Author: Byron Darden

Founder’s Corner II: Building A Culture Of Presence

Posted on by Byron Darden

How do you define the culture of your organization or team? Is it intentional or has it developed organically? 

Let’s say you could wave a magic wand and transform your culture. What would stay? What would you let go as it no longer serves the team or organization you aspire to become? 

We’ve addressed the value of transforming your workplace. Now let’s look at your options and explore how to go about building a culture where folks can thrive.

Hi, I’m Byron Darden, with this edition of Leading with Purpose on Purpose. In this installment, it can prove helpful to first determine the type of culture you want to create and then examine your why!

Why does this matter?

Why is culture transformation important to your team or organization?

Why is it important to the people you serve?

The answers to these questions create the foundation upon which meaningful and lasting change can occur. 

Take a look at what we share to support change in your culture. Then share your comments below so we can also learn from you. Enjoy!

LEARN MORE

Let’s begin with A Story That Grounds the Work

A Story That Grounds the Work

Posted on by Byron Darden
World map with pushpins on different locations.

At the start of my career in leadership development, I began working with a Fortune 100 global financial services company. While I was not involved in the architecture of the larger initiative, my role was pivotal in developing mid-level managers and Vice Presidents to adopt a set of behaviors designed to meet company-wide expectations for the future. In essence, we worked to transform the culture.

Having been steeped in organizational change management in the nonprofit sector for many years, I understood the importance of involving stakeholders in culture change.  I was already aware of the angst that inhabits the body at the mere mention of change.

When I joined the team preparing the organization for this transformation, we worked with small groups of leaders over the course of two days in most major cities throughout the United States. Over time, the effort expanded into the company’s offices in Europe and Southeast Asia. At one point, my entire client base was in Asia, covering Hong Kong and Inland China. Later, the work extended to Singapore, Australia, and India. These are cultures with different norms than those found in Europe or the US. 

To serve them effectively meant learning more about the culture of these countries. Understanding what mattered most to people helped me frame the need for change in ways that were meaningful and relevant to them. It also deepened my appreciation for the different norms that existed and revealed important parallels between organizational and national culture. When working with multinational organizations, cultural intelligence is a must-have. By drawing on what I discovered about the interests, motivations, values, and confidence, I helped them recognize both their similarities and differences. This insight allowed leadership teams to strategize more effectively in a cross-cultural environment. From there, they are better positioned to adapt their verbal and nonverbal behaviors, communication styles, and leadership approaches to a global environment.

That work began more than twenty years ago. To this day, you can still sense the impact of that cultural transformation throughout the organization. The behaviors we were helping leaders develop became embedded in the culture, demonstrating that meaningful change is possible when leaders commit to it with intention, consistency, and patience. 

FIND OUT MORE

Discover Deeply Rooted Examples of Successful Cultures of Presence

Deeply Rooted Examples of Successful Cultures of Presence

Posted on by Byron Darden
Looking down the street at a big city skyline against a blue sky.

Kaiser Permanente supports its Nurse Scholars Academy by integrating presence-oriented and quantum leadership principles to foster mindful, compassionate clinical leadership. My involvement in planting the seed of presence within the organization began in the early 2000s, and it has been rewarding to witness the continued evolution of leadership development within the healthcare system. .

Teach For America built its presence and organizational culture through extensive leadership development across its vast alumni network. This commitment has strengthened its focus on diversity, leadership, and systemic change. Since 2014, I have had the opportunity to contribute to the development of leaders within the organization as it has grown into a major force in education, now numbering over 72,000 alumni and corps members.

Disney develops leadership presence in the workplace by redefining leadership through action and behavior rather than title alone. By empowering managers to be visible and to prioritize empathy, leadership models the behaviors they want to experience throughout the organizational culture. In 2010 I began teaching presence and storytelling to Disney executives, supporting the growth of presence within the organization. Essentially, this fostered a culture where leadership inspires teams to connect individual tasks to shared, organizational purposes. 

Pixar Animation Studios has long been recognized for fostering psychological safety, peer-to-peer feedback, and collaborative problem-solving. Through intentional workspace design and structure that encourage teams to openly critique and strengthen story ideas, Pixar created an environment where creativity thrives. Having taught storytelling to Pixar’s sister company, Warner Bros., it has been fascinating watching the Disney brand blossom since 2010 into its own culture of presence.

Microsoft invests greatly in leadership development, emphasizing self-reflection,  continuous learning, and personal growth as essential elements of leadership effectiveness.  These principles have become deeply embedded within the organization’s culture and leadership philosophy. 

General Electric has emphasized leadership presence for decades through the renowned leadership programs at its Crotonville campus. I began teaching there in 2007 during the early years of my executive coaching career. The leadership legacy established by CEO Jack Welch and Management Consultant Noel Tichy in the mid 1980s helped transform action learning into a powerful developmental tool, incorporating storytelling as a means of shaping perspective, influencing culture, and developing leaders. 

