Executive Presence Coaching Services Measured by the People Who Gave the Feedback
For the high-potential leader who keeps hearing “you don’t show up like a leader”, and for the boss or HR leader sponsoring the change. Twelve weeks of one-to-one coaching with Cherie Silas, an ICF Master Certified Coach. The program measures how colleagues experience the leader at the start, and asks the same people again at the end.
“You Don’t Show Up Like a Leader”
The leader is usually someone the organization rates highly: smart, productive, the person who gets the failing project working again. Then another promotion conversation ends with the same line, and nobody can say what to do about it. What got them here has become the problem. In Cherie’s experience, the feedback usually describes one of three patterns.
Down in the Weeds
They give the wrong level of detail, report how much got done and solve problems their team should own. Senior colleagues see an excellent director, not someone working at the next level.
Fighting for the Idea to Win
They argue the point, talk over people and hear every concern as an obstacle. Colleagues stop raising concerns in the room and start working around them.
Running a Department, Not the Company
They compete with peers and judge success by their own team’s results. The next level is judged by how the whole business does, and by who the leader helps succeed.
Twelve Weeks, Measured at Both Ends
One leader, one coach, one sponsor. Cherie Silas coaches the leader one-to-one. The boss or HR leader who sponsors the program agrees the goals at the start and sees the before-and-after at the end.
Week 1
Baseline
The Genos emotional intelligence assessment and a debrief.
Weeks 1–2
Stakeholder Interviews
Eight confidential interviews, written up as themes.
Week 2
Sponsor Session
Agree what presence means here and what progress looks like.
Sponsor: the first three-way session
Week 3
Three Gaps Readout
The leading gap and a written development plan.
Sponsor: receives the written development plan
Weeks 3–12
Coaching
Seven 60-minute one-to-one sessions.
Week 12
Re-measure
Four stakeholders again and a closing sponsor session.
Sponsor: the closing session and the before-and-after summary
What the leader does each week
Seven 60-minute coaching sessions run about every two weeks through week 12, when four of the original stakeholders are interviewed again. The interviews show which gap leads, and the coaching follows that one.
What the leader says in coaching sessions stays private.
What the sponsor sees
The development plan, the two three-way sessions and the before-and-after summary. What the leader says in coaching sessions stays between the leader and Cherie.
Who pays. Usually the organization pays, through the leader’s manager or an HR development budget. We can work with invoices, purchase orders and phased billing.
How a program starts. With a consultation, booked at the end of this page, for the sponsor, the leader or both. If the program fits, the sponsor receives a written proposal with the scope and the fee before anything begins. We don’t publish a price list.
What the Program Measures: The Three Gaps Model
| Gap | What it looks like | What the coaching does |
|---|---|---|
| Expression Gap | Others can’t see the leader’s thinking. | The coaching is practice: making the reasoning visible in the room. |
| Authority Gap | The leader doesn’t yet use the authority the role gives them. | The coaching works on how they see the role. |
| Context Gap | The leader’s style doesn’t fit this organization’s culture. | The coaching works with the sponsor on the system. |
Which Gap Leads. Most leaders show a mix. The interviews show which gap leads, and the coaching follows that one.
Before You Start
Want a first read before anyone talks to a coach?
The free Three Gaps check takes about three minutes. Nine statements, answered for how the leader acts under pressure, and it names the gap most likely behind the feedback.
Take the Free Three Gaps CheckFind out what your colleagues actually see
Executive Presence Assessment: The Colleague Check
$149 one time, the day-90 re-check included
- Your 18 questions. You answer the full Three Gaps profile about how you lead.
- 3–5 colleagues. Your boss, peers and direct reports answer the same 18 questions, anonymously.
- The gap report. Each gap as you see it beside how colleagues see it, with one practice per gap.
- A note for your boss. One page: the leading gap, what will change, and what the 12 weeks would measure.
- The day-90 re-check. The same colleagues answer again, so you see before and after.
The receipt says “Executive presence assessment”, so your boss’s card or an expense claim can pay. Answers show only once at least three colleagues are in.
Or start free: Three Gaps check, 3 minutes
Cherie Silas Has Heard This Feedback About Herself
Cherie is an ICF Master Certified Coach with more than 5,000 coaching hours. Before coaching she spent 15 years leading organizations, from director to CEO. She runs every executive presence program herself.
Cherie Silas
Cherie works with senior managers and directors whose results are not in question and whose next promotion keeps stalling. Her readouts are direct: she tells leaders what their colleagues see, in plain words.
Full profileFired Instead of Promoted
“I was doing the work of four people and I couldn’t get promoted.”
Every failing project landed on her desk because she could make it work. She was running her own department brilliantly and doing what a director does, not what a vice president does.
