5 Keys to Executive Presence for Lawyers: How to Turn Vague Feedback Into Actionable Career Growth
I've sat through hundreds of boardroom presentations. There's always a dividing line between the ones that land and the ones that don't. You can feel it in the room.
But when the presenter asks for feedback, they usually get some version of: "You need to work on your executive presence."
That feedback is cotton candy. Looks like something. Dissolves the second you try to use it.
So what is this elusive presence? And how does the same set of facts, delivered the same way, land completely differently depending on who's talking?
It's a big enough question that I'm spending the next 6 issues on it. Let's start by figuring out what's actually in the secret sauce.
Executive Presence For Lawyers is Not One Thing
At some point, most lawyers get this feedback. You're good at the law. You just need more "executive presence."
Then the conversation stops. Nobody explains what that means.
Here's why: executive presence isn't one thing. It's a mix of several things, and none of them are easy to master on their own. There's no official list. But here's mine.
The 5 Elements of Executive Presence for Lawyers
Get better at these 5, and the vague feedback stops.
1. Gravitas
Does your opinion carry weight, or do you just repeat the data and wait to be told what to think?
This is the foundation. It's how much influence your words carry in a room. Senior leaders aren't looking for someone who just executes orders. They're looking for someone who can shape the outcome.
In practice, that means bringing a real point of view to the table instead of just relaying data or staying quiet. It also means giving yourself permission to speak as a peer, not a subordinate waiting to be called on.
And the tricky part about authority is the more you actively assert it, the weaker it becomes. So you need to be able to passively assert it. More on this next issue.
2. Strategic Communication
Do you talk about your project, or do you talk about what your project means for the company?
In practice, that means framing your update around the bigger goal, not just what happened on your desk this week. Lead with the bottom line. Save the details for whoever asks.
3. Delivery
Does your voice and body language say "I believe this," or "please don't ask me a follow-up question"?
Whether you're in the room or on a screen, your delivery decides how confident you look. If your tone or posture signals nerves, people will doubt your judgment, even if the judgment itself is sound.
In practice, that means cutting the fillers ("just," "um," "I think"), practicing comfortable eye contact (or looking directly into the webcam during hybrid meetings), and using purposeful vocal pacing, such as embracing brief pauses instead of rushing through a presentation.
4. Composure
What do you do in the 4 seconds after someone challenges you in a meeting?
Executive presence doesn't get tested when things go well. It gets tested in the moment things go sideways.
In practice, that means shifting from reactive (defensive, rushed, flustered) to responsive (steady, calm, deliberate). When someone hits you with a tough question, you pause, hold your tone, and answer the substance. Not the tone of the person asking.
5. Trust
Do people believe you'll represent them well in a room they're not in?
Nobody gets promoted into the room unless the people already in it trust you to speak for them. Presence, in the end, comes down to how you make people feel.
In practice, that means balancing authority with approachability. Lifting the energy in a room.
Listening to a dissenting opinion without shutting it down. Painting a picture people actually want to follow.
Most of you are solid on 1 or 2 of these. The feedback "you need more presence" almost never tells you which ones. That's the real problem. Not that presence is vague, but that nobody ever broke it into parts you can actually work on.
Your Next Step: Find the Leak
If someone's told you to work on your presence, don't try to fix "presence." Rate yourself 1 to 5 on each of the 5 elements above. Be honest. Or better, ask someone who's actually seen you in a real meeting to rate you instead.
Then go back to whoever gave you the feedback and ask: "When you said presence, which of these were you thinking about?" Watch how fast a vague critique turns into something you can train.
What's Coming
Over the next 5 issues, I'll take each element of executive presence for lawyers one at a time. What it looks like when it's working, what it looks like when it's not, and what I actually have clients do to build it. Starting with gravitas, and why most of you are waiting for permission to have an opinion that was already yours to give.
Jonathan Cullen
Want to know where your executive presence stands? Take the free Leadership Assessment at jonathancullencoaching.com or book a free Discovery call with me here:
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