Presence

THE TENSION

Presence. In an era of constant notification and overlapping demands, the ability to be genuinely in the room - not partially, not performatively, but actually - has become one of the most quietly powerful things a leader can offer. And one of the rarest.

“Your team can tell the difference between being heard and being processed. They always can.”

THE SCENARIO

Callum Morrison has been Subsurface and Spatial Data Team Lead at Woodside Energy for fourteen months. His role integrates spatial data across offshore and onshore energy assets - a complex, multi-system environment where his team supports exploration, production, and environmental compliance. The demands on Callum’s attention are significant and genuine.

This morning’s one-on-one with his data integration analyst, Sasha, is the fourth meeting he has attended today. His laptop is open. He is tracking a query in the background from the asset integrity team. He is also, technically, listening to Sasha.

Sasha is raising something that has been on her mind for several weeks: a concern about the way coordinate reference system inconsistencies are being managed across the offshore dataset, and a suggestion for a more systematic approach. It is a well-considered point. She has clearly thought about it.

Callum responds to two of the three points she makes. The third - the most substantive one, about the systematic approach - he misses. He says, “Yeah, that’s good, let’s keep an eye on it,” and moves to his agenda item.

Sasha finishes the meeting and goes back to her desk. She does not raise the coordinate reference system issue again.

She has learned, gradually, that there is a category of conversation that Callum receives but does not retain. She has started filtering what she brings to their one-on-ones accordingly.

WHAT’S DRIVING IT

Presence is being so intentionally related to matters and others that you give them your undivided attention and care. It is the authentic relatedness that occurs when all parties experience being fully heard and understood - with no distance or barrier between them.

Callum is not disinterested in Sasha or her work. He is overextended and managing it through partial attention rather than through protected space. The consequence is that Sasha is now pre-filtering what she brings to him - which means the quality of information reaching Callum is declining, and neither of them has named the reason.

Presence is not a time management problem. It is a choice about what the person in front of you deserves. When Callum opens his laptop in a one-on-one, he is making a choice about the relative importance of what’s on the screen versus what’s in the room. His team reads that choice accurately, every time.

A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH PRESENCE

A healthy relationship with presence means you mostly experience being connected, related to, and understood by others - and they experience the same from you. You remain in full communication with others with little or no distraction. You may often discern the emotions and concerns of the people around you, regardless of what they explicitly articulate, because you are genuinely paying attention.

In practice, this looks like Callum closing the laptop before Sasha sits down. It looks like the query from asset integrity waiting until the meeting is finished. It looks like Sasha leaving the room having said the third thing - the most important thing - and knowing it was received. The systematic approach she had been thinking about gets adopted. And the next time she has something worth raising, she brings it.

REFLECTION PROMPTS

- In your one-on-ones this week, were you genuinely present or partially present - and would the people in those meetings agree with your assessment?

- What is the device, notification, or parallel demand that most reliably competes with your attention when you are with your team?

- Who on your team has stopped bringing certain things to you - and do you know why?

- What would it cost you to be completely present in every one-on-one for one week - and what might it give your team?

If the quality of your attention in one-on-ones is something you recognise as inconsistent - The Being Profile explores how presence operates in your leadership - and what becomes available in your team when they consistently experience being fully heard.

Get in touch at hello@mappingbeing.com.au

While the organisations referenced exist, the team lead, other people and the team name have been used for demonstration purposes only. Any resemblance to real-life people, teams, organisations or situations is purely coincidental.

Reference: Tashvir, A. (2021). BEING (p. 365). Engenesis Publications.

[Published: 21 September 2026]