Five Elements of a Strong Leadership Presence
By: Andrew A. DeMuth Jr.
An earlier version of this article was published by OFFICER.com.
Leadership presence is difficult to define, but remarkably easy to recognize.
Some leaders walk into a room and immediately inspire confidence. People listen when they speak. Their opinions carry weight. Others trust their judgment and are willing to follow their lead.
That presence is not simply the product of rank, personality, or charisma. Nor is it reserved for executives.
Leadership presence is the cumulative impression created by how we look, carry ourselves, communicate, demonstrate competence, and interact with people over time. It can strengthen a leader’s credibility and influence—or quietly undermine both.
The concept is sometimes referred to as executive presence, but its importance extends far beyond the executive level. New supervisors, middle managers, senior executives, and even personnel without formal rank can benefit from understanding how their presence affects others. (See also Leadership for the Rank and File.)
While many characteristics contribute to leadership presence, five deserve particular attention.
1. Professional Appearance and Leadership Presence
Appearance may seem superficial compared with the more substantive responsibilities of leadership, but people form impressions quickly. Leaders should not ignore that reality.
The military has long emphasized attention to detail, and personal appearance is part of that standard. The expectation is not limited to ceremonies or important meetings. It is reflected in everyday professionalism.
Professional appearance does not require expensive clothing. It does require attention.
Clothing should be clean, maintained, appropriate, and properly fitted. Uniforms should reflect pride in the profession. Personal grooming should communicate the same level of care we expect in other areas of our work.
Fitness can also influence how a leader presents themselves, although not everyone will achieve the same level of physical conditioning. Regardless, every leader can control grooming, clothing, preparation, and attention to detail.
The objective is not vanity.
The objective is to avoid allowing something easily controllable to distract from our credibility or our message.
When we make an effort to present ourselves professionally, we often feel more confident as well. That confidence can influence posture, communication, and the way we interact with others.
2. Gravitas: How Leaders Carry Themselves
Gravitas is essentially how we carry ourselves as leaders.
Research conducted by the Center for Talent Innovation found that 67% of senior executives surveyed identified gravitas as the central component of executive presence (Hewlett et al., 2013).
But gravitas is frequently misunderstood.
It does not mean being intimidating. It does not mean acting important. And it certainly does not mean becoming distant, arrogant, or condescending because we hold a leadership position.
Gravitas is closer to steadiness.
It is being composed when circumstances become difficult. It is carrying yourself with confidence without needing to demonstrate superiority. It is taking the responsibilities of leadership seriously without taking yourself too seriously.
There is an important balance here.
A leader should project enough confidence that people believe in their ability to lead, while remaining approachable enough that employees will bring forward problems, ideas, and concerns.
If employees have to ask one another, “What kind of mood is the boss in today?” before deciding whether to approach us, our leadership presence needs work.
Adventure racer Robyn Benincasa captured this distinction particularly well when she said, “You don’t inspire your teammates by showing them how amazing you are. You inspire them by showing them how amazing they are.”
Strong leadership presence should elevate the people around us, not elevate us above them.
3. Knowledge and Competence Build Leadership Credibility
Presence without competence has a short shelf life.
Leaders eventually have to demonstrate that they understand their work.
Great leaders do not necessarily know every technical detail of every employee’s role, but they should command the responsibilities of their own role and continuously work to strengthen that knowledge.
Businessman Kevin O’Leary frequently advises leaders to “Know your numbers.”
That is good advice, but leadership knowledge extends considerably beyond numbers.
A police chief, for example, should understand crime trends, staffing, budgeting, internal affairs, community sentiment, demographics, labor issues, strategic planning, disciplinary processes, and the many other responsibilities associated with leading an organization.
The same principle applies in every industry. The higher we move in an organization, the broader our required knowledge generally becomes.
Expertise also creates leadership opportunities long before someone receives formal rank.
An officer who becomes highly knowledgeable about search and seizure may eventually become the person supervisors consult when difficult legal questions arise. Someone who develops expertise in gang activity may find themselves invited into strategy meetings ordinarily populated by higher-ranking personnel.
Competence creates credibility.
And credibility creates influence.
Over time, being known as someone who understands the work becomes an important part of our leadership reputation.
