Foundation 01 The Orion Foundations

Identity & Presence

How you show up, how you're experienced and how to shape them both intentionally.

Leadership begins with presence. It's the deliberate choice of how you enter a room, how you carry yourself and how others experience you, not so much about charisma or dominance . Think more self-sculpture, not performance.

Most people drift through interactions on autopilot, unaware of the signals they send. Leaders shape those signals with intention, understanding that presence is a skill you develop through conscious practice, and not something you're born with.

Practical Tools

Three-word Check-In

What it is: Before any meeting, ask yourself "Which three words describe how I want to be experienced?"

How to use it:

- Write them at the top of your notes.
- Let them guide your tone, pace and posture.
- Examples might be "Calm, clear and decisive" or "Curious, open and grounded"

Why it works: It gives you a north star for your presence rather than letting anxiety or habit dictate behaviour.

The 10% Flex Rule

What it is: Choose one outward behaviour (commonly voice, eye contact, posture or pace) and shift it intentionally by 10%.

How to use it:

- If you speak quickly, slow down by 10%.
- If you avoid eye contact, hold it for one extra second.
- If you lean back, try leaning slightly forward.
- And track the response you get!

Why it works: 10% is enough to widen your interpersonal range without feeling fake. It's the sweet spot between rigidity and pretending.

Inspiration Inventory

What it is: List five men or women who make you think bigger.

How to use it:

- For each, identify one specific behaviour worth borrowing.
- Practice that borrowed behaviour for one week.
- Journal the effects and ask yourself what changed, what felt natural, and what didn't feel natural.

Why it works: You learn presence by studying it in others, and then adapting it to your own identity.

Confidence Reframing

What it is: A mental reframe for pre-performance anxiety that is supported by research.

How to use it:

- When you feel adrenaline before a high-stakes moment, silently say to yourself "My body is preparing me to perform."
- Repeat as needed.

Why it works: Research shows that reframing arousal as preparedness (as opposed to than fear) improves performance and reduces stress over time.

An Audit of Your Authority Signals

What it is: An evaluation of your natural leadership signals, and the five main ones are:
- Clarity: Can people understand you easily?
- Stillness: Do you fidget or can you be physically calm?
- Warmth: Do people feel safe around you?
- Decisiveness: Do you commit clearly to decisions?
- Boundaries: Can you say no without guilt?

How to use it:

- Rate yourself honestly on each (e.g. between 1 and 5).
- Choose one signal to strengthen deliberately over the next month.
- Ask a trusted colleague for feedback.

Nietzsche's Perspective

Presence as Self-Sculpture

Become who you are. — Ecce Homo
Nietzsche teaches that leadership begins with creation of the self. The three-word check-in is like the strike of a chisel shaping the statue inside the marble. All meetings and interactions are opportunities to carve away what is not essential to unveil the form beneath.

He insists that masks are the outer surface of becoming and not necessarily false. The form you choose to impose on yourself is more authentic than one imposed by others or left to drift by habit.

Cautions from Nietzsche:

If you flex only outward, you lose the centre.

Build in regular solitude to return to yourself, because without this you become a collection of borrowed behaviours with no animating core.

If leadership drains vitality, then you are living someone else's values.

Presence should increase your energy and not deplete it. If interactions leave you hollow, you are carrying out a role that doesn't belong to you.

Nietzsche would say: The inspiration inventory is valuable only if you metabolise those behaviours into something uniquely yours. Don't become a patchwork of other people's mannerisms. Borrow to discover, not to imitate.

Machiavelli's Perspective

Presence as Controlled Impression

It is not enough to be. One must be seen to be. — often attributed to Machiavelli (paraphrase)
Machiavelli sees leadership presence as a crafted impression. Your inspiration inventory mirrors his method of imitatio, studying the fox (ingenuity) and the lion (strength) in others, and then deploying those qualities strategically in yourself.

He would advise:

Keep a private record of which borrowed behaviours increased your potestà (your capacity to act), and discard those that just please the audience.

Carefully adjust visible behaviours to shape reputation. People judge you by what they see, and not by your inner complexity.

Signals of authority are currency. Clarity and decisiveness build trust. Warmth without boundary-setting creates dependence. Stillness without warmth creates distance.

Machiavelli's Warning:

Don't confuse presence with performance. If your signals are inconsistent, e.g. warm in private but cold in public, people will distrust you. Reputation is built through pattern, and not isolated moments.

The 10% Flex Rule is Machiavellian pragmatism at its best, in that you adjust your behaviour just enough to be effective in different contexts, without abandoning your core identity. This is adaptation and should not be seen by you as manipulation.

Where to Harden / Where to Soften

Harden

  • Your ownership of your presence - it is not an accident. You choose how you show up.
  • Your willingness to experiment - the 10% Flex Rule only works if you actually try new behaviours.
  • Your self-observation - notice what signals you send, even when you're not aware of it.

Soften

  • The urge to impress - both Nietzsche and Machiavelli warn against living through the gaze of others.
  • Perfectionism - presence is iterative. You refine continuously, as opposed to just "arriving".
  • Fear of judgment - if you're not experimenting, you're not growing. Some experiments will feel awkward. That's the point.

Practice This Week

Choose one tool and commit to practicing it for the next seven days:

  1. Three-word Check-In
    Write three words before your next three meetings. Notice if it changes how you show up.
  2. 10% Flex
    Pick one behaviour (either voice pace, eye contact or posture) and shift it by 10%. Journal what changes.
  3. Inspiration Inventory
    List five people you admire. Think of one behaviour from one person. Practice it for one week.

Reflection question: Did the experiment make you feel more yourself (Nietzsche) or more effective (Machiavelli)? If both, keep it. If neither, discard it.

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Purpose & Values

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