Strategy is often reduced to plans, priorities, and execution. But in our recent episode of the Leadership Vision Podcast, Dr. Linda Schubring, Brian Schubring, and Nathan Freeburg explored a deeper truth:

Executive strategy begins with presence.

In high-pressure environments shaped by distraction, complexity, and scarcity, leaders don’t need to move faster. They need to see more clearly.

Below is a framework for executive leadership rooted in three interconnected forces: Presence, Growth, and Resources.

Presence: Seeing What Is Real

Executive leadership begins with attention.

“Leadership begins with presence, the ability to see clearly where we are and what is real.”

In today’s environment, leaders and teams are constantly pulled in multiple directions. Brian describes it as being stretched like taffy — attention divided, emotions strained, priorities blurred.

When leaders lose presence, they react instead of respond. They move quickly, but without clarity.

Presence, as described in the conversation, involves three levels of awareness:

• Place – Where are we? Does the environment foster belonging?
• People – Who is here? What are they carrying into this moment?
• Self – What is happening within me? Am I distracted, tense, fatigued?

“How do we pay attention to our specific needs and be present to what we need today? And not be afraid to say those things out loud.”

Research strongly supports this connection between presence and leadership effectiveness. In Harvard Business Review, Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter argue that mindful leadership improves focus, reduces reactivity, and increases trust within teams (HBR, 2018). Leaders who cultivate attention are better equipped to navigate complexity.

Presence is not passive. It is an active discipline.

Your Reflection Question:

Where am I currently reacting instead of truly being present?

Growth: Formation, Not Performance

Growth is often misunderstood as skill acquisition or performance improvement. But executive growth is deeper than productivity.

“Growth is not always seen as active… There are some times where it seems like there is nothing happening.”

The metaphor of soil and evergreen trees captures this well. A leader may plant the right seeds, but without understanding the soil, growth will stall.

Executive growth requires three core qualities:

• Awareness – Understanding the environment and personal readiness.
• Compassion – Recognizing growth cycles and human limitations.
• Curiosity – Investigating both success and struggle without judgment.

“When something’s not going right, still being curious without judgment on what is our challenge here.”

Psychologist Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset reinforces this idea. Leaders who view challenges as opportunities for development — rather than threats to competence — foster stronger cultures of learning (Dweck, Mindset, 2006).

Importantly, growth is not tied to title.

“We don’t always look for the executive leader to be the one that’s demonstrating the potential or the opportunity for growth. We’re looking for the people who are growing.”

Executive growth becomes exponential because its impact multiplies across the organization.

Your Reflection Question:

Where might I need greater curiosity instead of judgment — toward myself or my team?

Resources: From Scarcity to Abundance

In executive settings, “resources” often default to time, money, or personnel. But the conversation expanded that definition.

“Resources are formative forces. They are the forces around you that either invite greater growth or that you can leverage in a variety of ways.”

Resources include:

• Environmental indicators (what the broader landscape is signaling)
• Cultural background and lived experience
• Emotional awareness
• Identity and strengths
• Relationships
• Habits and practices

One of the most powerful insights from the episode reframes scarcity:

“There is an abundance of resources to solve our problems and ways to pursue our challenges.”

Scarcity narrows perception. Abundance expands it. Leaders who operate from a scarcity mindset unintentionally limit creativity and possibility.

The executive shift is this:

Not “What don’t we have?” But, “What formative forces are already available to us?”

And ultimately:

“When the leader can see themselves as that resource… they are a noun, they are a verb.”

Leaders become resources when they embody clarity, steadiness, and generosity.

Your Reflection Question:

What resource might already be present in my team that I am overlooking?

The Leadership Cycle: Presence → Growth → Resources → Repeat

These three forces are not sequential steps. They are cyclical and mutually reinforcing.

• Presence allows leaders to see the real opportunity for growth.
• Growth expands awareness of available resources.
• Recognizing resources strengthens confidence and reduces scarcity.
• That abundance invites deeper presence.

As Dr. Linda concludes:

“Having a broad discussion around presence, growth and resources allows leaders to highlight the component that’s helpful to them on their journey today… and eventually the whole group is experiencing the forward momentum of growing together.”

Executive strategy, then, is not first about execution.

It is about formation.

Team Discussion Question

Take a moment to ask your team this question this week: If our team intentionally strengthened just one of these areas — presence, growth, or resources — over the next 90 days, which would create the greatest forward momentum, and why?

Share your reflections with us on social media, in the comments below, or send us and email!