GOING AGAINST YOUR VALUES AS AN AUTHENTIC PERSON...
Have you had a leader who communicates something to you and you do not genuinely feel that they believe in what they are communicating? They may have even openly stated that they do not believe in it. Does this make them an unauthentic leader?
If the leader is not engaged, does not understand or does not agree with the ‘why’, they cannot genuinely engage their people to do the same. Even authentic leaders must sometimes make decisions that go against their internal value system, despite their best efforts to remain true to themselves in their role. Leaders cannot be expected to believe in every decision, however if a leader finds this to be the case frequently or even occasionally on particularly important issues, then it is perhaps not their authentic leadership that is in question but whether they are the right leaders for that organisation.
As an authentic leader, you must define your own values and decide which ones simply cannot be compromised. You may be surprised to find that you are willing to compromise them in certain situations, but be honest and transparent to your team about why you make those decisions. Your team will no doubt understand that nothing is black and white, so concessions will be made but the genuine intent behind those decisions should not disappear.
Extract from the article "The Ultimate Goal of an Authentic Leadership" Victoria O'Dea and Steve Robinson