Harnessing the Power of Presence in Leadership - Within the New Matrix
- WE@WORK
- Apr 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 29
Leadership presence is no longer a foreign concept in modern management, but truly understanding and practicing it remains a major challenge. This quarter, WEatwork.co has introduced the Leadership Presence Matrix – a breakthrough tool designed to help leaders reflect on themselves and guide their teams further and stronger.
To shed light on the deeper meaning behind this Matrix, Ms. Dang Thi Hai Ha, human capital strategist and co-founder of WEatwork.co, recently shared her candid insights in an interview with TheLeader.vn (read the original article here).
Leadership Power - When “Support” Turns into a “Burden”
One of Ms. Ha’s standout messages is: "Without the right presence, a leader can easily become a burden rather than a support to their team."
In a constantly shifting world, leaders who overly control or retreat too far under the name of “empowerment” risk leaving their teams lost and demotivated. WEatwork.co emphasizes that presence – being present in the right way, at the right time, and in the right role – is the key to sustaining motivation, creativity, and resilience across the organization.
The New Matrix: A Reflective Mirror on Leadership Presence
The Leadership Presence Matrix acts as a "mirror" reflecting four common leadership states – a framework that helps leaders assess how they show up for their teams, especially in today’s volatile environment. Built on two axes — Control versus Empowerment, and Absence versus Support — the Matrix identifies four leadership styles, each with distinct blockers, enablers, and cultural implications, particularly for Vietnamese organizations:
The "Absent" style reflects rigid, top-down management, leading to slow adaptation despite short-term stability.
The "Silent Supporter" empowers teams but risks being misinterpreted due to Vietnam’s cultural emphasis on humility and indirect communication.
The "Controlling Helper" style, common in fast-growing and family businesses, delivers short-term efficiency but fosters dependency and leadership burnout.
The "Present Leader" style — empowering while providing active support — is seen as the most effective in building resilient, high-performing teams, particularly appealing to the younger workforce seeking autonomy and emotional connection.
What’s refreshing about the Matrix is that no state is inherently good or bad – success lies in the leader’s ability to read the context, align with the goal, and flex accordingly.
Leadership Presence: Powering the mindset
Ms. Ha emphasizes: "Presence does not start with action; it starts with awareness."
Leaders must cultivate a continuous learning mindset, daring to self-reflect, rather than simply applying external techniques. Only then can strategies for team development become truly sustainable and inspiring.
Conclusion
At WEatwork.co, we believe that in today’s world, a great leader is not someone who "does it all," but someone who masters the art of presence – to unleash the full potential of individuals and organizations alike.
👉 Discover more about the Leadership Presence Matrix and how to apply it to your team at WEatwork.co👉 Or contact us for an in-depth coaching experience on "Leadership Presence."
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Weatwork.co is Vietnam's pioneering platform for aligning goals and teams.
Our products are uniquely tailored to fit Vietnamese and Asian work cultures, transforming individual and team ideas into impactful, organization-wide actions through lean thinking, design thinking, infographics, animated videos, and comics.
Our mission extends to redefining organizational and people development models in Vietnam and globally, aiming to prepare purpose-driven leaders and foster people-centric organizations in an ever-evolving business landscape.
Contact us at support@weatwork.co & +84888673222
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