Greg Stevenson argues that real authority isn't confidence or charisma. It's being settled: knowing who you are, staying calm under pressure, and speaking directly without performing. Most boards can't define it but instantly recognize when a leader has it or doesn't.
The first is settled authority. Not confidence in the performed sense— most final round candidates are confident performers. Settled authority is something categorically different. It is a quality of a person who generally knows who they are and is not destabilised by challenge, by scrutiny, or by the weight of being assessed. It reads as calm without being disengaged, Direct without being aggressive, present without being performative. Most boards cannot articulate it precisely when asked, but they know it when it's in the room with them, and they know its absence even more clearly.
