Developing Executive Presence in Leaders

September 30, 2025 By Phil Drouillard No comments yet

Phil Drouillard recently shared his insights on what he considers the new rules for director development in business today. We’ve linked his article below. His work draws on extensive experience training leaders to perform well under pressure and make their mark in the C-suite.

Over the past 25 years, Phil has supported numerous firms, including Array Marketing, BHP Billiton, Mars/Wrigley, Sun Life, Suncor, IDEXX, McCain, Mother Parkers, TGI Fridays, Worley Parsons, La Rocca, and Campbell Soup Company. He has worked as a collaborative behavioural coach, team facilitator, and developer of executive leadership programs.

Leaders Feeling Like They’re ‘Faking It’

However, today, the leaders we interact with daily feel they’re ‘faking it’ and lack clarity about their path forward in increasingly demanding and unstable environments. Leaders are growing tired of uncertainty. It’s challenging to feel confident when the only constant is change.

When the future seems unpredictable and teams are in crisis mode, leaders must look inward to anchor teams and develop high-performance environments. This inward journey begins with executive presence, the new rule for director development.

Executive Presence

Executive presence is the combination of confidence, clarity, and credibility that enables a leader to command attention, inspire trust, and influence others effectively. It includes strong communication skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to remain composed under pressure.

It is not about being loud, flashy, or dominating conversations—it’s not charisma alone, title, or looking the part without substance. Executive presence is not performative; it’s rooted in authentic behaviour, consistency, and respect.

New Rules for Executive Directors

At the Director and VP levels, executive presence helps leaders inspire confidence in their vision and decisions, especially when navigating ambiguity or change. It also plays a critical role in building followership, influencing cross-functional teams, and gaining support from senior executives. Executive presence can be broken down into ten key aspects.

Confidence – Display calm self-assurance, even in high-pressure situations.
Decisiveness – Act promptly instead of hesitating.
Inclusiveness – Create space for all voices and perspectives.
Respect for Others – Lead with humility and cultural awareness.
Superior Public Speaking – Inspire and influence through words.
Command of the Room (or Zoom) – Hold attention and keep teams engaged.
Read the Audience – Adapt your communication in real-time.
Gestures & Body Language – Align nonverbal cues with your message.
Appearance – Match professional norms while reinforcing your brand.
Authenticity – Be consistent, real, and grounded in your values.

Workshops to Develop Executive Presence

Following the new rules for director development, we’ve created two new workshops: Executive Presence in Action and The Boardroom Simulation.

These new workshops are well-suited for both small and large teams, serving as an excellent starting point for a renewed focus on team performance and individual development.

Executive Presence in Action

A station-based workshop, Executive Presence in Action, features five stations where teams can work on various aspects of executive presence.

Participating in the Executive Presence in Action workshop offers several key benefits. It encourages teamwork by helping each member develop their individual contributions, fostering a collaborative environment. The station-based format makes the experience interactive and engaging, providing a clear and structured path for the day. Additionally, the workshop emphasizes hands-on teaching, ensuring practical learning moments that enhance your executive presence.

Executive Presence Workshop

The Boardroom Simulation

For Directors seeking to elevate their executive presence, adding a 360 Leadership Review can be transformational. This is why we developed The Boardroom Simulation workshop: to prepare leaders for the C-suite and present a real-life scenario that tests each new rule for executive directors.

The Boardroom Simulation Workshop

Your Next Step

If you’re interested in booking a workshop or coordinating a leadership development plan, please reach out to info@lighthouse9.ca or connect with Phil on LinkedIn. In an era of uncertainty, these two workshops will empower your team to thrive and create a lasting impact.

The New Rules For Directors In Organizations Today

By Phil Drouillard, Founder, Lighthouse Nine Group

I came across a newly appointed Director leader this past week who admitted to me he felt like he was ‘faking it’ as a leader.

One way to gain confidence and build your leadership presence is to become more aware of the new rules for Director development in business today. Aspiring leaders have long been told that to be considered for senior management roles, especially those in the C-suite, they must demonstrate “executive presence” (EP).

Why it’s important for Directors and VPs:

In most corporate settings today, that has traditionally boiled down to three attributes: first, speaking up or weighing in on key issues; second, strong communication skills; and the “right” appearance.

The funny thing about these attributes as a Director is that you don’t have to have them polished yet, but be seen as someone who is working on them. So, let’s dig a little deeper into them all. When we dig deeper into speaking up or weighing in on key issues, the following attributes begin to surface:

Confidence: Leaders who radiate calm self-assurance reassure colleagues that even complex challenges are solvable, anchoring the team’s trust in the path forward.

Decisiveness: In today’s volatile markets, acting promptly—rather than delaying or lurching between options—separates organizations that thrive from those that falter, making decisiveness an essential leadership muscle.

Inclusiveness: Inclusive leaders intentionally create a sense of psychological safety by noticing silences, sharing their own vulnerabilities, and inviting diverse voices, thereby preventing isolation and sparking innovation.

Respect for others: Being a respectful leader requires much more than treating everyone with dignity. It involves acquiring a body of knowledge that enables you to understand the lived experiences of individuals whose identity or heritage differs from your own.

When digging deeper into communication skills, the following attributes surface:

Superior Public speaking skills: Contemporary executives treat public speaking as a trainable performance discipline, using live coaching and interactive drills to deliver crisp, confident messages under pressure.

