Personal Presence for Managers



Overview

This short course is for managers working in high-pressure environments who want to strengthen their leadership presence. It focuses on the practical cues that shape your impact in high-pressure situations: how you enter a room, how you hold yourself and how you respond when tension rises. You will learn to track these signals and use them to form a steady base for leadership in complex settings. 

You will explore how groups behave under strain. In high-pressure settings, some people freeze while others push too hard. You will learn how to read the temperature of a room, recognise tension early and guide discussion with clear, firm language. The course centres on building trust, managing power responsibly and keeping conversations productive when issues are sensitive or emotions run high. All activities link directly to real workplace situations so you can apply them to your leadership style. 

You will also examine how story shapes your sense of self in role. Through reflective work, you will identify the stories that shape your decisions and test alternatives that support more effective action. This provides a practical route to stronger managerial presence and more consistent judgement under pressure. 

The course suits professionals who want to lead with care and good judgement, giving you space to slow down and build leadership presence. You will leave with a clearer sense of self, a sharper story for your role and practical ways to strengthen trust as a leader.

Programme details

Day One 

Session 1 – Presence and the Work Role 
Leaders gain a clear sense of how presence shapes trust. We look at breath, stance, and small cues that guide how others read intent. Each task shows how a steady body and clear mind help staff take firm and fair action. 

Session 2 – Mood, Emotion, and the Zone for Sound Judgement 
Strong mood can choke thought. Sharp feeling in teams can block talk. We track signs of strain in self and in others. Participants learn how to keep a steady zone for choice. Paired tasks show how tone, pace, and pause cool heat in high stakes rooms. 

Session 3 – Voice, Pace, and the Roots of Gravitas 
Voice can lift trust or crush it. We work on tone, pace, and breath. We test ways to speak with calm weight in tight debate. Simple ‘drills’ show how small shifts in sound can change the course of a hard talk. 

Session 4 – Power, Group Life, and Safe Boundaries 
Teams, groups, committees and boards push, pull, and exert hidden power. Leaders need clear lines to keep work safe. We explore the dynamics of these groups and study space, gaze, and body cues that steer group life. Cases show how warm stance and firm limits cut risk and help teams stay steady. 

Day Two 

Session 5 – Story, Self, and Work Identity 
Each leader holds a story that shapes their thought and action. Some stories help. Some trap. Participants map these stories and devise and test new ones. Short tasks in quiet thought help them see how new stories can open fresh paths during times of tough change. 

Session 6 – Re-story Work and Clear Strategic Aim 
We shape new plot lines for key tasks. We draft short notes that link aim, value, and next step. Group work tests how these new plots bring more grip and less strain when the work gets hard. 

Session 7 – A Coach Approach for Day-to-Day Lead Work 
A coach stance builds skill and trust in teams. We learn how to ask clean, sharp questions that open thought with no push. Triad work shows how this stance helps us guide depth and keep talk honest. 

Session 8 – Anchor Plans for Ongoing Practice 
We draw the two days into a clear plan. Staff test slow thought, steady breath, and clean talk in live case scenes. Each person builds an anchor plan with steps they can use in the next week, month, and quarter. The aim is steady presence, fair mind, and real care in each task. 

Attending Your Course

Further details will be emailed to you two weeks ahead of your course, which will include registration information. 

If you have not received your joining instructions five working days before the course start date, please get in touch. 

In the meantime, you may wish to plan your travel: Travel information 

Certification

In order to be eligible for a certificate of attendance, you will need to attend the whole course. Participants who meet this criterion will be emailed after the end of the course with a link, and instructions on how to access their University of Oxford digital certificate.

The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate, as well as share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Standard Course Fee £1120.00

Payment

This course can be taken indivually, or as part of our Leadership Skills: Discount Registration Package (26-29 May 2026), at the discounted fee of £2,240 (a saving of £250)

Fees include course materials, tuition, refreshments and lunch. The price does not include accommodation.

All courses are VAT exempt.

Register immediately online 

Click the 'Book now' button on this webpage. Payment by credit or debit card is required.

Request an invoice

If you require an invoice for your company or organisation, please email us to request an online enrolment form.  Payment is then accepted online, by credit/debit card, or by bank transfer. 

Tutor

Dr Graham Wilson

Graham Wilson works where mind, image and work meet. He began his career in organisation development and change, across many sectors in the UK, Europe and Asia. This led to senior roles in leadership and culture, then to many years as an executive coach and confidant to senior executives.

He holds a PhD in behavioural science and later trained as a psychotherapist. These two strands shape his work with leaders and teams. He has led and shaped research on futures, risk, ethics and culture for boards, including UK Cabinet Office and ESRC-ACCA projects.

Graham has written more than fifteen books and many papers. His later work looks at the psychology of people, images and organisations, such as “Understanding Emotions”, “Beyond the Self”, and “Transformative Leadership”. For the last decade he has taught counselling, psychology and photography at Oxford University and other HE and FE institutions. His research tracks how leaders and groups make sense of work, and how images can prompt insight, voice and care in clinical, aid and corporate fields.

Application

If you would like to discuss your application or any part of the application process before applying, please click 'Ask a question' at the top of this page.

Accommodation

Although not included in the course fee, accommodation may be available at our on-site Rewley House Residential Centre. All bedrooms are en suite and decorated to a high standard, and come with tea- and coffee-making facilities, free Wi-Fi access and Freeview TV. Guests can take advantage of the excellent dining facilities and common room bar, where they may relax and network with others on the programme.

To check prices, availability and to book rooms please visit the Rewley House Residential Centre website. 

Enrolled students are entitled to discounted accommodation rates for the purpose of study, at Rewley House, and can contact the administration team for the promotional code to use for making online accommodation bookings via the website.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support