Understanding executive presence: Perspectives of business professionals.

Abstract

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.

Silent Hands: A Leader’s Ability to Create Nonverbal Immediacy

“…Prior to this study and the work of Talley and Temple (2015), there was no indication that specific hand gestures created meaning for the observer. An executive coach or training program can assist the leader in identifying hand gestures used, based on this research, that minimize the leader's emotional connection and, therefore, his or her ability to influence and achieve results and also those gestures that create influence beyond positional power (Dagley & Gaskin, 2014).…”

Leadership Presence at Work: A Practice – Oriented Framework

“…Assessing leadership presence involves self-ratings and understanding the perceptions of others who are knowledgeable (Dagley & Gaskin, 2014). "Just right" scaling methods yield useful information on the under or over use of specific behavioral leadership presence practices (Kaiser & Overfield, 2010).…”

“…Leadership presence, however, extends beyond the functional role that a leader plays. Behavioral practices used to define leadership presence can be optimized through practice and/or coaching with the impact on leadership effectiveness and key organizational outcomes being enhanced over time (Dagley & Gaskin, 2014;Vandaveer, Lowman, Pearlman & Bannick, 2016). Competitive advantage, performance and well-being are connected to practices which enhance leadership presence (Clarke, Cornelissen & Healey, 2019;Kerns, 2018b).…”

“…Executive presence is primarily presented as a positive force, with little attention being given to its potential dark side (Dagley & Gaskin, 2014;Kaiser, Le Breton, & Hogan, 2015). Individual differences and dispositional factors as well as the perceptions of others interact and play a role in a leader's presence (Voros, 2000;Zaccaro, Green, Dubrow & Kolze, 2018).…”

“…In recent years, the topic of executive presence has received substantial attention in the popular literature, recognizing that executive presence is an important aspect of leadership success (Crittenden, 2013;Macaux & Bates, 2015). For example, recent research findings reveal that 89% of nearly 400 CEOs, communications executives and leaders in corporate professional development believe that leadership presence contributes to people getting ahead, while 78% believe that reduced leadership presence is an impediment to career advancement (Dagley & Gaskin, 2014). In a separate study, research with senior executives further indicates that leadership presence positively impacts leaders' careers (Hewlett, Leader-Chivee, Sherbin, Gordon & Dieudonne, 2012).…”