Command of the room or Zoom: People now gravitate more toward leaders who listen and learn from others before they make decisions—a trait seen as critical to growing markets and retaining top talent.

Ability to read the audience: Effective communicators segment their listeners, tailoring content so each group hears only what it needs—keeping dialogues focused and forward-looking.

Ability to use gestures or body posture correctly: Aligning words with an open, grounded stance activates neural circuits linked to confidence, allowing leaders to project credibility before speaking a single word.

And finally, when we dig deeper into “right appearance the following attributes surface:

Appearance: Understanding and matching the unspoken dress and grooming norms of one’s workplace signals cultural fluency and reinforces a distinctive leadership brand.

Authenticity: Nowadays, to be seen as leadership material, executives are expected to reveal who they fundamentally are—not mimic some dated, idealized model

What follows is a quick guide to cultivate the New Rules for Director Presence

Attribute	Why It’s Important	How To Build It
Confidence	Builds trust by signaling calm and competence under pressure.	1. Prepare thoroughly for meetings and key decisions. 2. Reflect on past successes to reinforce self-belief. 3. Practice power poses and deep breathing before presentations.
Decisiveness	Builds trust by signalling calm and competence under pressure.	1. Use a “90% rule”: decide when you have 90% of the info you need. 2. Practice scenario planning to reduce fear of the unknown. 3. Trust your experience— avoid analysis paralysis.
Inclusiveness	Sparks innovation by ensuring all voices are heard and valued.	1. Rotate meeting facilitation or input gathering to ensure everyone is heard. 2. Ask: “Whose voice haven’t we heard yet?” 3. Build cultural competence through DEI learning or reverse mentoring.
Respect for Others	Fosters psychological safety and deepens team cohesion.	1. Learn about colleagues’ backgrounds and perspectives with curiosity. 2. Use inclusive language and watch for bias in decisionmaking. 3. Model humility—don’t always need to be the expert.
Superior Public Speaking	Helps leaders inspire, influence, and convey ideas with impact.	1. Rehearse aloud and record yourself for feedback. 2. Use storytelling to connect emotionally with audiences. 3. Join or observe leadership presentation sessions for tips and feedback.
Command of the Room or Zoom	Establishes authority and keeps teams focused and engaged.	1. Set expectations early in meetings. 2. Use intentional eye contact and vocal variation. 3. Acknowledge others’ contributions to foster engagement.
Ability to Read the Audience	Enhances communication by adapting to audience needs in real time.	1. Observe nonverbal cues and adjust tone or pace. 2. Ask clarifying questions to gauge understanding. 3. Debrief key meetings to improve future reads.
Gestures & Body Language	Reinforces credibility and alignment between message and presence.	1. Practice in front of a mirror or via video feedback. 2. Avoid crossing arms or pacing—stay open and grounded. 3. Let gestures flow naturally from the message, not rehearsed choreography.
Appearance	Signals professionalism and strengthens leadership identity.	1. Align your appearance with your audience and organizational culture. 2. Consider how your style reinforces your leadership identity.
Authenticity	Builds trust and loyalty by showing up as your real self.	1. Share relevant personal stories and values in meetings. 2. Acknowledge your learning edges and mistakes. 3. Be consistent across roles—in the boardroom and beyond.

Developing these attributes requires more than intention. It starts with insight. Behavioural Assessments can provide leaders with a mirror, helping them understand their natural style, how they tend to show up, and where they may need to adapt.

We acknowledge that demonstrating all these attributes is a significant challenge. But leaders who manage it can inspire their employees to greater achievements and help their organizations truly flourish.

For Directors seeking to elevate their executive presence, adding a 360 Leadership Review can be transformational. It offers clear, candid feedback from colleagues, helping leaders understand how their behaviours are perceived and where small shifts could lead to big gains in influence, communication, and impact. We have used the McQuaig 360 assessment tool and have been very impressed with the results. Click on this link to find out more about the McQuaig Institute.

Levelling up your executive presence is achievable with practice. Executive presence is multifaceted and is grounded in having a healthy view of yourself. Developing a strong personal brand that reflects your leadership behaviours and values benefits you, your team, and your organization.

Phil Drouillard

Phil Drouillard serves as the Founder at Lighthouse NINE Group in Toronto, where he engages across multiple practices and applies his expertise in all the Lighthouse NINE disciplines. Known for his highly engaging, provocative, experienced-based style in working with clients.Array Marketing, BHP Billiton, Mars/ Wrigley, Sun Life, Suncor, IDEXX, McCain, Mother Parkers, TGI Fridays, Worley Parsons, La Rocca and the Campbell Soup Company are just some of the firms Phil has supported in his 25+ years as a collaborative behavioural coach, team facilitator and executive leadership program developer. As a collaborative behavioural coach, Phil helps teams and individuals – embrace the required behavioural transformation.Phil has unique expertise in designing and delivering in-house visual learning systems (using learning maps) that deliver key strategic messages that enable full organizational buy-in.Phil excels at providing feedback and coaching to senior leaders, as they strengthen critical skills, clarify priorities, or prepare and deliver critical messages. Known as an expert facilitator, he is skilled at engaging groups of up to hundreds to distill ideas and express a clear, inspiring forward direction.The strength of Lighthouse NINE is in the agile deployment of talent. Phil champions Lighthouse NINE experts as they collaborate to assess the unique needs of each client and deliver targeted solutions that help organizations achieve superior performance.