Authentic leadership

What does a good leader stand for? What does authentic leadership mean? And how should I know if I am a good leader? Those are just a few questions I have been trying to answer over many years of my leadership journey. I am a different leader as I was five or ten years ago, and I am sure I will be a bit different leader five years from now. On a way I learn and develop – as a person, as a peer and as a leader. The more I know about myself, the more aware I am, the more I like myself (!) the more authentic leader I become.

Over the last 20 years of my professional career, I had a pleasure to work with great leaders as well as I experienced working with people simply lacking leadership. Until today I observe how great leadership impacts others and what damage brings lack of leadership.

I believe that a journey to a true, authentic leadership starts with self-reflection and answering simple but important question: what kind of leader do I want to become?

I did this exercise years ago and I repeat it every other year to make sure I live my leadership according to my values and my believes.

So, what does authentic leadership mean to me? First and most important - leadership is not about the title I have, the position I hold or the power it comes with. For me leadership is about influencing (positively) others’ lives, taking actions and staying true to myself and my values.

Influencing others

I love to see how people grow and I try to accompany them in this bumpy and often challenging journey. I use different leadership style depending on where the team member is in their journey, it also differs from what role and kind of responsibility a person has (I give different support to experts or unexperienced colleagues, and I have different expectations towards experienced managers). There is a common ground: I try to build a relationship based on mutual trust, so that people do not feel a need to pretend to be someone who they are not, can openly discuss with me their struggles, challenges or fears and where we can jointly discuss how to overcome them, where I can support but what is even more important – what actions they need to take themselves (this is a true key to unlock unique potential each of us has!)

Taking actions

My expectation (towards my team as well as towards myself) is simple: always start with yourself! Whatever challenge you might be facing, simply ask yourself: what can I learn from this situation? What can I do about it /what action can I take? What influence do I have? What do I need to change (in my behavior, way of work, communication style etc.) to overcome the challenge? What solutions do I see? As last (never as first) – what support do I need from others (peers, leader)? And then take the first step. Simply - just do it! :)

Everyone of us can be (and actually should be) a leader. Again – it is not about a position you hold, it is about being in the driver`s seat, living with a feeling of having an impact (on situations as well as on people) and being in charge of actions you take, taking conscious decisions that serve you and others, using your strengths to impact (positively) lives of others and your own, living your true unique potential.

My values

Those are clear for me since many years and have not changed (I have seven core values, let me share those which impact me mostly as a leader):

INTEGRITY – always doing the right thing, even if it is not popular, even if it is difficult or uncomfortable. I try to stay true to myself and feel good about myself – therefore doing the right thing (what I believe is the right thing) is important to me. Once I heard feedback from my colleague which surprised me. She said: “I admire you for not caring what others think of you and saying what you think”. And my answer was: “It is not true. I do care what others think about me (sometimes maybe even too much) but I care more what I think about myself”.

PERSONAL GROWTH – I am developing every single day. My goal is always the same – I want to be a better person then I was yesterday. I invest a lot of time on self-development: I read books, I listen to podcasts, I look for inspirations by observing and talking to others, I seek for people who are different then me, I learn from my kids, I try to get comfortable with uncomfortable situations as I believe that the more uncomfortable I feel the more I grow. Every person I interact with can be my teacher if I chose it to be.

HEALTH – I take care of my mind, my soul, my emotions and my body. Without taking care of myself I cannot do my job well and I cannot take care of others. As simple as that.

HAPPINESS – I am happy, regardless of current challenges I am facing. I am grateful for who I am and what life I live. I chose my battles and sometimes simply let it go. Once it is easier, other times it becomes difficult, but I do not give up - at the beginning and end of each day I make a choice – to be happy and grateful.

Bring your best to others` lives. Make a difference. Stay true to yourself.?