Developing Authentic Leadership Skills

Dr. Bill Howatt

Over the last decade, as new generations are entering the workforce, there has been a dramatic shift in what employees are looking for from their leadership team. Not only job-flexibility, remote work opportunities or more time off, but a different style of leadership.

Bill George, a senior fellow at the Harvard Business School and author of Discover Your True North, writes that over the past 10 years, authenticity has become the gold standard of leadership.

In a recent interview, London Stock Exchange CEO, David Schwimmer noted, “My role has changed. People are looking to me for a different kind of leadership. In a normal environment, it’s about business leadership and setting up strategy, as well as culture and people decisions. In this environment, it’s about helping people maintain morale... I have formed a different kind of connection with our people because of this, and I mean the team of 5,000, not the team of 12 or 13. Some of it is showing a little bit more of my own personal side. Modern communications technology is powerful and useful, but it’s critical that the organization of the future maintains that direct human connectivity.” This type of leadership comes more naturally to some than it does to others. Leaders who lacked strong inter- and intrapersonal skills and were more operationally focused prior to the pandemic may be feeling overwhelmed and unsure about how to support anxious team members.

In a 2016 article written for the Harvard Business Review called “The Truth About Authentic Leadership,” George, also explains that authentic leaders have high emotional intelligence, and unlike IQ, which doesn’t typically change in adulthood, emotional quotient (EQ) can be developed over time. He also notes that, “Authentic leaders monitor their words and behaviours carefully to be attended to their audiences and to enroll their colleagues and teammates. They do so because they are sensitive to the impact their words and actions have on others, not because they are ‘messaging’ the right talking points.”

In his book, George suggests the journey to becoming an authentic leader has three parts:

• Preparing to self-lead. Discovering and adhering to personal values and developing intrapersonal skills are foundational to learning how to lead with integrity. Self-awareness is equally critical, as it prepares a leader to be conscious of how their behaviour influences how they are perceived.
• Start leading. Demonstrate the confidence to be open and transparent with your team. Every action a leader engages in with their team is an opportunity for a positive or negative experience. Paying attention to interpersonal skills and how effective the leader’s approach is for influencing and building trust are core tenets of authentic leadership.
• Giving back. This is a sign of growth and maturity in a leader’s ability to be authentic. They actively seek feedback, look for opportunities to facilitate learning, and support all their employees to ensure that they feel welcomed, heard, and included. Employees are turning to leaders for support in a way they never have before. As we look toward the long winter months ahead, with continued isolation and uncertainty, there is no time like the present to begin working on becoming a more authentic leader. Strong intrapersonal skills, resilience, emotional intelligence and emotional agility — always valuable leadership traits — are now absolutely essential in navigating this storm. So where do you begin? Becoming more authentic is about being more vulnerable and sharing more of your true self to build trust and connection with others. These tips will help you get started.
• Make self-care a priority — Take care of yourself so you have the capacity and energy to lead with integrity and care for employees’ well-being. This requires intrapersonal work and making your mental health a priority.
• Be vulnerable when appropriate — Being an authentic leader requires you to possess the self-confidence to show emotions and be vulnerable while maintaining appropriate professionalism. When you are seen as genuine and speak honestly about your feelings and experiences, you can inspire employees to do the same. This can go a long way toward reducing stigma and will reinforce a caring culture that encourages employees to share their feelings and ask for help when they need it.
• Seek assistance in supporting your team — Recognize that you need support, too. Recruit a team of authentic and reliable sources who you trust to share concerns and ask questions. Some leaders hire an executive coach; others seek out a mentor, and some do both.
• Set boundaries — Set clear personal and professional boundaries so that you can meet the demands of home and work. Living life fully and meaningfully outside of work is essential to your self-care. This helps you recharge and restore the energy you need to lead and give back daily.
• Be realistic about how much can be done in a day — Authentic leaders accept that pushing themselves to the limit every day and amping up their fatigue and stress greatly increases the risk of burnout. In order to show up and give your best every day, you have to manage your energy stores and be honest with yourself about your capacity. In print, these tips seem simple and straight-forward, but each one is a big step and it’s important to note that being authentic is an ongoing journey. We can’t stress enough the importance of being patient and kind to yourself. These are extraordinary times and you are already doing a yeoman’s work in managing all of the demands on your time.

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