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UNDERSTANDING EXECUTIVE
PRESENCE: PERSPECTIVES OF BUSINESS
PROFESSIONALS
Gavin R. Dagley
Perspex Consulting, Melbourne,
Australia
Cadeyrn J. Gaskin
Gaskin Research, Melbourne,
Australia
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, in-
tellect 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.
Keywords: executive presence, gravitas, communication, power, leadership
Executive presence is a topic that has attracted attention in the popular literature, especially over the
last decade (e.g., Crittenden, 2013;Ehrlich, 2012;Hough, 2012;Johnson, 2009). The underpinning
assumption of work in this area is that executive presence is an essential element of successful
leadership (Crittenden, 2013;Williamson, 2011). The findings of privately commissioned research
support this perspective, with 89% of a sample of nearly 400 chief executive officers, corporate
Gavin R. Dagley, Perspex Consulting, Melbourne, Australia; Cadeyrn J. Gaskin, Gaskin Research, Melbourne,
Australia.
The authors thank the Australian Human Resources Institute for the administrative support provided for
this research.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Gavin R. Dagley, Perspex Consulting, PO
Box 481, Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 8009, Australia. E-mail: gavin.dagley@bigpond.com
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Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research © 2014 American Psychological Association
2014, Vol. 66, No. 3, 197–211 1065-9293/14/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000011
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