A few thoughts on presence

Many a client wishes to improve, or expand, their leadership presence. Perhaps their boss told them to work on this. Their ideas aren't coming across as clearly as they'd like. Or they don't fit into the typically outgoing, dominant, extroverted older white male leadership model and don't want to pretend to be someone they're not.

True story: no coach can give you more, better or different presence. It is, on the other hand, something you can develop. And you know it when you see it.

My best example of presence comes from someone I had the good fortune to meet in 2005: His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama. Our conversation was no more than a few seconds long. Yet in that time, leaning down to hear him, my hand in his, I felt like we were the only two people in the entire world. 

In short, I could see that he was truly, fully, wonderfully present during our brief encounter.

I believe presence starts with the quality of being present. I also believe we're more surrounded than ever with distractions that pull us away from this very thing.

What if we all took a few minutes a day to practice? Imagine...

• Contemplating the wonders of engineering and human effort that bring us running water, while we're washing the dishes.

• Focusing on, and enjoying the sensation of, our feet touching the ground while we walk down the block.

• Turning away from the browser tabs to pause for a slow, deliberate breath.

I feel more present just thinking about doing these things. How about you?