Executive presence is an unclear concept but one that reportedly has a substantial influence on successful leadership. The purpose of this study was to understand the meaning of executive presence from the perspectives of business professionals with expertise in the effectiveness of organizational executives. From interviews with 34 professionals, 5 main findings emerged: (a) executive presence is based on audience perceptions of the characteristics of particular people, (b) 10 core characteristics affect executive presence (status and reputation, physical appearance, projected confidence, communication ability, engagement skills, interpersonal integrity, values-in-action, intellect and expertise, outcome delivery ability, and coercive power use), (c) perceptions are based on impressions made during initial contacts (first 5 characteristics) and on evaluations made over time (second 5 characteristics), (d) the characteristics combine in different ways to form 4 presence archetypes (positive presence, unexpected presence, unsustainable presence, and dark presence), and (e) the majority of the executives described as having presence were men. Based on the interview material, we suggest that a person with executive presence is someone who, by virtue of how he or she is perceived by audience members at any given point in time, exerts influence beyond that conferred through formal authority. The findings serve to highlight the complexity of executive presence, particularly in terms of the breadth of characteristics that underpin this construct and the influence of time on people's perceptions.

Despite facing multidimensional inequalities, some adults with cerebral palsy achieve positive social outcomes (e.g., independent living, employment, and romantic relationships). We interviewed 23 adults (aged 23–47 years) about how they successfully negotiated the challenges of adulthood. Common to all life situations was doing what others (people without cerebral palsy) do. Origins of success lay in their formative experiences (e.g., typical parental expectations with commensurate support and acceptance and supported involvement in school life). Their present functioning (e.g., positive self-concept, well-honed social skills, and physical fitness) combined with present contexts (e.g., expectations of involvement in adult activities and accessible and accommodating environments) enabled them to find ways of negotiating challenges. Finding a way included drawing on knowledge and skills, gravitating toward those who are comfortable with difference, maintaining function, and using natural and paid supports. The findings suggest multiple avenues for supporting people with cerebral palsy to achieve positive social outcomes.

Objectives:Human resources (HR) professionals responsible for purchasing executive coaching services represent a unique research resource as independent and invested observers of coaching practices. The research objective was to explore this group’s knowledge to better understand what differentiates the work of exceptional coaches.Design:The study was a survey design.Methods:Twenty experienced executive coaching purchasers completed 90-minute structured interviews based around a 40-item questionnaire regarding their experiences of locating and working with exceptional coaches. Saturation testing and a post-analysis survey provided support for the emergent themes.Results:Purchasers defined a ‘great outcome’ from coaching as ‘behaviour change.’ Descriptions of executive-coachees’ experiences grouped around themes of engagement, deeper conversations, insight and responsibility, and positive growth. The exceptional coaching capabilities that facilitated these experiences were: credibility, empathy and respect, holding the professional self, diagnostic skill and insight, approach flexibility and range, working to the business context, a philosophy of personal responsibility, and skilful challenging.Conclusions:Themes resolved into a process model of exceptional executive coaching that incorporated environmental, executive, and task characteristics as other influential factors. Discussion focused on the remedial implications of using behaviour change as the outcome definition. Despite this implication, executives nevertheless seemed to experience executive coaching as positive and, at times, transformational. The work of exceptional coaches may be at its most distinctive when the required behaviour change is particularly demanding, and when outcomes are based on transformational change.

Objectives:Human resources (HR) professionals represent a large and relatively untapped source of experiential knowledge about executive coaching. The purpose of the study was to record the perceptions of these HR professionals.Design:The study was a survey design.Methods:The practitioners completed structured interviews to elicit their perceptions of the overall efficacy of executive coaching, the specific benefits derived and drawbacks experienced from the programmes, their estimates of the cost/benefit of the programmes, and their interest in using executive coaching in the future.Results:As a group, the 17 participants were responsible for more than 1000 individual executive coaching programmes and $15.4 million of expenditure on executive coaching in the preceding two years. The practitioners indicated strong support for the use of coaching in the future, and all rated their programmes as at least moderately successful. The practitioners also identified a large range of benefits for the individual executives and a smaller range for the organisations. The two most commonly expressed drawbacks were difficulty with executives making time for sessions and the expense of executive coaching. Although the practitioners indicated that benefits exceeded costs, only one practitioner indicated completing formal measurement of return on investment.Conclusions:Discussion included consideration of the pressure for more structured and measurable intervention approaches, and the influence such approaches may have on the efficacy of the programmes themselves.