The numbers are difficult to dismiss:
- 70% of the variance in team engagement is attributable to the manager’s behavior, per Gallup.
- Leaders with high self-awareness, a foundational element of presence, generate 79% higher return on equity, according to Korn Ferry.
- A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that employees whose leaders demonstrated calm under pressure experienced 32% lower burnout rates.
- The Center for Creative Leadership reports that 75% of derailed executive careers result from interpersonal and emotional challenges rather than technical incompetence.
- Google’s Project Aristotle identified psychological safety as the single most important factor in high-performing team dynamics, ranking ahead of talent, process, and structure.
Presence is not soft. Presence is infrastructure.
Statistics provide valuable insights, yet the numbers tell only part of the story. Over the years, I’ve invested significant time and energy tracking the growing edges and greatest strengths of the leaders I have coached. What I discovered aligns remarkably well with the research.
No matter where in the world I’ve worked with leaders, one challenge rises consistently to the top: leaders want to communicate with confidence in front of others, especially their peers. Alongside that challenge, several leadership capabilities emerge again and again as opportunities for growth:
- Listening in a way that makes others feel heard
- Connecting authentically with audiences
- Speaking with clarity so messages are easily understood
- Relying on concision to make a clear and compelling point
- Building an effective relationship with senior leadership
- Becoming more relatable and approachable
- Instilling confidence in teams
- Evolving from an individual contributor to leading teams
The capabilities are not developed in isolation.
I did not become a skating champion on my own. It took a team to support me in seeing what I could not see for myself. Becoming an Olympic coach required collaboration with other coaches whose insights expanded my perspective and sharpened my abilities. Mastering my craft as a coach required years of learning, experimentation, feedback, and support from other coaching professionals. Judges, mentors, peers, and athletes all contributed to my development.
The journey continues today. I remain a lifelong learner as growth is never a finished process. The more I learn, the more effectively I can help others reach the goals they set for themselves.
I invite you to step back and take a 10,000-foot view of where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. Then explore the type of specific support that will help you transform your workforce, strengthen your leadership culture, and develop the presence that inspires people to execute at their highest level.