Helping businesses attract and retain diverse talent
Helping businesses attract and retain diverse talent
Leadership often conjures images of authority, command, and influence. We’re sometimes taught early on that to lead is to hold power: power over decisions, power over people, power over outcomes. But in my years of working with, mentoring, and walking alongside leaders across healthcare and beyond, I’ve come to recognise a deeper truth: true leadership is not about power. It’s about presence.
The distinction between power and presence may sound subtle, but it’s profound. Power can be assigned. Presence must be earned. Power may be situational. Presence is relational. Power walks into the room and expects to be heard. Presence enters and people choose to listen.
It’s easy to assume we need to project power to lead effectively. After all, much of the world still measures leadership by volume: by who speaks loudest, commands the most attention, or dominates the space. But this model is incomplete and often ineffective. What really creates a lasting impact and shapes people and places, is not the kind of power that controls. It’s the kind of presence that transforms.
Presence is not simply being there. It’s how you are there. It’s the energy you bring, the attentiveness you offer, the space you hold. Leaders with presence don’t need to speak over others to be heard. They don’t need to posture or prove themselves. Their impact comes from their authenticity, being grounded, and the sense of safety and clarity they create for others.
I have been in rooms where someone speaks very little, but their presence changes the entire dynamic. People feel more honest, more reflective, and more seen. That’s presence. I’ve also been in rooms where someone with great positional power leaves others feeling diminished, invisible, or dismissed. That’s power and control without presence.
Presence requires emotional intelligence. It asks that we tune into the needs, energies, and dynamics around us – not to manipulate, but to support. It is an act of service. When you bring presence into a room, you’re not just bringing yourself; you’re also bringing your full attention. You’re bringing intention. You’re bringing care. You’re bringing the capacity to listen deeply and act wisely.
We have all witnessed or experienced leaders who carry titles but not trust. Their words may hold weight, but their impact rarely lasts. Why? Because people don’t remember what you said nearly as much as they remember how you made them feel.
Power without presence can generate compliance. But it rarely builds commitment. It might get short-term results. But it doesn’t inspire growth, creativity, or loyalty. And in healthcare, where human connection is at the heart of everything we do, that distinction is critical.
Presence invites people in. Power often keeps them at a distance.
Presence is often invisible to those who aren’t looking for it. It’s in the way a leader holds silence instead of rushing to fill it. It’s in the way they give credit rather than claim it. It’s in the courage to show vulnerability without losing clarity. Presence doesn’t always win awards or headlines, but it shapes culture, trust, and emotional safety more than any policy or plan.
In nursing, I see presence every day. In the way, a nurse crouches beside a bed and listens without distraction. In the way a team leader calms chaos without raising their voice. In the way a matron mentors through encouragement, not fear. These are not acts of traditional power. They are demonstrations of profound presence, and they lead in ways that matter.
None of this is to say that power is inherently wrong. I believe we need more leaders – especially women, nurses, and people of colour – to claim and hold power. But we must redefine what power looks like. The most impactful leaders I’ve known do not wield power like a sword. They channel it like a current. It’s something steady, quiet, and deeply felt.
In my own leadership journey, I have often found myself navigating rooms where I was not expected to lead, not expected to speak, not expected to influence. And in those moments, I learned that my presence, my voice, my values, and my integrity were their own kind of power. Not because it controlled the space, but because it helped reshape it.
Presence invites people to see beyond roles and hierarchies. It calls forth the humanity in leadership. And when power is rooted in presence, it becomes something else entirely: purposeful, inclusive, enduring.
Today’s leadership landscape is noisy. Social media, 24-hour news cycles, and performance-driven metrics, all shout for attention. But presence doesn’t shout. Presence steadies. It holds. It witnesses. And that kind of leadership is what so many people are craving – especially in the wake of crisis, uncertainty, and fatigue.
Whether you’re leading a ward, a classroom, a boardroom, or a community initiative, ask yourself: what am I truly bringing to the room? Am I leading with presence, or performing power? Am I creating space for others to grow, or filling the space to be seen?
We need to build leadership cultures where presence is valued as much as position. Where stillness is recognised as strength. Where influence isn’t measured by decibels but by depth.
Presence is not a personality trait. It’s a practice. And like any practice, it requires awareness and intention. Here are a few simple reflections for those who wish to cultivate more presence in their leadership:
Leadership is not about filling the room. It’s about elevating it.
You don’t have to be the loudest to be the most heard. You don’t have to hold the highest rank to lead with the deepest impact. What you bring to the room – your presence, your empathy, your steadiness – may be the very thing that gives others permission to lead in their own way.
So the next time you walk into a space, ask yourself: Am I bringing power? Or am I bringing presence?
Better still – what if you brought both?