’t ignore your personal triggers—they can undermine your presence under stress.
• Avoid making decisions that conflict with your core values—people notice misalignment.
• Don’t sweep personal conflicts under the rug; unresolved issues affect how you show up.

Make the Complex Simple

Great leaders simplify complexity. Leadership presence isn’t about overloading your audience with information but about distilling what matters most. Leaders with presence know how to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely, making it easier for their teams to act. When you're in your head rambling without order, you aren't meeting people where they are, you're using their time to process out loud.

Pro Tip: In your next communication, ask yourself: What is the simplest way to convey this idea? Aim for clarity without sacrificing depth. Practice getting your point across in one paragraph or one sentence. Practice using acronyms, stories and analogies to make the point.

What Not to Do:

• Don’t overwhelm your audience with too many details or irrelevant information.
• Avoid using overly technical language when a simpler explanation will suffice.
• Don’t assume that complexity equals competence—clarity is a more powerful indicator of leadership.

Conclusion: Presence is a Practice

Developing leadership presence requires intention and practice. It’s not about being perfect but about showing up authentically, leading with curiosity, and aligning your actions with your values. By slowing down, integrating experience, and simplifying complexity, you’ll build trust and inspire your team to follow your lead. Remember, leadership presence is not a destination—it’s a journey of continuous learning and growth.

Marlene Chism is a consultant, speaker, and the author of?? From Conflict to Courage: How to Stop Avoiding and Start Leading (Berrett-Koehler 2022). She is a recognized expert on the LinkedIn Global Learning platform. Connect with Chism via?LinkedIn ,?or at MarleneChism.com