Authenticity and Change from the Inside Out

Topical Trajectories and Treatises

Two things have landed in my inbox this week. Yesterday, I received a fascinating article from a scientific newsletter published this week. The second was a LinkedIn message from my colleague, MOHAMED ALZAGHIBI, PhD, GRCP , which linked to an article questioning the contemporary meaning of the word 'Authentic'. In this week's Friday Focus, I will start with the first article and conclude with the second article that explores the meaning of authenticity in today's emerging world of ChatGBT and other AI machine productions.

?From the Outside or the Inside?

Last week's Selfless Leader Sunday ROAST drew on the fascinating but less-known work of Buckminster ("Bucky") Fuller and the concept of precession. Precession refers to the slow but continuous movement or change in the orientation of an object's rotational axis, which, for earthly objects, occurs at an angle of 90 degrees to the object's primary direction. For instance, a honey bee collecting pollen from a flower is an example of precession. Precession can also be sudden and dramatic, as in the case of interrupting a spinning tops rotation. Leadership actions and management processes can take place at varying speeds (as with the thinking that drives it) from ‘fast’ to ‘slow’ with either incremental or disruptive speed.

?Frank Borman, the commander of the first Apollo moon mission, which predated Neil Armstrong and his crew’s moon landing, passed away earlier this month.? The article celebrates this inspiring and first-ever photograph of ‘Earth-rise’.?? As the caption illustrates, the original photograph has been professionally coloured.??

The first article highlights the key aspects of Bucky Fuller's synergetics work from the 1930s. His research on synergy inspired me to explore his geometry and broader thoughts to develop my ideas on selfless leadership that combines both relationship and system-led approaches. In my book, Selfless Leader, published in 2016, I referred to Bucky's critical point that there is only one universal system - the Universe. Humans created all other systems, and as we know, all human leaders are fallible.

?Fuller's work included a fundamental concept called the "twelve degrees of freedom". This idea highlights the importance of having a balance between six positive and six negative degrees that are present in any motion or effects on motion. In simpler terms, it explains the number of independent forces that are needed to keep a body completely still in space.

?Leadership Spaces

In my previous post, I talked about leadership spaces and how they function. Fuller's theory suggests that every system has an inside and an outside. In my last post, I introduced Fuller's concept of the precessional effect, which emphasises the significance of comprehending the positive and negative consequences of our human interventions from the outside. I explained that precession can aid in aligning an entity's goal and purpose, which exist at 90 degrees to each other.

?Assuring Authenticity through Inside-Outing

?According to Fuller, any Universal (or Leadership) system has two spaces (insideness and outsideness).?Bringing the two together in harmony is about the authenticity of alignment (of physics but also of leadership interventions).

?From a leadership perspective, Inside-Outing means making a positive difference. It's like looking at the earth from the moon and getting a clear picture of what exists in our minds. Senior leaders do this when they scan the horizon to determine the challenges facing the organization or institution. However, change will come from knowing what needs to change from the inside out, just as Fuller suggested. For instance, change initiated from within can lead to a cultural transformation, increased engagement, and adaptability.

?Leaders need to pay attention to the larger context, but authentic leaders focus on making changes from the inside out. They foster personal and shared values that coexist to create a strong institutional core purpose. How much do leaders rely on external factors to shape their vision and priorities, rather than starting from within and exploring themselves before engaging others?

?Are we experiencing a Crisis of Authenticity?

At this point, I draw on the second article that dropped into my LinkedIn box today, with grateful thanks to Dr Mohammed.? ?The word ‘authentic’ has become the? Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s word of the year,? not because of its spread but, rather, what some see as its potential demise due to the corruption of traditional meaning through more modern challenges of AI, ‘fake news’ and other forms of manipulating the way that we all think. This may have resulted in what has been described by its Editor-in-chief as “a kind of crisis of authenticity.”

?The study of leadership is not a new concept. In recent decades, the phrase "transformational leadership" has become very popular and is often used by individuals or institutions who claim to be "transformational leaders." However, there has been an increase in studies related to pseudo-transformational leadership. A pseudo-transformational leader may exhibit behaviors and characteristics similar to those of a transformational leader, but their commitment to positive change and the well-being of their followers is not genuine.

Authenticity can be the defining factor in differentiating a pseudo transformational leader or institution from a genuine change leader.

We need to align institutional and individual authenticity and consider the flow between the two.? The flow should lead to alignment between the inside and the outside of whatever system or action occurs.? In such cases, authenticity (of physics) is likely to emerge naturally, but this is not the case with leadership.? We need to work at it.

Authenticity entails taking responsibility for one's actions and owning them. It means being true to oneself and others and not pretending to be something or someone else. When we are authentic, we can build trust and create meaningful relationships with others. It requires self-awareness, honesty, and a willingness to be vulnerable. Taking ownership of our actions means acknowledging our mistakes and the impact they may have had on others and doing what we can to make things right. It is a sign of maturity and integrity.

?Take ownership for actions

We must take responsibility for the limits of our knowledge and take a step back from our habitual ways of thinking and action. It is about ‘inside-outing’ – first looking at ourselves from the outside – but then looking from the inside out and committing to improving our leadership continuously.

?We need to be authentic in taking responsibility for our role in the leadership situation and the impact of our presence and perspective.? We should be honest and truthful to ourselves and others. How can we improve our leadership role and support others to achieve their goals?

In my next series of Newsletters before taking a break for the Seasonal period, I will share my thoughts and understanding of what it takes to be an authentic leader, the practical steps that we can take and how we can align our thoughts and actions through an authenticity flow between us as individuals and our institutions.