Authentic Leadership -- Why There Is No Alternative

When I first started thinking about authentic leadership I tried to come up with a list of leaders, in real-life and in fiction, who I thought led authentically or who personified the aspects of authenticity I admire and aspire to. I found that coming up with a list like that was incredibly difficult!?

Without knowing people personally it’s tough to say whether they really do embody authentic leadership. The reality is what we perceive as authentic is so personal and unique. Some people may even see leaders who are really striving for authenticity as somehow inauthentic.?

For me an authentic leader is one who radiates the vibes of honesty and truthfulness, and who genuinely wants those around them to succeed. To achieve that as a leader means looking within and understanding the areas you may be apprehensive about sharing, and why. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have boundaries and criteria about what’s appropriate to share!?

But ask yourself what would happen if you began to open yourself up as a leader, go beyond the role expected of you and being more honest to those you are leading.?

Showcasing Your Values and Personality??

There are many industries where there is such a strong requirement or demand for the culture in a workplace to look and feel a particular way. That can come from how the industry is perceived or just reflect that age old sentiment “this is how we’ve always done things!” Those demands drives a lot of the standardization we see in workplace cultures. It sets up a real expectation on how people will go about their day that we can find it hard to deviate from.?

The problem with that is you are effectively creating, as a leader, an environment or an organization that feels robotic. If you want to change that environment and make it more authentic - or should I say, make it more authentically reflect your personality and the personalities of your employees – then you need to be setting a more authentic tone from the top, down.??

Authenticity comes in when leadership lets their guard down and behaves in a way that shows individuals they are willing to take feedback, to accept constructive criticism and to admit to making mistakes. It’s also about showing off what excites them as a leader and makes them passionate about the business.?

When you showcase your heart and soul in this way you create an infectious energy that’s good for your culture. It feeds into itself in a productive way. It makes your business more optimistic, more positive and more solutions oriented. Not to mention it can encourage others to be passionate as well. ?

?

The Happiness Factor??

Do you remember the feeling you used to get on Sunday evenings, knowing you had to go to school the next morning? Perhaps you hadn’t done your homework, or you had a particularly unpleasant lesson period the next morning? For many people, nearly 80% in fact, that Sunday blues is something they still experience as adults.?

For people that feel that way their job is simply a means to an end. Something they must get through to pay rent and reach the weekend. For those people it really is just a job, not a career. And too many of these people can be bad for your culture and your business.??

Which is where authentic leadership can come in. An authentic leader who is open, and passionate, can encourage other people to be authentic, wholehearted, and passionate too. Building an environment that supports and encourages people’s individual skills, develops their attributes, and encourages them to excel goes a long way to banishing the Sunday blues.?

The happiness factor makes it much easier to leverage what your employees are great at. Which is good for business, good for morale and key in attracting and retaining talent.?

?

Failing Forward: Authenticity and Risk Taking?

Another aspect of authentic leadership is being willing to acknowledge failure. It’s okay for your employees to see you or the business fail, if you can show that you are learning from that failure. By trying something new you’ve taken a risk, and by reassuring your employees that you won’t repeat the mistake you’ve shown them that failure is not always a negative experience. That is failing forward.?

When you open the door to failure you create a safe environment to allow others to do the same; to fail forward, learn from their mistakes, and grow.?

That allows for a more creative atmosphere where people are more comfortable with take risks and in leading by example you set the tone for a culture that celebrates trying new tactics and strategies.??

None of this means you’ve lowered standards. In fact, it’s the opposite. A culture of measured risk taking allows you to keep working towards your goals, drive efficiency and moving the business forward.?

Being able to deploy new strategies while holding on to your core manner of working is the definition of courageous risk taking that enhances your culture.?

?

Four Core Principles to Guide Authentic Leadership?

If showcasing your values, nurturing a happier culture, and failing forward are all ways you can demonstrate authentic leadership, what are the core aspects of an authentic leader? I believe that the four common traits of authentic leaders are:?

1. Self-awareness?

Nobody is perfect. There is no leader in the world who can say they are great at every single aspect of running a business. Embracing self-awareness as an authentic leader means acknowledging that and knowing which areas you need more information in to make the best business decision.?

How you gather that information and develop that comprehension is up to you. It can come from robust reporting or from peers, colleagues, and other individuals in the business. But only by having the self-awareness to say “I don’t know enough about X” can you install the people, systems and processes that will fill the gap.?

If you don’t know your weaknesses, you run the risk of surrounding yourself with people whose skillsets are a direct reflection of your own. That can be comforting! But to succeed you need people with skills and attributes that compliment yours so you can collaborate. Self-awareness means being willing to listen to other perspectives .?

?

2. Genuineness, modesty & humility?

Having an ego is not a bad thing and having an ego doesn’t make you egotistical. Most leaders have a strong ego, but the best leaders have learned to manage that and to demonstrate humility.??

Surrendering the pride factor and the ego can be hard. It’s often how we’ve succeeded in getting where we are. As a leader you must recognize that you are accountable for every aspect of the business, and you will be challenged. When things go wrong people can be argumentative or frustrated and it’s natural for leaders to get their defenses up when faced with that.?

Those that can acknowledge the issue and say “I’m aware something has failed, that I have flaws” will be able to move quickly to an understanding and to working towards a solution. Just saying that is the best way you can show your teams that you do have the right level of humility.?

Another aspect of this is understanding that not everyone is in the same situation or possess the same traits. That is to be humble enough to be open to different perspectives and challenges and genuine enough to care about the struggles your employee’s might be facing.?

3. Empathy and ethics?

We live in a world, a time, where there are very few, if any, hiding places. Any company that is unable to establish a strong sense of its core values and is unwilling to be highly ethical in how they work and operate drastically limit their ability to achieve success.?

Businesses that aren’t transparent create a riskier business environment that is bad for everyone (clients, customers, and employees) and they will ultimately be unable to succeed and grow in the long term.??

Ethical, empathic, and authentic leaders ensure that their core values remain at the center of their consideration. At Vaco Lannick we state our core values at each, and every, company meeting. This provides a fresh reminder that this is how we operate. These are the guidelines that we follow. That way, if there is ever any question or doubt on how to handle a situation, then everyone can look to these values and guiding principles to discover the methods for reaching the right outcome.?

?5. Results-focus ?

You can’t manage what you can’t measure! For most leaders an annual business plan feels like enough. It isn’t. Far fewer leaders put together five-year plans, and even few will plan for ten years and beyond of growth. By having, and staying focused on, your plans, you will develop deeper insight and can drive toward the right outcomes.?

In terms of authentic leadership, those results you feel are appropriate to share should be shared with the entire company. That means results for individuals, departments, teams, the entire business even.??

Continuously measuring, reporting, and sharing is much better than having people guess at outcomes. Not sharing anything creates an environment where people can’t judge your authenticity and your success. This is especially true in a challenging economy. In the absence of visibility people assume doom and gloom and start looking elsewhere.?

?

I truly believe there are no downsides to being an authentic leader. Which means there is no reason why we shouldn’t be aspiring to authentic leadership. If you are uncertain try to incorporate one, or all, of those four principles into your leadership practice. Show people who you are, be your authentic self. Let your guard down a little bit!?

If you go into authenticity with the right intentions and considerations, for your customers and employees, you’ll soon begin to see positive change within your workplace culture.?

Remember: the more honest you are with yourself, the more authentic a leader you can be.?