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Q: Please say a few words about professional presence. I am a partner at my firm, and although I’ve been trying to teach my associates about it for years, some still don’t have a clue as to what it is or how to embody it. Can you help me out?
A: Professional presence is a great topic.
In a world in which each of us must work harder than ever to distinguish ourselves from the pack, whether in law school or the marketplace, professional presence is often the deciding factor as to whether or not we get the job, promotion, or client. As you mentioned, professional presence is an intangible, and can often be elusive, no matter how badly someone may want to understand or possess it.
Professional presence is actually a combination of a number of qualities and behaviors, and is an asset that is critical to success in any arena of business including the practice of law. In their book, Professional Presence (Adams Media, 2000), Susan Bixler and Lisa Scherrer Dugan assert that confidence, capability and credibility are the building blocks of professional presence. We would add that those building blocks, along with excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills, are also key to maintaining professional presence once it’s established. We encourage you to work with your associates to help them develop these traits and skills.
There’s a paradoxical component to professional presence. Someone can be highly confident, capable, and creditable—and a great communicator—yet still not be thought of as having professional presence. In these cases, two key qualities are often lacking: authenticity and respect of others. Without these, you can come across as arrogant, insecure and untrustworthy, which would certainly undermine your desire to be seen as a professional.
As a partner, you can help your associates in four ways. First, continue to encourage them to understand and embrace the importance of professional presence. Second, help them build confidence, capability and creditability by providing them with challenging work assignments and timely, concrete feedback. Third, be sure that they have the opportunity to master oral and written communication skills; and finally, help them get to know themselves and encourage them to feel comfortable respectfully expressing themselves with you and with clients.
