"Your Queer Career?" ... “YOU DO YOU, BOO! BEING YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF AT WORK” [Vol.25]

For the next few “Your Queer Career?” Newsletters we’re going to veer away from the Q&A format, take a step back, and focus on each of the Core Leadership Competencies that I’ve found that–when developed–really make an impact for any leader: Queer or otherwise.

In this edition let’s focus on “Your Authenticity” …

First: Why Authenticity Anyway?

In Pride Leadership we explore the idea of being an authentic leader, and really, it’s nothing new in the workplace context. In fact, Harvard Business Review stated, “Authenticity has emerged as the gold standard for leadership, (George, 2016, para. 1). “As an authentic Queer Leader, you act in a leadership capacity from your true (authentic) selves. You’re truthful, and you have the self-awareness of what skills and abilities you bring to the table but also have that self-awareness of where you have “areas of opportunity” to learn and grow better.

Being an authentic Queer Leader is not about you conforming to a specific mold or imitating others; it’s about embracing your true self and leading with integrity, transparency, and a genuine concern for others. In a time where trust and integrity are vital to success, the idea of authentic leadership in the workplace has gained a lot of focus for success.

“Trust” is the key word to leadership success in that previous section. I want to share a big honkin’ leadership secret: if you build trust, you become an effective LGBTQ+ Leader. But that’s so much easier said than done. By being your authentic self, you foster trust with those around you. You consistently demonstrate honesty, vulnerability, and leading in an ethical manner, creating an atmosphere of trust and psychological safety within your teams. By being genuine and true to yourself, LGBTQ+ Leaders encourage open communication, collaboration, and mutual respect (see how authenticity ties to some of the other six competencies?). The resulting trust fosters stronger relationships, empowers team members, and enhances team performance. Plus: Queer Leaders serve as role models, inspiring others to embrace their own authenticity and contribute to a culture of trust and accountability. Awesome stuff!

Authenticity & Your Values

Being an authentic LGBTQ+ Leader is knowing what drives you to do the things you do. We all have a personal values system, whether it’s something we are cognizant of or something that’s been operating in our subconscious, and we act through this values lens. If you’ve never discovered your Top Five Personal Values there’s a great activity in Pride Leadership to guide you through it, but I’m sure you most likely have a decent sense of what “drives” you as a human and what’s important to you, in and out of the workplace.

As an authentic Queer Leader, you lead your work through these personal values. But to maintain your authentic self and be successful it’s smart to look at your work through two distinctive lenses:

(1) Your Values and What You Do. Within each of our roles we have tasks to do. But critically take a look at your work as it aligns with your values: is there a connection? For example, one of my personal values is “embrace creativity.” I value when people (and myself) exercise creativity (in problem solving, in the traditional arts, writing, etc. etc.). On my “To Do” list may be “create a PowerPoint presentation for XYZ Situation.” So, this “To Do” directly supports my value of “exercise creativity.” BOOM! If I am consistently “feeding” my own personal values then what I’m doing for work is authentic to me: it aligns with my personal values of importance. And yes, sometimes there are things on that “To Do” list that don’t tick a values box, and that’s just adulting isn’t it? But overall if I take a step back and see the trend of what I do and how it supports my values and see very little overlap, then the work I’m doing is not supporting my authenticity. Have a think about that.

(2) Your Values and Where You Work. Do your personal values align with those of your workplace? And I’m going to stab in the dark and say you’re thinking a big “hell ya!” but stop and pause: do they really? I’ve been around long enough to know that the “stated workplace values” aren’t always the REAL values exercised in the workplace (even if the specific location, plant, department, or other isolated part of the bigger organization). A smart Queer Leader will critically see if the “lived values” within your specific area of the workplace are aligned with your personal values. If they are, awesome! That’s supporting your authenticity. If they aren’t, it will be much more challenging to lead authentically if you’re in constant struggle internally as leading as “you” when that’s not what your workplace wants.

Our values are at the core of our authenticity as an LGBTQ+ Leader. Having a mindful perspective of these can help us support—or detract from—being an authentic Queer Leader.

Final Authentic Thoughts

Being authentic is a powerful leadership tool that ultimately leads to success. Building trust yields better relationships, higher influence, and frankly just makes doing the work better as you’re being, well, you. As a Queer Leader, being mindful on how authentic you are showing up at work (whether that’s in-person or virtually) is paramount and how you interact with those around you in an authentic way makes a difference. As you explore the following questions related to authentic leadership, think about your own leadership context and how you would approach each of the situations as your authentic self.

SOURCE: George, B. (2016). “The Truth About Authentic Leaders.” Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. Retrieved on 01/02/19 from: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-truth-about-authentic-leaders?cid=spmailing-13138219-WK%20Newsletter%2007-06-2016%20(1)-July%2006,%202016

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership Dude?”) is an expert in diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership. He’s worked internal for folks like The Walt Disney Company, IBM, Tupperware Brands, and several universities before starting his own consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group in 2008.

TopDog works with both Fortune 500s and not-for-profit organizations to bring about a more inclusive and effective workplace. Steve’s also an award-winning author, speaker, and catalyst. His latest book, Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle ‘came out’ in 2019, and his next book, Your Queer Career?: Workplace Advice from “The Gay Leadership Dude?” hit shelves this year.

Steve’s not-so-hidden agenda is to make the world a bit more inclusive for us all.