The Connection Between Trust, Executive Presence, and Employee Engagement
A leader sits in your office, arms crossed, leaning back. They say they’re open to feedback. But their body language says otherwise. Do you call it out?
Executive coach Sunni Smith does.
Sunni came to executive coaching through an unexpected conversation. With a Master’s in Counseling and Rehabilitation and two law degrees, she was working on the West Coast when she met a lawyer-turned-coach. After hearing what the coach did, Sunni had a realization: “I’ve been doing that all my life.”
She transitioned from law to coaching after realizing she wanted to deal one-on-one with clients in “a way that was progressive and growth-oriented” and that helped people solve their communication issues.
Sunni’s coaching philosophy emphasizes the humanistic side of leadership, focusing on helping executives tap into their existing power (or, “in-powering” executives, as she calls it) and building trust.
Executive Coaching: a ‘Mirror’ for Self Reflection
Sunni’s role, as an executive coach, is to help nurture growth and curiosity, and support development. She adds, “As a coach, you’re holding up a mirror to your client and allowing them to see themself beyond the surface reflection.” This reflection reveals patterns and blind spots that may be holding them back and ‘in-powers’ them to make necessary behavior shifts.
She recalls working with a military client who sat with his arms crossed, leaning back. When she pointed out his closed-off posture, he insisted it was just ‘how he sat’ – it meant nothing. Through deeper conversation, they explored how he’d learned to be non-reactive in the military.
She asked: what behaviors do you think helped you in the military that you may need to unlearn now? He soon saw his comfortable stance might be seen by others as ‘closed-off’ and began making conscious changes to appear more open and receptive.
When Presence Fails, Employee Engagement Suffers
When an organization struggles with employee engagement, Sunni looks at how leaders show up, how they communicate, and how they build trust. “Employee engagement is largely dependent on the executive’s presence,” she explains.
Sunni ties executive presence to the distinction between responsibility and accountability. She notes, “You can be responsible without being truly engaged.” But when leaders are accountable to themselves and their organizational values, they model that for their teams. People see an involved leader and stop saying “that’s not my job” and start stepping outside their silos.
Trust is the foundation for executive presence and accountability. Sunni teaches leaders the T-R-U-S-T framework (created by Judith E. Glaser):
- Transparency in communication
- Relationship-building beyond transactional interactions
- Understanding of how individual actions affect the team
- Shared success that recognizes collective achievement
- Telling the raw truth
“If you can honor those things, that’s what leadership is all about.”
Working on a team coaching engagement with a President of an organization with a low trust level, Sunni encouraged them to run an open questionnaire for their top 20 executives. The president wasn’t an open person. They were worried that the questionnaire would become “an avenue for complaints.” It didn’t.
Sunni recorded each answer and compiled a report. When the executives saw the answers, they felt heard. Instead of airing grievances, they moved directly to change, making suggestions for how things could be handled differently. Sunni reflects, “Employees need a voice in decision making. Empathy is a missing gap in executive management … it’s often the reason that people are not engaged at work.”
Using Experiential Techniques to Draw Out Leadership Insights
A unique aspect of Sunni’s coaching style is how she incorporates experiential and arts-based learning into her work with leaders. In one session, at a retreat for a 30-person legal department, she tasked the leaders with replicating a drawing of an inverted object. They had five minutes.
Many participants surprised themselves with how well they had done. But the real insights came from how they approached drawing the object.
One lawyer made a confession. He had turned the drawing the right side up. He explained, “I had to do that… what struck me is that people tell me I’m a micromanager, and I didn’t believe that. But I’m beginning to understand that maybe they’re right.”
Others tackled the drawing in pieces, breaking it into manageable sections. Sunni posed the question: “What does your drawing process tell you about your management approach to problem solving?”
About Sunni Smith
Sunni Smith (DeBorah Smith) is an executive and leadership coach and coach supervisor. With a background in counseling, law, and transformation, she helps senior leaders navigate change, build presence, and lead with accountability.
She’s certified in coaching, supervision, and arts-based experiential learning. Her work is rooted in reflection, supervision, and the belief that the power is already in you. Coaching just helps you see that power, align it with your goals, and nurture it.
