In this episode of Collaborative Culture, Dr. Kristine Gentry and Monica Smith unpack the complicated topic of executive presence.

They begin with an important truth: executive presence can be a loaded term. In many workplaces, it has been used to reinforce narrow ideas of leadership tied to gender, race, class, accent, age, and personality. But when approached thoughtfully, it can also describe a practical set of skills that help people communicate clearly, lead effectively, and build trust without losing who they are.

Monica shares how she helps leaders strengthen executive presence through diagnostics, coaching, practice, and measurable outcomes. Kristine brings in the culture lens, exploring how unwritten rules, bias, and organizational norms shape whose leadership gets recognized and rewarded.

Together, they discuss how to build executive presence in a way that is authentic, strategic, and culturally aware, while also challenging systems that confuse sameness with leadership.

Show notes

What does executive presence actually mean, and who gets to define it?

In Episode 19 of Collaborative Culture, Kristine and Monica take on a term that gets used constantly in workplaces but is rarely unpacked with enough honesty. They explore how executive presence can function as a gatekeeping tool when it is based on stereotypes, and how it can also be reframed as a set of learnable skills rooted in clarity, trust, adaptability, and self-awareness.

Monica breaks down her framework for coaching executive presence, including:

• diagnosing where someone feels less effective or confident
• identifying patterns in feedback and perception
• building a practical development plan
• practicing through simulations, role play, and scenario work
• measuring success based on real outcomes, not vague impressions

Kristine adds the anthropological and culture perspective, emphasizing that executive presence does not exist in a vacuum. It is shaped by workplace norms, unwritten rules, bias, and systems that reward certain behaviors while dismissing others.

This episode also explores:

• why executive presence should not mean performing a corporate personality
• how unconscious bias affects perceptions of leadership
• the difference between meaningful feedback and stereotype-based criticism
• how to think about authenticity, conformity, and workplace strategy
• why organizations need to define leadership expectations in behaviors, not vibes
• how individuals can build range and adaptability without abandoning themselves

If you have ever been told you need more executive presence, or if you have ever wondered whether that feedback was really about performance or simply about fit, this conversation will give you a more thoughtful way to think about it.

Thanks for Listening!

We’d love to hear from you.

Kristine Gentry, PhD

[email protected]

🌐 www.culturegrove.com

🔗 LinkedIn: Kristine McKenzie Gentry

Monica M. Smith

[email protected]

🌐 www.tradewindscareerconsulting.com

🔗 LinkedIn: Monica Mary Smith

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