Executive Presence Doesn't Start With Polish

(It starts with empathy.)

By Austin Shaw

Ask 10 people to define executive presence and you’ll hear the usual suspects:

→ Confidence

 → Charisma

 → Gravitas

 → Poise

But here’s the truth:

Executive presence isn’t a surface skill — it’s an emotional one.

It’s about showing up in a way that inspires trust, connection, and composure — especially under pressure. As Forbes puts it, executive presence is “the ability to project confidence, authority, and credibility in interactions with others.”

I have clients come to me all the time asking for help building confidence and executive presence. What they’re really seeking is the ability to stay connected, composed, and effective under pressure.

Without that emotional foundation, leaders risk being passed over for bigger opportunities, struggling to inspire their teams, or plateauing in their careers.

But here’s what most leaders miss:

You can’t project confidence if you can’t regulate emotion. And the foundation of that emotional regulation?

Empathy.

As Brené Brown puts it: Empathy is feeling with someone.  (Not for them. Not at them.)

When you lead with empathy:

↳ You build trust → people feel seen, not judged

 ↳ You project confidence → you don’t shrink from emotion

 ↳ You model composure → your calm is contagious

 ↳ You earn credibility → you stay connected, not reactive

And without it?

Even the most polished leaders can come across as aloof, dismissive, or unstable.

Executive presence ≠ performance.

Executive presence = emotional presence.

Empathy isn’t a “soft” skill. It’s the foundation of leadership credibility.