The Leadership Presence Pathway: A Dynamic Model of Leader Impact

By Michael Watkins 

Leadership presence (LP) is widely acknowledged as a foundation of effective leadership. Historically, LP has been conceptualized as a collection of qualities – specific personality traits and behaviors that a leader is perceived to possess or lack. However, this traditional perspective on leadership presence fails to consider the dynamic aspects of how a leader’s presence is formed, perceived, and evolves.  

The conventional view, rooted in the idea of presence-as-qualities, also offers limited practical guidance for leaders seeking to enhance their presence. For instance, advising leaders to “be more confident” fails to recognize that confidence emerges from the complex interplay of interactions, perceptions, and relationships between leaders and their followers. 

Given these deficits, we need a new and better model of leadership presence. The Leadership Presence Pathway is such a model. It is a theoretical framework and an actionable approach designed to help leaders effectively enhance their presence. The Pathway Model moves beyond static traits, focusing instead on the evolving nature of leadership presence. Doing so provides leaders with a strategic roadmap for developing a presence that resonates authentically and powerfully with their teams and organizations. 

Note: I refer to “leadership presence” rather than “executive presence” because the latter implies that only executives need presence. Presence is essential for leaders at all levels.   

The Presence Pathway Model 

The Presence Pathway Model conceptualizes leadership presence as the result of a multi-stage process that evolves through interactions between leaders and their existing and potential followers. It is summarized as a six-stage process in the figure below. 

The Presence Pathway 

The Presence Pathway begins with the Anticipation Stage. This stage is about shaping what people think they know about you and your leadership before you interact. People form prior beliefs about your leadership based on your brand, including your reputation, past achievements, and values. The opinions of respected individuals within a potential follower’s network also can significantly shape their expectations. Public sources like media appearances and social media profiles also play a role in forming these initial impressions. These elements collectively shape people’s attitudes and expectations before they directly interact with you as a leader. 

Following this is the First Impressions Stage. This stage consists of the immediate impact on the audience of your appearance, attire, and overall demeanor. It sets the stage for future interactions. For instance, perceptions of your emotional state can significantly influence potential followers. Your energy, empathy, and calmness are emotional cues that shape initial reactions. 

Next is the Engagement Stage. In this stage, the focus is on the quality of your connection with others. Here, the extent to which you are seen as fully present, attentive, and genuinely interested is crucial. Establishing an emotional connection and demonstrating empathy, understanding, and personal interest in potential followers is vital. This stage tests your ability to connect on a human level, significantly shaping perceptions of your presence. 

Then comes the Messaging Stage, where the emphasis shifts to the content and tone of your messaging. The perceived relevance and authenticity of your communication are vital in building trust and credibility. Authentic messaging that resonates with potential followers can create stronger connections. Furthermore, the emotional response your message elicits – be it trust, motivation, or a sense of shared purpose—also shapes how people perceive you as a leader. 

The Consolidation Stage happens in the immediate aftermath of interacting with you. It’s when people reflect on their reactions to you, your level of engagement, and your messaging, further shaping their perceptions. Influential group members’ viewpoints can substantially affect others’ perceptions of your leadership, reinforcing or changing initial impressions. This stage underscores the importance of the social context in understanding and enhancing your leadership presence. 

Finally, the Reinforcement Stage involves the follow-up communication you initiate and maintain. Your efforts to continue dialogue confirm your commitment and interest and so enhance your impact. Ongoing communication is key to strengthening your presence and influence, fostering deeper relationships and trust. 

Developing Your Presence at Every Stage 

The Presence Pathway Model emphasizes the dynamic nature of LP and highlights the importance of being intentional at every stage of the process. As such, it provides a roadmap for leaders aspiring to enhance their presence. Here’s how you can develop your leadership presence in the six stages. 

Anticipation Stage. Building and Enhancing Your Leadership Brand 

Enhancing your presence at this stage involves an intentional effort to build a powerful leadership brand. Your brand should be built and shaped by focusing on the right set of activities. For example, you could speak publicly at industry events or webinars to position yourself as a thought leader. You could write articles or blog posts on relevant topics to extend your reach, allowing your voice to be heard on important issues in your field. You could focus on networking within and outside your organization to expand your influence and establish your reputation. 

You should maximize the impact by prioritizing activities that align with your core strengths and values. For instance, if encouraging innovation is a key element of your leadership brand, you could prioritize speaking engagements at technology forums or authoring articles on innovative practices. To establish the right priorities, you should evaluate the reach of different platforms, as a keynote speech at a significant conference might yield more impact than a series of blog posts. 

