I first met this term when I was working in financial services over 20 years ago, and recently I’ve been reintroduced as part of a leadership development programme. If your anything like me you will have a view on what might be a part of this term ‘gravitas’, and so to cut through my own perception I thought I would take some time to get curious and look at understanding this at a deeper level.
This time though, someone bet me to it. A list appeared from within a programme highlighting a number of key traits that are consistent with the idea of Leaders having Gravitas. It’s not a bad list and is useful in context of helping a collective understanding for when we use this term. It transpires that it’s not just about presence. It’s not about charisma. It’s actually about trust.
How did I end up there?
On seeing the list of traits, I got curious.
I wonder how this idea of ‘Gravitas’ links to the idea of ‘high trust’. If you’ve followed previous articles you will know I’m a big fan of this idea of working on ‘high trust’ and so I was begging the question.
Initially I thought about my experience. In my work with leadership teams, it seems to me that the ones I would personally describe as having ‘gravitas’, the ones who have left a lasting impression, are those who consistently behaved in ways that built and reinforced trust.
That’s why I think it’s a good idea to look at gravitas not as a misunderstood, mysterious aura, but as something practical, behavioural, and learnable. And the most powerful lens for doing that, IMO? Stephen Covey’s 13 High Trust Behaviours.
Let’s get clear on our terms. Gravitas is often described as the ability to project confidence, decisiveness, and weight—especially in moments that matter. It could also be described as what makes a leader compelling, credible, and taken seriously.
But strip away the surface, and gravitas boils down to how others experience your character and capability. And what determines that experience?
Trust.
When people trust you:
• They believe what you say without second-guessing.
• They give you the benefit of the doubt under pressure.
• They follow your lead, even when the path isn’t fully clear.
Without trust, gravitas falls flat. It becomes presence without follow-through.
So how do you build it? Perhaps not through grand gestures—but through consistent, visible behaviours. That’s where Covey’s model and the traits of gravitas appear to align in powerful ways.
The 7 Key Traits of Leader Gravitas
As I said earlier, there was a list. That list contained 7 key traits. I really like the list as it’s easy to understand and can be agreed upon by a team with a focus on this term. These set apart those who lead with influence, not just authority, as some may consider gravitas to mean:
1. Confidence without arrogance – Calm, composed, and secure in decisions without overplaying ego.
2. Clarity and decisiveness – Speaks with purpose, makes firm calls, and communicates clearly.
3. Emotional control – Remains cool under pressure; doesn’t react emotionally or panic.
4. Authenticity – Comes across as genuine, consistent, and trustworthy.
5. Professional presence – Dress, body language, and behaviour that align with seniority.
6. Active listening and respect – Gives others the floor, listens fully, and treats people with dignity.
7. Strategic insight – Sees the bigger picture and connects day-to-day choices to broader outcomes.
These traits are not fixed attributes—they’re behavioural. Which means they can be developed. And when we hold them up next to Covey’s 13 High Trust Behaviours, we see not only overlap but a guide for developing leadership credibility.
The Covey Model: 13 Behaviours That Build Trust
Stephen Covey’s “The Speed of Trust” breaks down trust into something practical: observable behaviours that leaders can use to create or destroy trust in real time.
Here’s a quick reminder of his 13 High Trust Behaviours:
1. Talk Straight
2. Demonstrate Respect
3. Create Transparency
4. Right Wrongs
5. Show Loyalty
6. Deliver Results
7. Get Better
8. Confront Reality
9. Clarify Expectations
10. Practice Accountability
11. Listen First
12. Keep Commitments
13. Extend Trust
Each of these is simple, but powerful. The impact is in the application. When done consistently, they form the aura of trust around a leader. And when we map them onto the gravitas traits, some interesting patterns emerge.
How do the models align?
Here’s where the potential alignment occurs between the 2, with a few questions to help you think about each of these…
1. Confidence Without Arrogance
Covey Alignment:
Deliver Results (6)
Extend Trust (13)
Practice Accountability (10)
Leaders with quiet confidence don’t need to dominate. Their calm decisiveness comes from preparation and follow-through. They build trust by consistently delivering outcomes, owning their part when things go wrong, and showing belief in others’ capabilities.
