I spent a day this week teaching senior leaders from across the world about gravitas. The most common reaction from delegates at the start was, "I'm not sure this can be taught." But by the end of the day, most of them had changed their minds.

Let me try to define it briefly, without going down a rabbit hole. The Cambridge Dictionary offers something that comes close-ish to the message we were trying to convey: seriousness and importance of manner, causing feelings of respect and trust in others.

The word comes from the Latin and the Romans saw it as an essential quality that every man in authority should possess. These days, we encourage women to have it too, which seems fitting to point out on International Women's Day!

But it's more than seriousness and importance of manner - this is why it's so hard to define. Those who have gravitas can also be light and playful with it - think of a favourite comedian who holds a room so well you could hear a pin drop. The importance of their manner, in most cases, is to have you trust them enough to let go and laugh.

So, hard to define it may be. But hard to possess? Not necessarily.

Because gravitas is a skill like any other.

The people we see around us who seem to have it innately may certainly have a more natural leaning towards the strengths that allow them to hold a room or influence others. They may even have been born into a world that facilitated the development of such strengths from a younger age because of family ties or the school they went to.

And whilst that may be true for some, it doesn't close the door for others.

Working on gravitas is surprisingly practical. Some things worth exploring:

🟠 Posture and breathing - the physical foundations of presence

🟠 Eye contact - ask yourself whether you're using it to seek approval, to make connection, or to be direct. Each sends a completely different message.

🟠 Voice - volume, pace and tone all send signals before your words even land

🟠 How you take up space in a room - leaning in, leaning back, stillness

Changing how we interact with others in these ways can improve our chances of having people take us and our messages more seriously or even get promoted.

And it might not be that you want to develop gravitas to get to the next role - there are all sorts of reasons why learning this wonderful skill set will help you in your professional life right now and possibly even in the personal too! Any dog owners out there will understand that the one the dog listens to most is the one with the most gravitas…

So here's my question for you: where in your life are you not quite being taken as seriously as you'd like? Where would you like to be listened to a little more? And what one small thing could you change this week about how you show up?

See you soon,

Sarah

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I'm working with corporate clients on talent development and retention in 2026. If you're in a role where you support the development of others, you’re always welcome to reach out for a conversation - be that for group coaching on the Core Career Dials, training your managers on how to have excellent career development conversations, or something more bespoke.