Rethinking What Leadership Looks Like

I’ve recently started working with a doctoral student exploring a significant leadership area: leadership presence — not to be confused with executive presence. The distinction between the two is both striking and timely.

Leadership presence, as defined by Halpern and Lubar (2004), is:

“The ability to connect authentically with the thoughts and feelings of others, in order to motivate and inspire them toward a desired outcome.”

In contrast, executive presence—as typically framed in Harvard Business Review—has focused on gravitas, strong communication skills, and the “right” appearance.

This contrast came into even sharper focus for me while reading Brené Brown’s new book Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit. She notes that the research on executive presence is inconsistent at best, but she cuts through the noise with this powerful insight:

“Executive presence is often code for: You don’t look or sound like what a leader is supposed to look or sound like.”

That hit hard. I’ve felt that coded message in my own leadership journey. And I’ve witnessed it—subtly and not so subtly—in conversations about others.

Psychologist Adam Grant puts it bluntly:

“Executive presence is cover for discriminating against women and introverts.”

That’s a tough but important truth.

This isn’t about blaming or shaming — but it is about reflecting. Have we, consciously or not, contributed to reinforcing narrow ideas of who gets to lead?

As Maya Angelou reminds us:

“When you know better, do better.”

Let’s start there.

Rethinking What Leadership Looks Like