How Can Leaders Actively Cultivate Presence?

In my experience, one of the most significant leadership challenges facing organisations today is the decline in shared understanding, presence, and quality of connection at work, particularly as the global empathy deficit continues to affect how we communicate and collaborate. I believe there has never been a greater need for empathy, listening, and open communication from leaders, especially given the growing financial and cultural impact of disengagement, yet I continue to see that empathy training and leadership development have not kept pace with this reality.

So often, leaders are physically present in meetings, whether in person or online, but they are not fully engaged with the people in front of them. They may hear what is being said, but they are not truly listening, and while they may deliver instruction clearly, meaningful communication is often missing. And more often than not, they aren’t even aware of this.

This gap leads to widespread disconnection, weaker employee engagement, and a decline in workplace culture, particularly in virtual and hybrid environments where presence must be more intentional. Leadership presence is not about visibility, but about attention. When leaders are mentally and emotionally present, listening to understand rather than listening to respond, they create a level of connection that teams can sense. They see engagement rise by 68% and output goes up by 34% (Gallup 2025). I have seen, all over the world time and again, that this type of empathetic leadership strengthens alignment, improves decision making, reduces unnecessary risk, and supports more consistent performance, even when teams are not physically together. 

Reflecting honestly on how often we truly listen to those around us is an important starting point. After all, assumption is the enemy to all performance. The most effective leaders use their presence deliberately, recognising that how they show up in conversations directly influences trust, engagement, and motivation. It has to start with intention. This principle sits at the heart of Listening-Led Leadership, where listening is treated as a core leadership capability rather than a passive behaviour.

As remote and hybrid working continue to shape modern workplaces, sustained success depends on a leader’s ability to cultivate presence across both physical and virtual settings. Success looks like leaders being able to:

• lead with curiosity 
• ask thoughtful and frequent questions
• enquire more than instruct
• Listen more than they speak
• Keeping consistent eye contact and open body language, even through a screen. 

These behaviours may appear simple, but when practised consistently they significantly strengthen empathetic leadership, employee engagement, and connection at work. After all, simple doesn’t always mean easy!

Check out other article: How Does Empathetic Leadership Differ From Traditional Leadership Styles?
 

About Mimi Nicklin:

Mimi Nicklin is a bestselling author and the founder of Empathy Everywhere. As the world’s leading voice on Listening-Led Leadership, she has reached over 4M+ people by reframing empathy as a neuro-driven "hard skill" for the AI era. On a mission to reconnect one million professionals by 2028, Mimi works with global organizations to turn human connection into a measurable competitive advantage.

Connect: Email to Mimi | www.empathyeverywhere.co