How Partners Can Model Executive Presence that Retains Talent (in 2025)
The Hidden Retention Challenge in CPA Firms
Many CPA firms today face a costly cycle: rising turnover, shrinking pipelines of new talent, and an increasing demand for leadership that inspires loyalty. Compensation matters, but it is not the deciding factor for many professionals when they choose to stay or leave. What often makes the difference is executive presence, the ability of firm leaders to project credibility, clarity, and confidence in ways that motivate teams and create trust.
Executive presence has long been associated with polish and gravitas, but in 2025, the definition has evolved. Today’s workforce is looking for leaders who are authentic, communicative, and inclusive. For CPA firms, this shift is an opportunity. Partners who strengthen their presence not only elevate firm reputation with clients, they also give employees reasons to remain and grow.
What Executive Presence Really Means in 2025
Executive presence is often misunderstood as charisma or showmanship. In reality, it is about how others experience you. Research shows that the three most powerful signals of presence are:
Credibility – Do your words and actions consistently align? Are you trusted to follow through?
Clarity – Do you simplify the complex? Do staff and clients leave conversations knowing what matters most?
Connection – Do people feel seen, heard, and valued when they interact with you?
Underlying all three is self-awareness. It’s the ability to recognize how your behavior affects others and adjust in real time. Partners who are self-aware notice not only what they intend to communicate, but also how it is received. This awareness allows them to fine-tune their presence and create consistency that builds trust.
For CPA firm partners, these qualities must be visible in every setting: in partner meetings, with clients, and especially with staff. Employees will not stay in firms where leaders feel inaccessible, inconsistent, or disengaged.
Three Shifts That Strengthen Presence and Retention
Lead With Transparency and Simplicity
Accounting is complex, but leadership should not be confusing. Partners with strong executive presence consistently translate complexity into simplicity. Instead of burying staff in details, they frame the “why” behind decisions and reinforce priorities in plain language.
Self-aware leaders are particularly skilled here. They catch when they are over-explaining, sense when listeners are becoming disengaged, and adjust their message to make sure clarity is achieved.
This transparency builds trust and reduces the sense of uncertainty that fuels disengagement. A clear, consistent voice from the top helps employees feel grounded, especially in busy season.
Practice Tip: In every all-staff meeting, close with two sentences:
Here’s the decision we’ve made.
Here’s what it means for you today.
Demonstrate Inclusive Presence in Hybrid Work
The CPA profession is no longer defined only by in-office interactions. Hybrid and remote work have added new challenges to executive presence. The partners who retain talent are those who show up as intentionally online as they do in person.
Inclusive presence in hybrid settings means making eye contact with the camera, calling on quieter voices, and summarizing key points for those who may feel left behind in fast-moving discussions. Employees want leaders who recognize that presence is not about dominating the room but about creating space for contribution.
Self-awareness strengthens this skill. Leaders who monitor their tone, timing, and balance of participation are better able to notice whose voices are missing and bring them into the conversation.
Practice Tip: In virtual meetings, script the first 60 seconds. Open with purpose, invite input, and name specific people whose perspectives you want. It signals that everyone matters.
Connect Credibility With Care
Credibility is foundational, but credibility without care can feel cold. The leaders who keep top performers are those who combine technical expertise with human connection. Small moments—asking about workload balance, recognizing contributions, or checking in after deadlines—signal that partners see employees as people, not only producers.
Self-awareness makes this possible. Leaders who notice when they have been overly focused on technical details can intentionally shift to acknowledging people. That balance of credibility and care creates the kind of presence that employees trust and respect.
The latest retention research is clear: employees are less likely to quit when they feel recognized and valued. Executive presence today is less about commanding authority and more about demonstrating respect.
Practice Tip: Schedule a monthly five-minute check-in with each direct report. Ask two questions: What’s going well for you right now? and What’s one thing making work harder than it should be? Then act on what you hear.
A Real-World Coaching Story
A mid-sized CPA firm I worked with struggled with turnover at the senior associate level. Partners believed higher pay was the solution, but exit interviews revealed a deeper issue: employees felt invisible.
We coached the partners to change how they showed up in meetings. Instead of diving straight into technical updates, each partner began opening with a statement of purpose, a recognition of recent contributions, and a simple summary of what mattered most.
Within a year, voluntary turnover at the senior associate level dropped by nearly 20 percent. Employees reported in surveys that they felt “more connected to leadership” and “clearer on what success looks like.” The partners didn’t just develop presence—they developed retention.
Action Steps You Can Take This Quarter
Audit your presence. Ask a trusted peer or colleague: “How do I come across in meetings? What’s one adjustment that would help me connect better?”
Simplify communication. After your next leadership decision, explain it to staff in two plain-language sentences.
Build recognition into routines. Spend two minutes each week acknowledging one team member’s specific contribution.
These small adjustments compound over time. Presence is not something you put on; it is something you practice daily.
The Bottom Line
In 2025, executive presence is not about commanding attention—it is about earning trust. Partners who communicate clearly, lead inclusively, and connect authentically will find that their presence doesn’t just shape firm reputation. It directly influences whether top talent stays or walks out the door.
If your firm is ready to strengthen leadership presence and keep your best people, let’s talk. Explore how the LEAD CPAs program can equip your partners with the tools to lead, empower, and retain talent.