The Role Of Confidence In Executive Presence

Confidence is one of those qualities we all seek to embody, whether we’re negotiating a big purchase, heading out on a first date, or standing up to speak publicly in a room full of our peers. But nowhere is confidence more important than in leadership. It shapes the way you’re perceived, inspires trust, and helps create buy-in for your vision. When you feel confident in your ability to lead - others will feel confident in following you.

How Do We See Confidence?

Confidence is visible in your posture, tone, and decision-making. It’s how you carry yourself, hold space in a room, balance assertiveness with empathy, and remain calm under pressure. Confident leaders don’t always have all the answers (no one does), but they’re patient, gathering the information they need to make informed choices, and when faced with a crisis, they maintain composure.

Consider leaders like Indra Nooyi. Her ability to stand firm in decisions, even when facing immense scrutiny, made her one of the most admired leaders in corporate America. She demonstrated confidence through her body language (upright posture, steady gaze, and tone) even in high-pressure situations. Her confidence contributed to her executive presence.

Why Confidence Matters In Executive Presence

One way to look at executive presence is to see it as the ability to inspire confidence in others. According to an HBR survey, employees associate confidence with leadership ability - leaders perceived as confident are 60% more likely to be rated as highly effective. Similarly, SHRM data shows that 70% of HR professionals believe executive presence affects an individual’s potential to succeed in leadership roles. And, a 2012 study by the Center for Talent Innovation found that executive presence accounted for 26% of what it takes to get promoted.

Beyond the individual...

Confident leaders also have a profound impact on organizational success. A Wall Street Journal article reported that CEOs rated as confident by their boards tend to lead companies that outperform their competitors by up to 12%. McKinsey & Company found that leaders who demonstrated high levels of confidence were more likely to inspire innovation and drive team performance. 

Confident leaders inspire teams to take calculated risks, innovate, and pursue challenging goals. They encourage initiative, empower their teams, and foster engagement. All of these things lead to greater productivity and organizational performance. Confidence truly is contagious, and confident leaders don’t have teams that hesitate to act, get paralyzed in overanalysis, or freeze because they’re afraid of the consequences of failure.

Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, is another example of confidence and executive presence. Branson’s unshakable confidence in his unconventional business ideas - combined with his ability to inspire and connect with people - has led to the successful creation of multiple Virgin companies. His confidence combined with an openness to learning from his mistakes has been a driving factor in his sustained entrepreneurial success.

Embodying Confidence As A Leader

Confidence is a bit of an intangible concept, so let’s break it down and look at the qualities that together equal confidence. It begins (as do so many things) with self-awareness. Leaders who understand their strengths (and how to capitalize on them) and weaknesses (and how to adjust for them) can more easily project confidence.

Other qualities we associate with confidence include:

Barrack Obama is a wonderful example of a leader who embodies confidence. Throughout his presidency, his speeches, gestures, and overall demeanor exuded calm authority. His ability to speak confidently, yet humbly resonated with diverse audiences, solidifying his leadership presence on the global stage.

Shift Your Mindset

Confidence is as much a mindset as it is a behavior. Research by psychologist Carol Dweck highlights the importance of adopting a growth mindset (believing you can grow and improve through effort and learning - even the intangible qualities we’re talking about in this article). Leaders with a growth mindset are more likely to exude confidence because they see challenges as opportunities to learn, rather than threats to their confidence.

Here are three things you can do to adopt more of a growth mindset:

Own Your Expertise

Let’s look at the story of B, a newly promoted VP who had initially exuded confidence in her role as a client-facing leader in customer support. She was beloved internally, and both peers and clients praised her expertise. However, after being promoted to VP, B began to shy away from participating in meetings and presentations. Despite her proven expertise, she still felt the weight of starting her career in admin, doubting whether she truly “knew more” than her peers.

As her coach, I conducted a 360 assessment to help B better understand her strengths and how others perceived her. It became clear that B’s humility was clashing with the need to assert her value. While everyone around her recognized her deep expertise, she struggled to own it.

Together, we worked to reframe her mindset, shifting her perspective from self-doubt to a stance of "helping." We developed a plan for B to offer her opinions in smaller, low-pressure meetings, allowing her to gradually build confidence in voicing her thoughts. The consistently positive feedback from her boss, coupled with regular coaching sessions, helped solidify this new approach.

A year later, B had transformed her leadership approach, actively contributing in high-stakes meetings, which ultimately improved her performance and confidence.

Confident Body Language

Let’s get specific and look at the body language that we all read as confident (you could even practice it in the mirror before your next big presentation):

4 Exercises To Build Confidence

 1. Host A "Failure Forum"

Organize a candid discussion where leaders share their failures and the lessons learned. This vulnerability can demystify setbacks and reinforce a growth mindset, understanding that confidence comes from learning, not perfection. It also helps leaders realize they’re not alone in their challenges and provides an opportunity to learn from each other’s mistakes.