She got fired instead of promoted. Then she took a hard look at herself, worked out what the problem really was, and changed how she worked with people.
Tandem Coaching Partners is a woman-owned firm. For coaching beyond presence, from new-role transitions to senior team dynamics, see our executive coaching for senior leaders.
Is the Executive Presence Program a Fit?
Who the program is for
- Leaders who have been told they need “more presence” without being told what that means.
- Newly promoted leaders whose new peers are still forming a view of them.
- High-potential leaders ahead of a promotion decision, usually sponsored by their manager or HR.
Who the program is not for
- A leader who wants to be told they are right.
- A leader who is not ready to hear that the gap is theirs to close.
- A leader who wants to hear that everyone else is the problem.
Cherie is direct by design. She will not soften the readout, and the program only works when the leader is ready to change what they do.
Take the Free Three Gaps CheckHow to Choose Executive Presence Training
A leader has received feedback about presence and someone has to pick a program. Executive presence is a gap in how colleagues see a leader, not a personality trait, so what executive presence is decides what will fix it. Name the gap first, then match the format to the gap, not the budget to the brand.
The Four Formats of Executive Presence Training Programs
| Format | Length | Individual feedback | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coaching-embedded programs | Several months | An assessment of the individual leader, then coaching | Measuring whether colleagues see a change |
| University certificate programs | Several weeks online or a few days in person | Rarely | Foundational awareness, with institutional credibility |
| Corporate workshops | One to three days, for a group | Cannot tell each leader which gap colleagues see | A shared vocabulary for a leadership team |
| Online self-paced courses | Self-paced | None | Broad awareness, at the lowest cost |
What does each format do well, and where does it stop?
Coaching-embedded programs start with an assessment of the individual leader, then coach that leader over several months, sometimes alongside group sessions. They cost the most per person and are the only format that can measure whether colleagues see a change. The program on this page is one: one-to-one, twelve weeks, measured at both ends.
University certificate programs run several weeks online or a few days in person. They carry institutional credibility and build foundational awareness, but they rarely include individual assessment, one-to-one coaching or a later check on behavior.
Corporate workshops run one to three days for a group, often adapted to the organization. They give a leadership team a shared vocabulary efficiently. Two days cannot tell each leader which gap their colleagues are seeing.
Online self-paced courses give conceptual exposure at scale and cost the least. There is no individual feedback, accountability or measurement, so they suit broad awareness, not one leader’s specific gap.
Executive Presence Training vs. Coaching: Match the Format to the Gap
| Gap | Training works? | Coaching works? |
|---|---|---|
| Expression gap | Yes: the need is a skill, narrating the reasoning behind decisions | Yes, but months of coaching over-serve this gap |
| Authority gap | Rarely | Yes: behavior change in real situations over months |
| Context gap | No: the gap sits between the leader and the culture | Yes, working with the sponsor on the system |
Why does each gap need a different format?
Expression gaps occur when a leader thinks deeply but shows little, so the team experiences distance where the leader feels engaged. This responds well to training, because the need is a skill: narrating the reasoning behind decisions in real time.
Authority gaps occur when a leader is still proving their value instead of using the authority of the role. They over-prepare, over-explain and add to every conversation. Training rarely changes this. It takes behavior change in real situations over months, which is where working with an executive presence coach does what a workshop cannot.
Context gaps occur when the leader’s style does not fit what this organization calls “executive”. The leader may have been effective somewhere else. Training cannot close it, because the gap sits between the leader and the culture. Sometimes the right next step includes a conversation with HR about which leadership styles the organization keeps screening out.
Many organizations combine both: training for shared vocabulary across a group, coaching for the individual leader whose feedback names a specific gap. A leader with an expression gap who gets months of coaching is over-served. A leader with a context gap who gets a workshop is under-served.
Coaching for presence works from what colleagues and the organization say, not only from the leader’s own goals, which is what executive coaching involves at its best. Self-directed work on developing executive presence can supplement either route, but it rarely replaces the feedback that both provide.
How to Evaluate an Executive Presence Program
- Facilitator credentials. The person leading the program matters more than the institution hosting it.
- Measurement. Most programs measure participant satisfaction or knowledge, the first two levels of the Kirkpatrick model.
- Customization. One curriculum for every participant teaches a general model.
- Follow-through. A workshop creates awareness and early motivation.
- Group size and mix. One facilitator with 50 participants cannot give individual feedback.
What should you look for under each of the five?
Facilitator credentials. Look for coaching credentials (ICF PCC or MCC), experience with senior leaders and familiarity with behavioral assessments.
Measurement. Ask whether they measure behavior: do colleagues see a difference months later? A framework such as Sylvia Ann Hewlett’s model of executive presence defines the target, but without behavioral measurement it stays theory.