Sullivan & Cromwell has begun integrating communication coaching into its leadership development efforts, helping associates project grounded confidence and authentic executive presence. This approach moves beyond performed certainty and prepares future equity partners to lead with greater effectiveness. Watching attorneys develop these capabilities since 2024 has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my recent work.

FTI Consulting operates in environments where trust, credibility, and composure are essential. Whether advising clients through crises, litigation, or complex business challenges, the firm’s culture encourages professionals to communicate with clarity and confidence while navigating high-stakes situations. During my work with FTI, I witnessed firsthand how leadership presence strengthens client relationships and reinforces a culture where expertise and emotional intelligence work together to create lasting impact.

Oliver Wyman has built a reputation for developing leaders who thrive in ambiguity and complexity. Through its emphasis on collaboration, intellectual curiosity, and professional development, the firm fosters an environment where consultants learn to combine analytical rigor with authentic leadership. My experience working with leaders within Oliver Wyman has shown me how presence and communication skills help consultants establish trust quickly and create value across diverse industries and cultures.

These organizations understand something essential: presence is a system, not a personality trait. It is cultivated through intentional practices, reinforced through leadership behaviors, and embedded within the culture over time. 

EXPLORE FURTHER

Find out Why This Work Matters to Me

Why This Work Matters to Me

Posted on by Byron Darden
A woman in a suit reaching across the table to a colleague. All participants are smiling broadly.

“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. People will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou

This quote is more than inspiration. It is an organizational blueprint. 

In a world of overwhelming information, relentless deliverables, and competing priorities, the leaders who build lasting influence are those who regulate their own internal state well enough to create felt safety in others. Work product is remembered for a time. The feeling of being in the room with a leader of genuine presence is carried forward into decisions, loyalty, relationships, and legacy.

A culture of presence is, ultimately, a culture where people are valued, supported and encouraged to bring their best selves to the work they do. ; It is a culture where restorative self-care is respected, emotional intelligence is developed, and human connection becomes part of the organizational fabric. 

I have sat in rooms where a leader’s presence changed the trajectory of a team, a case, a school, or a career. I have also sat in rooms where a leader’s absence of presence — though physically present — left people feeling unseen, unsafe, and ultimately unwilling to give their fullest effort. 

Since the early 20th-century, many organizations have embraced the belief that people should “leave your emotions at the door.” The unintended consequence of that mindset was a separation of human beings from an essential part of what makes us effective: our capacity to connect, empathize, and engage with others in meaningful ways. That is one way to justify lower salaries, minimize incentives and reduce bonuses for one going above and beyond.

Presence is not a personality type. It is a practice. While I’m aware that the development of presence in organizations across the globe has been significant, it may be one of the most underleveraged leadership assets in organizations today.

My work exists because I believe that the capacity to make people feel safe, seen, and steady is not reserved for the naturally charismatic or the emotionally gifted. It is a learnable, teachable, scalable skill. And when organizations build it into their culture — rather than leaving it to chance — they become places where people stay, grow, take risks, and do the best work of their lives.

This is why I do this work. 

The world needs more leaders whose presence is a gift to the people in the room and whose influence becomes a legacy that outlasts the moment they leave it.

SEE HOW IT WORKS

Founder’s Corner: Transforming Your Workforce Through the Power of Presence

Posted on by Byron Darden

Are you the type of leader who walks into a room and the energy shifts? Is there an atmospheric change that can only be described as an uplifting presence that fills the space? Do you project a sense of confidence, calm, and clarity that people naturally gravitate toward? 

After you leave the room, do people continue talking about the impact you had? Does your presence linger in the hearts and minds of those who remain, signaling that you touched them in a meaningful way – one that inspires respect, trust, and a desire to welcome you back?

Hi, I’m Byron Darden with another edition of Leading with Purpose on Purpose. In this installment, we will explore the importance of transforming your workforce by developing a culture where leaders and followers alike embody a presence that engages people and sets them on the path to energize the workplace, inspire innovation, thrive with purpose and passion, and create an environment where people want to work and contribute.

I have been fortunate to work in organizations that cultivated this kind of culture and to support others in creating that special  “It Factor” that seems difficult to define. The good news is that it can be developed – you can have it too. I will share the significance of building a culture of presence and why it matters more than ever. 

Enjoy!

LEARN MORE

Begin your journey of Transforming Your Workforce Through the Power of Presence

Transforming Your Workforce Through the Power of Presence

Posted on by Byron Darden
Woman entering a glass-walled conference room as two coworkers seated at a table look in her direction.

There is a particular kind of leader who walks into a room, and something shifts. The air changes. People sit up straighter — not from fear or obligation — from something more magnetic than either. This leader speaks with measured calm. They listen in a way that makes you feel genuinely heard. When they leave, the feeling remains. The room holds an imprint of their energy long after the door closes behind them.