In building your leadership brand, you must balance internal and external activities. Internally, you could involve yourself in mentoring within your organization, leading workshops, and participating in company events to solidify your presence. Externally, you could engage with stakeholders, contribute to industry panels, and maintain an active presence on professional social media platforms to extend your brand’s reach beyond the confines of your organization. 

Understanding how others perceive your leadership brand is as important as how you see it. You should conduct regular feedback sessions with trusted colleagues and mentors to gain insights into how your brand is perceived internally. Externally, social media analytics can provide valuable data on the engagement and reception of your content. Comparing this feedback against your desired brand image will help you identify areas to better align your perceived brand with your intended one. 

First Impressions Stage: Conveying the Right Image 

In the First Impressions Stage, you should be conscious and intentional about how your physical presentation and demeanor shape others’ perceptions. To enhance your presence at this stage, you should look beyond the basics of appropriate dress and confident posture. Specifically, you should focus on your ability to project an emotional state that resonates with the specific context of the interaction. Your ability to do this is a subtle but powerful element of your presence. 

During critical moments, such as a crisis scenario, you must be able to project concern, seriousness, and a strong sense of purpose. This projection should demonstrate that you understand the situation’s gravity and are committed to finding resolutions. Such emotional projection isn’t merely about the external display of feelings; it must be about authentically embodying these emotions, conveying to your team and stakeholders that you are fully engaged with the situation. 

A different type of emotional projection is appropriate in more collaborative settings, such as team problem-solving meetings. Here, your ability to convey openness and inclusion can be powerful. By doing so, you can foster an environment of trust and creativity, encouraging team members to express their ideas without fear of judgment. By displaying openness and inclusion, you set the tone for the session, signaling that it is a safe space for innovation and open dialogue. 

Your ability to display the appropriate emotions in different contexts requires emotional intelligence. It involves a deep understanding of oneself, the need to regulate one’s emotional responses, and your capacity to empathize with others. This intelligence is critical in effectively navigating various business contexts and building meaningful connections right from the start. 

Engagement Stage: Deepening Connections Through Active Communication 

In the Engagement Stage, the depth and quality of your interaction with others shapes your presence. In this stage, you must focus on establishing a genuine connection, displaying attentiveness, and demonstrating a deep interest in your audience. It’s about more than just verbal communication; it’s about the connection that comes from truly understanding and valuing the contributions of others. 

Your presence in this stage involves more than just being present; it requires you to be perceived to be fully engaged. To enhance your presence when you speak, be intentional about the tone of voice, the emotions you convey, and your ability to command attention. The ability to listen actively is equally essential. So, seek both to understand and demonstrate your understanding. Focus on acknowledging what is being said and the emotions and experiences that motivate it. 

You actively solicit diverse viewpoints, especially those that might otherwise be overlooked. This ensures that all voices are heard and considered, setting a tone for the group that values inclusivity and varied perspectives. This enhances your brand and impacts the group’s dynamic, fostering an environment of trust and mutual respect. 

Messaging Stage: Crafting Communication with Authenticity and Resonance 

In the Messaging Stage, the quality of your communication comes into sharp focus, significantly shaping how your presence is perceived. It is here where your ability to communicate authentically impacts perceptions of your leadership presence.  

Effective communication in this stage is not merely about transmitting factual information but crafting messages that deeply engage your audience. So, you must be thoughtful in crafting your messages. Doing so requires a deep understanding of your audience, a clear grasp of the core values you want to convey, and the skill to weave these elements into a narrative that informs and inspires. 

For instance, you need to communicate about organizational changes. It’s not enough to outline the changes. You must articulate the vision and rationale behind them, demonstrating how they align with the organization’s mission, vision, and core values. You also should seek to convey what these changes mean for people personally. Your goal is to create a compelling narrative, making the communication informative but also meaningful and impactful. 

Consolidation Stage: Nurturing Perceptions Through Responsiveness 

The Consolidation Stage is a critical phase where the impressions formed during earlier interactions are further developed and solidified. This stage underscores the importance of social context in interpreting and perceiving leadership presence. It’s a period where the reactions and opinions formed during and after your interactions are discussed and shape perceptions of your leadership presence. 

