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Executive presence has been the gold standard for decades. Project authority. Dominate the room. Wear the power suit. That model was built for command-and-control hierarchies, and it's costing leaders innovation, talent, and trust.
In this episode, I break down what's broken about the traditional executive presence model, why the shift to leadership presence is happening now, and what research says about leading through performance versus leading from identity. Part 1 of a two-part series. Next week, I walk you through the three components of leadership presence and what it looks like in practice.
If you've been told to "work on your executive presence" and the advice felt generic or exhausting, this one is for you.
Key takeaways
- The traditional executive presence model was built for a different era. It centres on projecting authority, dominating rooms, hiding emotion, and looking the part. That worked for command-and-control hierarchies but it is no longer serving the leaders expected to operate through them.
- Sylvia Ann Hewlett's framework identified three pillars: gravitas (67%), communication (28%), and appearance (5%). These elements still matter, but the model focuses on projection and performance rather than identity and alignment.
- Women face a double bind the old model doesn't account for. Expected to exhibit both warmth and assertiveness, women who lean into assertiveness are perceived as abrasive. Those who prioritise warmth are dismissed. The executive presence playbook was never designed for this reality.
- Current executive presence programs teach tactics without foundation. Persuasion, communication, networking, and visual articulation are important skills, but learning them without understanding how you naturally influence turns presence into performance.
- Three forces are driving the shift to leadership presence. AI is making human skills (critical thinking, empathy, emotional regulation) more valuable. Hybrid work requires trust over control. Constant change demands resilience built on internal steadiness, not external projection.
- Leaders with high emotional intelligence outperform earning goals by 20% (McClelland, cited in Goleman 1998). This is profitability, not soft skills.
Leadership presence is a dynamic interplay of three components: Presence + Positioning + Perception. If one of these three is off, something feels wrong even if you can't name it. Part 2 goes deeper into each.
- The traditional executive presence model was built for a different era. It centres on projecting authority, dominating rooms, hiding emotion, and looking the part. That worked for command-and-control hierarchies but it is no longer serving the leaders expected to operate through them.
- Sylvia Ann Hewlett's framework identified three pillars: gravitas (67%), communication (28%), and appearance (5%). These elements still matter, but the model focuses on projection and performance rather than identity and alignment.
- Women face a double bind the old model doesn't account for. Expected to exhibit both warmth and assertiveness, women who lean into assertiveness are perceived as abrasive. Those who prioritise warmth are dismissed. The executive presence playbook was never designed for this reality.
- Current executive presence programs teach tactics without foundation. Persuasion, communication, networking, and visual articulation are important skills, but learning them without understanding how you naturally influence turns presence into performance.
- Three forces are driving the shift to leadership presence. AI is making human skills (critical thinking, empathy, emotional regulation) more valuable. Hybrid work requires trust over control. Constant change demands resilience built on internal steadiness, not external projection.
- Leaders with high emotional intelligence outperform earning goals by 20% (McClelland, cited in Goleman 1998). This is profitability, not soft skills.
- Leadership presence is a dynamic interplay of three components: Presence + Positioning + Perception. If one of these three is off, something feels wrong even if you can't name it. Part 2 goes deeper into each.
Timestamps