Customization. A program that starts with an executive presence assessment of each leader can work on the behaviors that leader needs to change.
Follow-through. Without practice and feedback afterwards, most people drift back to old habits within weeks. Ask what happens after the last session.
Group size and mix. Senior leaders also will not try unfamiliar behavior in front of people they manage.
The most expensive mistake
Applying generic content to a diagnosed gap. A leader flagged for “lacking presence” does not need the same program as a high-potential director preparing for a future role. The feedback may use the same words. The gap underneath is different.
Ten Questions to Ask Before You Buy
These questions separate programs that change behavior from programs that collect good reviews.
Ask Every Provider
Diagnosis
- How do you diagnose each participant’s presence gap before the program begins?
- Which instruments inform the design: feedback from colleagues, emotional intelligence measures, behavioral profiles, stakeholder interviews?
Measurement
- How do you measure behavior change after the program, beyond a satisfaction survey?
- Can you share anonymized outcome data from earlier participants?
Customization
- How is the content adapted to each participant’s gap?
- How many participants does each facilitator work with?
- How much experience do your facilitators have with senior leaders?
Follow-through
- What happens after the last session?
- How does the practice carry over into real meetings?
- When should colleagues notice a change? Honest providers say weeks for behavior and months for perception.
How this program answers them
Diagnosis comes from the Genos assessment and eight stakeholder interviews. Measurement is four of the same colleagues interviewed again in week 12. The coaching is one-to-one and follows the leader’s leading gap, and the sponsor closes the program with a three-way session. See the twelve weeks, or book a consultation below.
Executive Presence Coaching: Questions Sponsors Ask
What is executive presence training?
Executive presence training develops how a leader comes across to the people they work with: whether colleagues see someone ready for the next level. Most programs teach a group a general model of presence. This program works with one leader at a time, starting from what that leader’s colleagues actually said, and checks with the same colleagues at the end whether they see a difference.
What is the difference between executive presence training and coaching?
Training teaches frameworks and techniques to groups and builds a shared vocabulary. Coaching finds one leader’s specific gap and works on it through the situations the leader is facing at work. Training suits skill-level development. Coaching is needed when the gap is about authority or fit with the organization rather than missing knowledge. This program is coaching built around a measured start and finish. For one-to-one coaching without the program structure, see executive presence coaching.
How long is the program?
Twelve weeks. Weeks 1 and 2 measure: the Genos assessment, eight stakeholder interviews and the first sponsor session. Week 3 is the Three Gaps readout and the written development plan. Seven 60-minute coaching sessions run about every two weeks through week 12, when four of the original stakeholders are interviewed again. See the full twelve weeks.
Who is the program for?
Leaders who have been told they need “more presence” without being told what that means. Newly promoted leaders whose new peers are still forming a view of them. High-potential leaders ahead of a promotion decision, usually sponsored by their manager or HR. Most are senior managers and directors with strong results.
It is not for a leader who wants to hear that everyone else is the problem.
Who pays for the program, and what does the sponsor see?
Usually the organization pays, through the leader’s manager or an HR development budget. The sponsor joins two three-way sessions, one at the start and one at the end, and receives the written development plan and the before-and-after summary. What the leader says in coaching sessions stays private.
How much does the executive presence program cost?
We don’t publish a price list. The fee depends mainly on the leader’s level. After a consultation, the sponsor receives a written proposal with the scope and the fee, and nothing starts until it is agreed. We can work with invoices, purchase orders and phased billing.
Which assessments does the program use?
The Genos emotional intelligence assessment, with a debrief. Where an organization already uses ProfileXT, it can replace Genos. The main measure is the stakeholder interviews: eight at the start, with the leader’s manager, peers and direct reports, and four of the same people again in week 12. The themes are written up in their own words.
Can executive presence be learned through training alone?
Sometimes. When the gap is expression, and colleagues simply can’t see the leader’s thinking, structured practice can close it. When the gap is authority or context, a workshop rarely changes it, because the work happens in real meetings over months. Not sure which gap leads? The free Three Gaps check gives a first read in about three minutes.
Start the 12-Week Program
For sponsors and leaders who are ready to start. In a consultation with Cherie we talk through the feedback, check that the program fits, and agree who should be involved. If it fits, the sponsor receives a written proposal.
Free consultation · Written proposal before anything starts
Buying for an organization or agency?
We’re set up for it. Tandem Coaching Partners is SAM-registered. We work with invoices raised before the program starts, purchase orders, Government Purchase Cards and phased invoicing where a budget has a cap.
Our UEI, CAGE code, NAICS and PSC codes are on our Capability Statement. Send procurement paperwork to info@tandemcoach.co.