Working on your leadership presence at this stage isn’t just about soliciting feedback but actively responding to it. This involves a ‘sense and respond’ approach where you gather feedback, reflect upon it, and take concrete steps to address any issues or concerns raised. This helps to demonstrate that you are listening and committed to making necessary adjustments. This responsiveness can significantly enhance your credibility and trustworthiness. 

This stage is also about understanding and navigating the group dynamics that influence how perceptions of you are shaped. You should seek to understand how your words and actions are discussed and interpreted within the group and how opinion leaders shape these interpretations. This understanding can help shape your approach to future iterations and enhance your leadership presence. 

Reinforcement Stage: Solidifying and Sustaining Influence 

In the sixth and final stage – Reinforcement – you should focus on solidifying and extending perceptions of your presence. At this stage, your commitment to ongoing relationships and the impact of your presence are deepened. This is about more than just maintaining contact; it is about strategically nurturing the connections and perceptions formed to ensure they enhance your presence. 

In this stage, proactive follow-up communication plays a pivotal role. You must take the initiative to continue the dialogue beyond initial meetings, demonstrating your ongoing interest and investment in relationships. You can achieve this through regular check-ins, updates on shared projects, or even simple acknowledgments of team members’ efforts and achievements. Such gestures, while seemingly minor, can have a profound impact on solidifying perceptions of your presence. 

But this stage is not just about communication; it’s about ensuring that your actions consistently align with your words and the values you aspire to represent. This alignment reinforces trust and credibility, which are essential to a strong leadership presence. It also involves regularly assessing whether your interactions and communications lead to the desired outcomes. Are people you lead feeling more engaged? Is there a visible increase in trust and collaboration?  

Finally, the Reinforcement Stage highlights the importance of engaging in a continuous process of reflection and adaptation. You should be open to adjusting their approach based on the feedback and results they observe. This adaptability ensures that your presence continues to positively impact the people you lead.  

Summary and Reflection Questions 

You can enhance your leadership presence by being strategic at each of the six stages of the Leadership Presence Pathway. Doing so with intention and rigor will help you build a more powerful presence and magnify your leadership impact. Here are some reflection questions for each stage of the Leadership Presence Pathway. Use them to identify and work on your priorities for enhancing your leadership presence. 

Anticipation Stage: Building and Enhancing Your Leadership Brand 

• Reflecting on Brand Alignment: How does my current leadership brand mirror my core values, skills, and achievements, and how might current and potential followers perceive my brand? 
• Evolving Brand Strategy: What steps can I take to actively refine and develop my leadership brand for greater impact? 

First Impressions Stage: Conveying the Right Image 

• Contextual Adaptation: How can I modify my physical presentation and emotional expression to align with various contexts, ensuring the projection of an appropriate and effective image? 
• Emotional Intelligence in Action: What strategies can I implement to effectively display suitable emotional states in diverse scenarios, ranging from crisis management to collaborative environments? 

Engagement Stage: Deepening Connections Through Active Communication 

• Vocal Mastery for Engagement: What improvements can I make to my vocal quality and control to ensure my tone and volume are aptly suited to different situations? 
• Enhancing Presence through Listening: How can I further develop my active listening skills to demonstrate complete engagement and a profound understanding of others’ thoughts and feelings? 

Messaging Stage: Crafting Communications That Resonate 

• Authenticity in Communication: How can I consistently ensure my communication is authentic, effectively aligning my actions with my words and values to foster trust? 

• Impactful Message Design: How can I craft my messages to inform, inspire, and emotionally connect with my audience, thereby enhancing the impact of my communication? 

Consolidation Stage: Nurturing Perceptions Through Responsiveness 

• Fostering a Feedback Culture: How can I better encourage and facilitate open feedback following interactions, and what practical methods can I implement to seek and respond to this feedback actively? 
• Insights to Action: How can I leverage insights from feedback and post-interaction discussions to refine and amplify the perception of my leadership presence? 

Reinforcement Stage: Solidifying and Sustaining Influence 

• Communication Strategies for Influence: What strategies can I adopt to maintain and strengthen my communication with those I aim to influence? 
• Demonstrating Appreciation: How can I consistently show appreciation and acknowledge the significance of interactions, reinforcing trust and respect in my ongoing relationships? 

Continue reading about the Leadership
Presence Pathway in Michael’s book:

Michael D. Watkins is a professor of leadership and organisational change at the IMD, a cofounder of Genesis Advisers, and author of new book  The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking.