Executive Presence: More Than a Buzzword

After more than two decades in executive search, I can confidently say that executive presence arises in almost every CEO or C-suite search I lead.

Boards, funders and selection panels, particularly in health, academia, not-for-profit organisations and peak bodies, consistently ask for it. Yet when pressed, the definition is usually vague.

Here’s what I’ve learned. Executive presence is not about polish, corporate jargon, or theatrics. It’s about trust. It’s the shorthand stakeholders use to ask: Does this leader inspire confidence in the boardroom, in front of a minister, and under pressure when things don’t go as planned?

What Executive Presence Really Is

In my experience, presence shows up in three dimensions:

1. Gravitas – Staying calm, decisive, and principled when scrutiny is high.
2. Communication – Expressing complex ideas clearly and authentically, without jargon.
3. Impact – The impression you leave. Do people walk away reassured, engaged, and ready to follow your lead?

These qualities matter deeply in the health, life sciences, academia, and social services sectors because leaders in these fields don’t just run organisations. They carry the reputation and credibility of entire communities.

Why Boards Ask for It

Boards want executive presence because they need reassurance that their CEO can:

• Represent the organisation credibly to ministers, regulators, and donors.
• Lead staff through difficult change with steadiness.
• Carry the weight of public scrutiny without losing composure.

The Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Not-for-Profit Governance & Performance Study 2024–25 found that three-quarters of NFP boards believe their organisations are effective in achieving their purpose, despite rising pressures around sustainability, cybersecurity, and AI. This reflects what we see in practice: it isn’t just technical skill that helps a CEO succeed, but their ability to engage stakeholders and project calm authority.

Gender equity data reinforces the point. The Chief Executive Women (CEW) 2023 Census reported that 91% of ASX300 CEOs are male, and only 23% of companies have gender-balanced executive teams. The 2024 Census showed little progress, with the number of female CEOs dropping from 26 to 25. Meanwhile, research from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and WGEA has shown that appointing a female CEO is associated with a 5% uplift in company market value. Increasing the share of women in top-tier management by just 10 percentage points correlated with a 6.6% increase in market value.

For boards, this makes “presence” inseparable from representation and authenticity. They are asking not just who can do the job, but who can credibly represent the organisation to its broadest set of stakeholders.

How We Assess Executive Presence

At Brooker Consulting, assessing executive presence is as critical as assessing technical skill. We focus on:

• In-depth interviews – Watching how candidates hold themselves, especially under challenging or layered questioning.
• Referencing that goes deeper than achievements – Asking whether colleagues and stakeholders felt reassured and confident under this leader’s guidance.
• Observation across contexts – From formal presentations to informal discussions, often reveals as much as structured interviews.

Over many years, I’ve learned to spot the subtle cues: leaders who lean into purpose, who listen deeply before speaking, and who don’t confuse “confidence” with “commanding the airspace.”

Can Executive Presence Be Built?

Absolutely. Some leaders are naturally charismatic, but most of the executives I’ve seen develop real presence did so deliberately.

Here’s what works:

• Anchor in Purpose – In mission-driven sectors, inauthentic “polish” is transparent. Presence isn’t acting; it’s aligning your words and actions with your values.
• Seek Honest Feedback – Not just about what you said, but how you made people feel in the room.
• Sharpen Your Communication – Replace jargon with clarity. In health, research or social services, translating complexity into plain language is a real differentiator.
• Practice Under Pressure – Presence is forged in tough moments. Preparing for crises and learning strategies for composure pay off when the real test comes.

The Bottom Line

Executive presence isn’t a mysterious quality reserved for a select few. It’s a combination of credibility, clarity and composure — and it can be built. Boards ask for it because they want confidence that their CEO will embody trust in every setting, whether at a Senate inquiry, a university forum, or a donor briefing.

For leaders in health, academia, life sciences and the not-for-profit world, presence is not about looking the part. It’s about being the leader who can steady the room, speak with purpose, and inspire trust when it matters most.

Looking for your next leader? Contact our team today.