2. Conduct Leadership Experiments

Encourage leaders to try out new leadership styles or approaches on a small scale such as implementing a servant leadership style for a week. Documenting and reflecting on these experiences can provide insights and increase confidence as they see what works and what doesn’t. It will also help leaders find an approach that feels natural and authentic to them so they can embody their personal leadership style with confidence.

3. Engage In Public Speaking

Why not volunteer to speak at nonprofit events or community gatherings? It can push you out of your comfort zone, enhance your public speaking skills, and build confidence in your ability to inspire and lead diverse audiences.

4. Develop A Leadership Playlist

Who said boosting your confidence can’t be fun? Curate a playlist of songs, speeches, or podcasts that inspire confidence and resilience. Listening to this soundtrack on your morning commute before a big meeting or challenging situation can lift your spirits, reinforce a positive mindset, and remind you of your own leadership qualities.

7 Strategies HR Can Implement To Foster Confidence

HR, managers, and coaches can all play a role in helping leaders cultivate confidence. Here are a few suggestions you might not have considered:

#1 - Create A "Courageous Conversations" Series

Initiate a regular forum where leaders practice having difficult conversations about sensitive topics such as diversity, ethics, or feedback. Role-playing these scenarios in a safe environment can enhance their confidence in navigating tough conversations in real-world situations.

#2 - Personalized Leadership Development Plans

Work with leaders to create tailored development plans that align with an individual’s unique strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations. Include things like specific goals (for example, building confidence), timelines, and resources so leaders have a clear picture of their personal growth path and the steps needed to achieve it.

#3 - Facilitate Peer Coaching Circles

Create small peer coaching groups where leaders can share experiences, challenges, and successes in a structured format. By exchanging feedback and strategies in a supportive environment, leaders can gain different perspectives and build confidence in their abilities.

#4 - Strength-Based Assessment With Action Plans

Remember we said self-awareness builds confidence? Well, using assessments such as the Strengths Deployment Inventory (SDI) can help leaders identify their natural talents. Follow up with actionable plans that encourage them to leverage these strengths in their leadership role, reinforcing confidence in their capabilities.

#5 - Simulated Crisis-Management Exercises

Organize role-playing scenarios where leaders must navigate hypothetical crises or conflicts. These simulations allow leaders to practice decision-making and problem-solving under pressure, which builds resilience and confidence in their ability to handle real-life challenges.

#6 - Confidence-Building Workshops With External Experts

Bring in external experts to conduct workshops focusing on specific skill gaps (growth mindset, decision-making, executive presence, public speaking, etc). These specialized sessions can provide leaders with practical tools and techniques to enhance their confidence through skills acquisition and practice.

#7 - Start A Leadership Book Club

Create a small group where leaders can read and discuss books on leadership styles, psychology, and even fiction with strong leadership themes. This interactive approach not only fosters learning but also allows leaders to articulate their thoughts and gain confidence through discussion and debate.

Can You Be Too Confident?

The short answer is yes. Too much confidence can be perceived as cockiness or arrogance. Instead of inspiring others to get on board with your vision, you end up alienating team members. Arrogant leaders are harder to trust and rally behind so it’s important to balance confidence with humility, sincerity, and authenticity.

THE OVERCONFIDENT LEADER...

Another client, K, had a different challenge. K was a rainmaker—exceptionally skilled at making deals and always confident in himself, but often at the expense of others. He was being considered for a promotion from sales into general management but struggled with collaboration. K didn’t see the value in sharing his expertise or building cross-functional relationships, and he believed only “A players” were worth his time. His confidence bordered on arrogance, which led to friction within his team.

When K received his 360 feedback, he was initially defensive and felt exposed by the constructive criticism from his bosses, who noted his lack of humility and teamwork. In our coaching sessions, we discussed how his behavior was affecting not only his team at work but also his relationships at home. Over the course of our coaching sessions, K saw how developing more humility and openness could enhance his impact and influence. We set up a plan for him to gradually test new behaviors, starting with small changes in how he interacted with his peers. K loved a challenge, and the positive feedback he received encouraged him to keep expanding his openness.

Confidence is a mix of decisiveness, composure, engagement, and authenticity. When a leader learns to embody these qualities and balance them with humility, they can create a magnetizing executive presence—the kind that inspires trust and loyalty, encourages collaboration and innovation, and ultimately strengthens teams and even organizations.

A coach can help you create a tailored plan to boost your confidence, give you a safe space to practice challenging conversations or high-stakes presentations, encourage reflection, self-awareness, and help you learn to leverage your strengths into an authentic personal leadership style.