Part 1 of 3 – The Leadership Presence Series

“The dynamics of leadership have changed dramatically. It’s about inspiring, adapting, and driving results in a business world full of disruption and change.”

Introduction

We talk about leadership skills, execution strategies, and stakeholder engagement in project management regularly. Yet there’s something even more powerful shaping the success of project leaders: Leadership Presence.
In the first article of our three-part series, we explore what it truly means, how it differs from Executive Presence, and why it’s a game-changer for project leadership and PMO professionals.

Understanding the Quiet Power That Transforms Project Management

We refer to leadership skills, communication, and influence, but there’s something deeper that defines truly impactful leaders. It’s not just what they say or do; it’s how they show up. This is what we call Leadership Presence: the invisible force that inspires trust, steadies teams, and brings clarity even in uncertainty.

In every successful project meeting, there’s often that one person who doesn’t just speak, they command attention. Their words resonate, their calm steadiness builds trust, and their clarity inspires confidence. What you’re witnessing is leadership presence, that often invisible yet deeply felt quality that makes others believe in a leader’s competence and integrity.

But what exactly is leadership presence? And how does it differ from executive presence — a term we hear much more often in corporate circles? Understanding this difference is essential for project managers and PMO professionals, whose success depends less on formal authority and more on influence, clarity, and trust.

The concept of “leadership presence” appears in early 20th-century leadership literature, and the term itself gained traction in the 1990s in executive coaching and leadership development contexts. Earliest documented reference: Goffman (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
Goffman’s work on social presence and impression management laid the foundation for what later became “leadership presence.”

Earliest Known Academic Use: The concept of “leadership presence” appears in James MacGregor Burns’ book Leadership (1978), where presence is described as a critical quality for transformational leaders to inspire and mobilize followers. “Leadership is exercised when persons mobilize resources, institutions, and presence to realize goals.”

Leadership presence has been described as the embodiment of leadership values in one’s behavior, communication, and state of being (Ford et al., 2017; Kerns, 2019). It’s not about performance or image management but about authentic congruence — aligning what you think, feel, and express. According to Hope (2025), leadership presence blends charisma, confidence, and connection to engage teams and move people toward shared goals. Gunnlaugson (2025) takes it a step further, framing presence as a way of being — a state of awareness and openness that enables leaders to stay grounded and responsive in complex environments. In essence, leadership presence is the felt sense of integrity and intentionality that allows others to trust your leadership.

While often used interchangeably, leadership presence and executive presence are distinct concepts. Leadership presence is rooted in authenticity and relational awareness, building trust through empathy, active listening, and congruence. Executive presence, on the other hand, is about perception and organizational impact — it signals authority, readiness for higher responsibility, and is often expressed through confidence, clarity, and gravitas.

Connection and overlap between Leadership Presence and Executive Presence (Source: The authors)

Leadership presence and executive presence complement each other to create authentic influence and trust. Together, they enable leaders to inspire, communicate effectively, and drive organizational success with confidence and credibility. This, in turn, inspires teams to be highly energized and committed to their leaders.

Authors like Cuddy et al. (2018) describe executive presence as the ability to project confidence and command respect: traits that open doors to advancement. Garfinkle (2022) defines it as “stepping into your power and leading with conviction.” Leadership presence, however, is less about how others perceive you and is more concerned with perception and how authentically you connect and influence. It’s the inner foundation upon which executive presence is built. Without leadership presence, executive presence risks becoming surface-level, more performance than substance.

This distinction matters deeply in project management. Project leaders often operate in matrixed environments where authority is shared, and influence is the real currency. In that space, leadership presence becomes a strategic competence. It allows you to establish credibility under pressure; because when challenges arise, teams look to leaders who remain grounded and composed. It deepens engagement through empathy, because people commit more fully to leaders who listen and respond authentically. It drives alignment,  because when a project leader is centered, others naturally align around that clarity. And it enhances influence, because presence conveys calm authority even when you don’t control the outcome.

Kerns (2019) defines presence as the practice of being intentional in communication, grounded in purpose, and aware of one’s impact: a mindset that aligns perfectly with project management. Leadership presence isn’t innate; it’s cultivated through reflection, awareness, and practice. Patton (2020) encourages leaders to “show up, stand out, and shake up the world” by bridging self-awareness with courageous action. Van Baardewijk (2023, 2025) frames it as a “five-fold presence” that includes verbal, non-verbal, emotional, representational, and ethical dimensions.

For project managers, this means working on multiple levels at once: speaking with clarity and purpose; using non-verbal cues that communicate confidence and openness; staying emotionally attuned to yourself and others; representing the project’s values and purpose authentically; and modeling integrity, fairness, and accountability, especially when the pressure mounts.

Key Stats to Demonstrate Relevance

• Organizational Impact: 98% of leadership development participants reported a strong positive impact on their overall organization in areas critical to strategy execution, such as cross-boundary collaboration
• 77%of organizations are struggling with leadership gaps at all levels. Only 19% of organizations believe that their leaders are good at developing leadership skills in others. Poor leadership can cost businesses up to $550 billion annually in lost productivity

In the fast-paced world of projects, where uncertainty is constant and authority is limited, leadership presence is what separates those who manage tasks from those who truly lead people. It’s the quiet force that steadies teams, clarifies direction, and builds trust across stakeholders.

“Waste no more time arguing what a good leader should be. Be one.”
— Marcus Aurelius

Up next (Part 2): How Senior Executives and PMO Leaders can leverage leadership presence strategically, not just to lead people, but to shape organizational culture and influence outcomes.

 Bibliography

• Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
• Center for Creative Leadership. (2025, January 2). Why is leadership development important? 4 reasons to invest. https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/why-leadership-development-is-important-4-reasons-to-invest/
• Cuddy, A. J. C., Tannen, D., Su, A. J., & Beeson, J. (2018). Leadership presence. Harvard Business Review Press.
• Ford, J., Harding, N. H., Gilmore, S., & Richardson, S. (2017). Becoming the leader: Leadership as material presence. Organization Studies, 38(11), 1553–1571. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840616677633
• Garfinkle, J. A. (2022). Executive presence: Step into your power, convey confidence, and lead with conviction. JAG Press.
• Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Anchor Books.
• Hewlett, S. A. (2014). Executive presence: The missing link between merit and success.
• Gunnlaugson, O. (2025). Emerging paths of presencing leadership: A nature-inspired framework for cultivating presencing as a way of being. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.22543/1948-0733.1589
• Hope, A. (2025). The art of leadership presence: Cultivating charisma and confidence to inspire teams (ISBN 9798309066049).
• Kerns, C. D. (2019). Leadership presence at work: A practice-oriented framework. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 13(3), 91–109. https://doi.org/10.33423/jmdc.v13i3.2241
• Marcus Aurelius. (n.d.). “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” In Top 50 leadership quotes in Stoicism. GetStoic. https://www.getstoic.com/quotes/top-50-leadership-quotes-stoicism
• Pappas, C. (2025, March 31). 30+ surprising leadership statistics to take note of. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/surprising-leadership-statistics-to-take-note-of
• Patton, J. (2020). Leadership presence: How to show up, stand out & shake up the world (ISBN 9781732876688).
• Van Baardewijk, J. (2023). The 5-fold presence of leadership: Verbal presence & non-verbal presence (ISBN 9798853589872).
• Van Baardewijk, J. (2025). Leadership presence and the power of representing an ideal image (ISBN 9798281492027).