Presence is an embodied state of being — a grounded, steady attention that radiates outward and registers with others as safety, clarity, and trust. It reflects authentic influence rather than performative power and grows from genuine character rather than cultivated charisma.

A culture of presence takes that individual quality and scales it. It is a workplace environment in which calm confidence, poised influence, and psychological safety are not reserved for the C-suite or the rainmakers. They are practiced, modeled, taught, and expected at every level of the organization. In such a culture, the capacity to attract attention and to hold a room without demanding it becomes a shared organizational competency.

FIND OUT MORE

Find out The Missing Ingredient in High-Performing Organizations

The Missing Ingredient in High-Performing Organizations

Posted on by Byron Darden
A gold puzzle with a hand placing the last piece in a glowing space.

The most pressing challenge facing high-performing organizations today is not strategy. It is trust. And trust is built or broken in the micro-moments of human interaction: the tone of a managing partner’s voice during a difficult deposition, the way a principal walks through the cafeteria, the poise of a first-year associate presenting to senior leadership, the groundedness of a new leader navigating her first high-stakes negotiation.

Research from McKinsey & Company reveals that organizations with strong psychological safety are 27% more likely to outperform peers in profitability and innovation. The Harvard Business Review reports that leaders rated high in interpersonal presence generate up to 40% greater team engagement than those rated lower. These are not soft numbers. They are competitive advantages.

When presence is systemic rather than individual, organizations gain something far more durable: a culture in which people stay, grow, speak up, and perform at the edge of their capability because they feel safe enough to do so.

I know this is possible for two reasons. First, as a performance professional in numerous mediums (figure skating, stage acting, dance, puppetry, magic, singing, and 5-star restaurant table service), I had to develop presence along with the skills necessary to master each medium. I recall having acted for decades before getting good enough to become a paid union actor. I drew on what I learned to coach figure skaters to the international and Olympic level.

Second, I know this is possible because I learned about presence from pioneers whose work helped shape the modern understanding of leadership presence at the beginning of the 21st century. 

While the language surrounding presence has evolved over time, its essence has remained remarkably consistent: the ability to authentically connect with one’s deepest self for the purpose of inspiring commitment, fostering trust, and generating buy-in toward a common goal.

Organizations that cultivate this quality create more than effective leaders. They create environments where people bring their best thinking, strongest contributions, and highest levels of engagement to the work they do together. 

EXPLORE FURTHER

.

Find out What High-Performing Leaders Have in Common

What High-Performing Leaders Have in Common

Posted on by Byron Darden
A collage of words and icons related to the word collaboration.

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.

SEE HOW IT WORKS

Founder’s Corner 2: The Leadership Skill Hiding in Plain Sight: Intentional Breathing

Posted on by Byron Darden

Are high moral character, superior quality, or elevated social rank descriptors we tend to associate with leaders? It’s a question I’ve asked myself. Now, I’m asking you!

For a moment consider a leader who does not possess some variation of these qualities. Would you want to be led by such an individual?

Now imagine the topic is about Your qualities as a leader. How is your clarity, resilience, and presence in demanding environments? How do you regulate your nervous system? Are you able to compose yourself under pressure? 

For a moment, let’s set those questions aside and ask yourself, how much more or less do you invest in developing strategy, leadership frameworks, and operational systems?

Hi, I’m Byron Darden bringing you another edition of Leading with Purpose on Purpose. In this installment I want to challenge you to think about the impact of reduced investment in Learning and Development—particularly cuts related to Executive Leadership Presence—and what that means for overall value creation.  As you read, consider how these decisions influence leadership effectiveness and organizational performance. Then share your thoughts in the comments and let us know how your perspective evolves. Enjoy!

LEARN MORE

Read more about how breathing helped a leader in A Story That Illustrates the Need

A Story That Illustrates the Need

Posted on by Byron Darden

A management consultant I once coached was responsible for leading three major client projects simultaneously. Each engagement had different timelines, competing priorities, and multiple stakeholders.

His calendar was relentless.

Despite being highly capable, he described feeling increasingly reactive. He noticed himself interrupting colleagues, growing impatient during meetings, and making decisions more quickly than he preferred.

When we examined what was happening during his most stressful moments, something interesting emerged.

His breathing had become shallow and rapid—a classic physiological stress response.

We introduced a simple practice: three minutes of intentional breathing before major meetings, integrated within an embodied leadership practice.

At first he was skeptical. It felt too simple to have a meaningful impact.

Within a few weeks, something shifted. Those brief pauses created just enough space for him to slow down, listen more carefully, and respond with greater clarity.

Perhaps most interestingly, his team noticed the change before he fully recognized it himself. They described him as more grounded, more reflective, and more deliberate in his thinking.

Sometimes leadership breakthroughs do not come from acquiring new knowledge.

Sometimes they come from learning how to regulate the system that drives our behavior.

FIND OUT MORE

Learn about the Pros and Cons of Intentional Breathing