Leadership Presence Is a Myth

Leadership Presence Is a Myth

Leadership presence may be one of the most overrated ideas in leadership. For years we’ve been taught that influence comes from commanding a room, projecting confidence, and creating followership through charisma. I taught leadership presence myself, so I understand why the idea persists. But I’ve become less convinced that presence explains influence as well as we think it does. Some of the most influential leaders in history would score surprisingly low on executive presence assessments today and still changed behavior at extraordinary scale. That made me question whether people follow leaders because of how they appear or because of the beliefs they create. In this week’s edition of This Week in Culture, I explore why progress may be one of the most underestimated leadership tools and why momentum can create more belief than charisma.

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