The Leadership Move That Shifts Your Team's Presence
Welcome back to your Peak of the Week, where we explore what it means to live aligned, lead authentically, and build a life that feels as good as it looks.
This Week →
Why your team's confidence issues are signals about the environment you're creating
How people who go smaller lose their voice and people who go bigger lose their impact
The 5-minute presence debrief that turns individual struggles into team-wide growth
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Presence isn't just an individual skill—it's shaped by the environment you create.
WHAT I'M NOTICING
You've probably seen this happen before:
A team finishes a client call. The leader asks, "How did that go?" and gets a chorus of "good" and "fine."
But in that same meeting, someone had a point they wanted to make and didn't. Someone else filled every silence. And the client walked away without the clarity they actually came for.
The leader genuinely wants their team to show up with a confident presence. But wanting it isn't the same as creating the conditions that make it possible.
This is a common pattern I’ve seen and heard from the leaders who have confided in me throughout my time as an executive recruiter. Leaders who want their teams to step up, speak up, and show confident presence…but need to intentionally create the environment that makes that possible.
You can't tell someone to "be more confident" and it magically appears. Confidence isn't just a skill. It's shaped by the environment you create as a leader.
If you have people going smaller than the moment needs ( aka shrinking their contributions, apologizing before they speak, waiting for the "right moment ) that's not a their pattern. That's a signal about the space you're creating.
You create the space.
And you have to own that.
If you have people going bigger…you know, dominating conversations, over-explaining, “proving” instead of partnering—that's also feedback about what's being rewarded or tolerated in that room.
And do you have control over that one too?
WHAT IF?
What if your team's presence issues aren't actually about their confidence at all??? What if instead it’s about the conditions you're creating?
When you don't actively create space for people who go smaller, you lose their best thinking. They have the insight, but they're reading the room as "not safe to contribute yet," so they stay quiet. They don’t speak up. You miss their value. They believe their perspective doesn't matter.
And when you don't coach people who go bigger into more effective presence, they become the person everyone tunes out. They mean well, but their urgency or over-explaining trains the team to stop listening. Their impact shrinks even as they fill more space.
In both cases, this is the opportunity.
What if presence became a shared responsibility, something you develop together rather than something individuals figure out alone?
For people who go smaller, your role is to create the space and support that helps them take up the room they deserve. Sometimes that looks like inviting them to speak by name. Sometimes it's helping them prepare a headline beforehand so they can contribute with clarity and confidence.
For people who go bigger, your role is to guide them into presence that serves them. That might mean coaching on pacing, how to share space, or leading with curiosity instead of certainty.
The more you create conditions where everyone can contribute at their best, the stronger your team becomes.
MICRO-MOVES
This week, try this practice with your team:
After your next client call or important meeting, run a 5-minute presence debrief. Not just "how did it go?", but specifically:
"Where did we show up with confident presence? Where did we go smaller or bigger than the moment needed?"
Then, coach in real time:
For someone who went smaller, ask: "What would it have looked like to lead with your headline? What support would have helped you jump in sooner?" Then create that condition next time—invite them by name, give them a heads-up about when you'll ask for their perspective.
For someone who went bigger, ask: "What would it have looked like to pause and ask a clarifying question first? How could slowing down by 10% have strengthened your point?" Then reinforce that in the next meeting….model curiosity, create space for them to practice partnership.
Finally, make this a practice, not a one-time conversation. Presence shifts when you build the muscle together. A 5-minute debrief after every key meeting becomes the thing that elevates how your entire team shows up.
That's it. One debrief. One week. Watch what shifts.
Because leadership isn't about making your team more confident. It's about creating the conditions where confidence becomes possible.
With deep belief in your magnificence,
Laura
Want to bring this work into your team? I teach my 4A's Framework (Awareness, Attitude, Action, Alignment) in workshops designed to help your leaders and team members elevate their presence and impact—because the investment in how your people show up becomes the thing that drives your results. [Contact Us to Learn More]