When I started my career over two decades ago, I thought the best leaders were the smartest people in the room: the ones with the answers, the sharpest opinions, and the clearest strategies.
Since then, I’ve worked in four countries: Australia, Hong Kong, the UK, and Canada, holding progressively senior roles across corporate, academic, and administrative teams. I mainly work in the medical and education fields.
Eventually, through all my positions, I realized I was wrong: True leadership meant something else entirely.
I saw cultures that thrived, not because of policies or metrics, but because people felt safe. I saw teams that delivered results not just because they had to but because they wanted to.
I saw the exact opposite, too: places where morale collapsed, ideas never emerged, and brilliant professionals burned out in silence.
What made the difference? It wasn’t the budget, the technology, or the strategy. It was the leader’s presence and how they connected with their team.
In my favorite workplaces, the leaders showed up for people
The best leaders didn’t lead with ego. Instead, the most impactful leaders I worked with made people feel seen. They listened without rushing to respond, paused before speaking, and weren’t obsessed with control. They prioritized connection.
In one organization, the leader had a true open-door policy. If he wasn’t in a meeting, anyone could walk in. He sat in the lunchroom. He laughed with us. He knew our families, our children’s names. He made everyone feel like they mattered.
At that company, I wanted to show up and do my job well. There was unity — not because everyone agreed all the time, but because there was trust.
People challenged ideas openly. Mistakes weren’t met with shame. Performance came from a place of belonging, not fear.
Results followed, and it all started at the top, with the leader’s presence.
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What leaders get wrong about presence
Presence isn’t just about being physically available. It’s about emotional clarity, intentional listening, and the humility to let others be seen and heard.
Also, presence isn’t soft. It’s strategic. It shapes how people feel, how they perform, and whether they stay. It determines if great ideas ever get spoken aloud and if innovation takes root or dies in silence.
In every thriving team I’ve been part of, presence wasn’t just a leadership trait. It was the catalyst that shaped the culture.
These bosses build trust in the moments no one sees: the hallway conversations, the offhand encouragement, the thoughtful pause before a difficult conversation.
When things go wrong (as they always do), they don’t default to blame. They default to curiosity.
How to build presence as a leader
Cultivating presence isn’t about adding another skill to your toolkit. It’s about changing how you lead.
As a leader, you need to slow down long enough to hear what’s not being said; you need to notice your own emotional state before reacting to someone else’s; and you need to choose connection over control.
It also means regularly asking yourself: Do people feel safer, more capable, and more seen after interacting with me?
Because the tone is always set at the top. The impact of your presence ripples further than you think.
