Leadership Presence at Work: A Practice – Oriented Framework

Abstract

Leadership or executive presence can be a nebulous concept, making it difficult for leaders to understand and put into practice. When behaviorally defined and operationalized, presence can strengthen a leader's personal brand equity, career competitiveness and organizational impact. After a brief review of some relevant literature, a four-phase practice-oriented framework is offered. This dynamic process helps a leader more fully understand and use leadership presence at work, including managing the relevant components. A leader profile which focuses on a set of eight behavioral practices for managing leadership presence is also provided, and some specific challenges associated with the process are considered.

Leadership presence: A concept analysis

“…Organizationally, leadership presence influences healthier work environments and cultivated positive work cultures. [3][4][5]10,13,15,17,19,21,[23][24][25][26][27][28] Ahmad and Loch 3 identified that team success contributed to cooperative outcomes, with Bleich 15 discovering similar elements, but added an additional element of goal achievement. Similarly, Chrobot et al 17 recognized that leadership presence fostered alignment through shared goals and achievement.…”

“…Similarly, because leaders served as role models, Kerns found that emulating this practice contributed to optimal patient outcomes. 13 Tahan 5…”

“…Mehrabian 12 described presence as a physical and psychological closeness between leaders and followers to increase learning, motivation, and satisfaction. Kerns 13 further emphasized the need for leaders to be physically and psychologically present for followers to succeed. Ford 14 posited that the leader's physical presence often signifies leadership and leadership qualities and physically "materialize themselves as part of the organization."…”

“…Those leaders who display higher levels of presence are often described as "successful, confident, and respected." 13 However, while evidence suggests that leadership presence affects innovation and growth, there is little research to evaluate this. 16 Interestingly, the nonphysical presence of leaders also needs to be considered.…”