Presence is one of those words that gets used and abused for many purposes. One of the most common is as a synonym for charisma, in the sense of attracting admiration or followership. (This is in itself a corruption – the roots of charisma lie in caring for others.)
In the context of a mature and effective coach or mentor, however, presence is a phenomenon that bridges awareness and connection at three levels. The first of these levels is self-awareness – being aware of our own values, motivations, patterns of thinking, and instinctive and unconscious reactions to internal and external stimuli. It also includes the capacity for self-compassion.
The second level is interpersonal. It is about awareness of client emotions and patterns of thinking and the ability to help the client build their own self-awareness. Intuition plays a significant role in the connections at this level, as does the ability to experience and use compassion (literally sharing their pain).
The third level is external. This is about systems awareness – seeing and helping the client see the systems that they influence and that influence them. It relates to identifying patterns in complexity and the opportunities that arise from those patterns.
By and large, coach education addresses these three levels of presence superficially, if at all. Our studies of coach maturity suggest that coaches achieve presence from their own, individual development efforts and experience, unrelated to competency frameworks or formal coach education. No-one can develop presence for you – you have to do it for yourself.
©️David Clutterbuck, 2025