The last time you were under pressure to deliver, how did you balance confidence in your decisions with openness to others’ input?
2. Clarity and Decisiveness
Covey Alignment:
Talk Straight (1)
Clarify Expectations (9)
Confront Reality (8)
Deliver Results (6)
Gravitas grows when leaders speak plainly and act with conviction. Vagueness undermines trust; clarity builds it. So does facing up to what’s difficult e.g. making a call when the data is incomplete.
When you think about the last decision you made, what did you do to create greater clarity and reduce uncertainty?
3. Emotional Control
Covey Alignment:
Listen First (11)
Practice Accountability (10)
Composure under pressure signals maturity and integrity. When you respond rather than react, people feel safer. They trust that you’re thinking, not just being overly emotive. I can’t see anywhere that emotional volatility is associated with gravitas.
How do you typically respond when emotions run high—and what impact does that have on how others experience your leadership?
4. Authenticity
Covey Alignment:
Create Transparency (3)
Get Better (7)
Show Loyalty (5)
Keep Commitments (12)
People trust leaders who show up as real humans—not polished corporate masks. That includes admitting what you don’t know and owning your mistakes.
Where could showing more of your real thinking or learning build deeper trust with your team?
5. Professional Presence
Covey Alignment:
Indirect alignment with Talk Straight (1) and Demonstrate Respect (2)
Presence, in this context, talks more to what people see than hear. You could argue that professional presence reinforces the credibility of your message. I considered this one a fair bit, as it was the one I challenged the most. But when I consider leaders I’ve had in the past, when their appearance and body language have aligned with their role, it’s probably supported higher trust.
What does your presence—how you show up physically and energetically—communicate about the kind of leader you are?
6. Active Listening and Respect
Covey Alignment:
Listen First (11)
Demonstrate Respect (2)
I would argue that nothing builds trust faster than feeling heard. Leaders who listen deeply signal that they value others—not just as a number, but as people. That respect breeds loyalty and followership.
When was the last time someone felt truly heard by you—and what did you do that made the difference?
7. Strategic Insight
Covey Alignment:
Deliver Results (6)
Confront Reality (8)
Get Better (7)
Gravitas isn’t just about being thoughtful—it has to come back to strategy. Strategic leaders will elevate conversations, connect tactical issues to long-term goals, and shift situations away from just firefighting.
How often do you lift the conversation from tactical to strategic—and what might shift if you did it more deliberately?
There are gaps though, what’s missing?
Interestingly, of Covey’s 13 behaviours, “Right Wrongs” is the one with the weakest link to gravitas. This doesn’t mean it’s not important—it absolutely is. Maybe it means that in our typical understanding of gravitas, the idea of visibly repairing work doesn’t feature as it isn’t often seen or celebrated.
Some see this trait as a weakness for sure, but that’s a missed opportunity.
Owning mistakes publicly and making amends when needed is one of the fastest ways to rebuild trust. It shows courage, integrity, and humility—all hallmarks of true leadership.
And so, if I was going to change that gravitas list, I would bring this idea into the frame as I do think its relevant.
Bringing It All Together: Leadership Behaviours That Stick
Trust and gravitas are both built, behaviour by behaviour. Not just the big, visible ones—but the daily interactions, quick conversations, and difficult decisions.
I do think a conscious effort on raising awareness around how you are against this list is not a bad place to start to understand your current level of leader gravitas. Especially in a 360 sense.
Some ideas for you could be…
– Want to build confidence without arrogance? Start delivering results and extending trust to your team.
– Want to strengthen authenticity? Try being more transparent about what you’re learning.
– Want to project more strategic insight? Ask better, broader questions.
You could say that gravitas is underpinned by a series of leader habits, and you would be right. It seems to me it’s as much about consistency as it is about recognising that once upon a time you extended trust to your team.
Gravitas isn’t about looking the part
It’s about creating belief isn’t it? And belief is built, brick by brick (this building analogy is sticking with me), through behaviour.
So, if you want to lead with more presence and more impact — don’t just focus on how you appear. Start with how you behave.
Because trust and gravitas align, and so a focus on developing high trust is a progression towards what we call leader gravitas.