INTHEBLACK December 2025 / January 2026 - Magazine - Page 27
WHAT IS EXECUTIVE PRESENCE, REALLY?
Executive presence is much more than charisma or a commanding voice.
It encompasses calmness, authenticity and a clarity that fosters genuine
gravitas. True executive presence is about embodying qualities that inspire
trust and confidence.
Here are three ways to cultivate it:
1. Practise clear and confident verbal communication. Focus on tone,
pace and body language.
2. Work on self-awareness to understand individual strengths and areas
for improvement. This helps to present authentically.
3. Seek feedback from peers and mentors to gain insights into external
perceptions and where to grow.
When developing an executive persona, be professional at all times.
Although there’s an argument for bringing one’s full self to work, organisational
psychologist Dr Travis Kemp says that leadership necessarily involves a degree
of character acting.
“There is a contemporary mythology that says authentic leadership
is important. If I was perfectly authentic every day, my leadership would
be atrocious because there are days I feel intolerant, tired, run down
or I am worrying about things that are bigger and more important than work,”
says Kemp.
“Sometimes I might react when I get hit from left field with a question.
That is authentic, but that’s not an appropriate response for a leader
in a public setting. There is a role to be played.”
THE ART OF MODERN LEADERSHIP intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 27