4. Communication Strengthens Leadership Presence
Few leadership skills have as much influence on presence as communication.
A leader can possess tremendous knowledge, excellent ideas, and strong character, but if they cannot communicate effectively, their ability to influence others will always be limited.
Communication is also much broader than public speaking.
It includes:
- what we say;
- how we say it;
- how frequently we communicate;
- our ability to explain expectations;
- our ability to persuade and inspire;
- the methods we use to share information;
- and, critically, our ability to listen.
That last part is sometimes overlooked.
Communication is both transmission and reception.
Leaders regularly make decisions without having perfect information. That makes our ability to gather information particularly important. Great leaders do not merely allow people to talk; they deliberately seek input, listen for information they may have missed, and create an environment in which employees are comfortable speaking candidly.
Eventually, however, leadership requires a decision.
At that point, the leader must be able to move from listener to communicator.
Can you explain the decision clearly?
Can you organize the effort?
Can you stand at the head of a conference table and provide direction?
Can you walk to the front of a room and explain what needs to happen next?
Can your people leave the conversation knowing exactly what is expected of them?
These are not personality traits that people either possess or lack. They are skills, which means they can be deliberately developed.
Communication deserves that development. In an Interact/Harris Poll of approximately 1,000 U.S. workers, 91% reported that communication deficiencies can undermine a leader’s effectiveness (Solomon, 2015).
Leaders who genuinely want to know how they are doing should consider asking their employees.
The answers may be uncomfortable.
They may also be extraordinarily useful.
5. Reputation Shapes Leadership Presence
Leadership presence does not begin when the meeting starts.
When a leader walks into a room, they bring their history with them. Yesterday comes through the door. Last month comes through the door. Last year comes through the door.
Employees already know how we make decisions, how we respond under pressure, whether we keep our word, how we treat people, and whether we behave consistently. That history shapes how people interpret everything we say.
Consider two executives entering identical command meetings. One has developed a reputation for arrogance, selfishness, and condescension. The other is known for treating people well, developing employees, sharing credit, and helping others succeed.
Neither leader has spoken yet, but the rooms are already different.
This is why leadership presence is built much more through ordinary day-to-day interactions than through dramatic moments.
No amount of polished clothing, confident posture, or public-speaking ability can permanently overcome a reputation built on negative treatment of people.
Leadership in the macro is built through relationships in the micro. Every conversation contributes. Every interaction leaves something behind.
Leadership Presence Is Built Over Time
There is an important distinction between obsessing over what other people think of us and being thoughtful about what our leadership communicates to others. (See also Leadership Training Resources.)
The first is insecurity. The second is leadership awareness.
Our people are going to form opinions about us regardless. Those opinions affect whether they trust us, whether they bring us problems, whether they accept our decisions, and whether they are willing to follow us when leadership becomes difficult.
Over time, strong leadership presence builds credibility and influence. Appearance creates an initial impression. Gravitas influences how we carry responsibility. Knowledge establishes credibility. Communication allows us to connect and influence. Reputation determines how everything else is interpreted.
Leadership presence is not something we either possess or do not possess. Much of it can be deliberately strengthened.
And that makes it worthy of our attention.
References
Hewlett, S. A., Allwood, N., Sumberg, K., Scharf, S., & Fargnoli, C. (2013). Cracking the code: Executive presence and multicultural professionals [Executive summary]. Center for Talent Innovation.
Solomon, L. (2015, June 24). The top complaints from employees about their leaders. Harvard Business Review.
Andrew A. DeMuth Jr. is the founder of Leading Blue, a leadership development firm serving law enforcement agencies and private-sector organizations. He spent more than three decades in law enforcement with four agencies, serving in a wide range of leadership roles, including investigations commander, range master, agency training officer, public information officer, and director of a youth police academy program.
For more than a decade, he managed New Jersey’s CODIS DNA collection program, overseeing compliance, operations, and training for more than 500 participating law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities. He has also served as an adjunct professor at two institutions and speaks throughout the country on leadership, supervision, organizational culture, and professional development.
He is a passionate advocate for transforming law enforcement leadership development from a collection of isolated courses into a modern, comprehensive system that deliberately prepares leaders at every level to build stronger people, stronger teams, and stronger organizations. Visit our Leadership in Law Enforcement page for more articles on leadership.