Leadership authenticity

Leaders are all very different peo­ple. Any prospective leader who buys into the necessity of attempting to emulate all the characteristics of a leader is doomed to fail. The one essential quality you must have to lead is to be your own person, authentic in every regard. The best leaders are autonomous and highly independent. Those who are too responsive to the desires of others are likely to be persuaded by com­peting interests, quick to deviate from their course or unwilling to make difficult decisions for fear of offending. The advice is simply to be yourself.

Developing your unique

leadership style

To become authentic, each of us has to develop our own leadership style, consistent with our own personality and character. Unfortu­nately, the pressures of an organ­isation push us to adhere to its normative style. But if we conform to a style that is not consistent with who we are, we will never become authentic leaders. What counts is the authenticity of the leader, not the style. Nonetheless, it is import­ant that you develop a leadership style that works well for you and is consistent with your character and your personality.

Being true to the person you were created to be means accepting your faults as well as using your strengths. Accepting your shadow side is an essential part of being authentic. The problem comes when people are so eager to win the approval of others that they try to cover their shortcomings and sacrifice their authenticity to gain the respect and admiration of their associates.

Dimensions of authentic

leaders

Bill George has determined through many experiences in lead­ing others that authentic leaders demonstrate five qualities: under­standing their purpose; practicing solid values; leading with heart; es­tablishing connected relationships; and demonstrating self-discipline. “Acquiring the five dimensions of an authentic leader is not a sequential process; rather, leaders are developing them continuously throughout their lives.”

In trying to help people become authentic leaders Bill George conducted a research to find out: “How can people become and remain authentic leaders? His research team interviewed 125 leaders to learn how they devel­oped the leadership abilities.

The people they talked with ranged from 23 to 93 years, with no fewer than 15 per decade. They were chosen based on their repu­tation for authenticity and effec­tiveness as leaders as well as their personal knowledge of them. They also solicited recommendations from other leaders and academics.

After interviewing these individ­uals and analyzing several thousand pages of transcripts, the team discovered that these people did not identify any universal charac­teristics, traits, skills, or styles that led to their success. Rather their leadership emerged from their life stories. Consciously and subcon­sciously they were constantly test­ing themselves through real-world experiences and reframing their life stories to understand who they were at their core. In doing so, they discovered the purpose of their leadership and learned that being authentic made them more effective.

First, and importantly, authentic leaders frame their life stories in ways to allow them to see them­selves not as passive observers of their lives but rather as individuals who can develop self-awareness from their experiences. They act on that awareness by practicing their values and principles, sometimes at substantial risk to themselves. They are careful to balance their motivations so that they are driven by these inner values as much as by a desire for external rewards or recognition. Authentic leaders also keep a strong support team around them, ensuring that they live inte­grated, grounded lives.

Learning from your life

story

The journey to authentic lead­ership begins with understanding the story of your life. Your life story provides the context for your experiences, and through it, you can find the inspiration to make an impact in the world. It is your personal narrative that matters, not the mere facts of your life. “Your life narrative is like a permanent recording playing in your head.”

While the life stories of authen­tic leaders cover the full spectrum of experiences, many leaders reported that their motivations came from a difficult experience in their lives. They describe the trans­formation effects of the loss of a job; personal illness; the untimely death of a close friend or relatives; and feelings of being excluded, discriminated against, and rejected by peers. Rather than seeing them­selves as victims, though, authentic leaders used these formative expe­riences to give a meaning to their lives. They reframed these events to rise above their challenges and to discover their passion to lead.

Knowing your authentic

self

Daniel Goleman and others of the Emotional Intelligence school of thought believe that the most important capability for leaders to develop is self-awareness. Yet many leaders, especially those early in their careers, are trying so hard to establish themselves in the world that they leave little time for self-exploration. They strive to achieve success in tangible ways that are recognized in the external world – money, fame, power, or status. Often their drive enables them to be professionally successful for a while, but they are unable to sustain their success. As they age, they may find some­thing is missing in their lives and realize they are holding back from being the person they want to be. “Knowing their authentic selves requires the courage and humility and honesty to open up and exam­ine their experiences. As they do so, leaders become more humane and willing to be vulnerable.”

Practising your values

and principles

The values that form the basis for authentic leadership are derived from your beliefs and convictions, but you will not know what your true values are until they are tested under pressure. It is relatively easy to list your values and live by them when things are going well. When your success, your career, or even your life hangs in the balance, you learn what is most important, what you are prepared to sacrifice, and what trade-offs you are willing to make. Leadership principles are values translated into action. Having a solid base of values and testing them under fire enables you to develop the principles you will use in leading.

Balancing your

motivations

Authentic leaders need to sustain high levels of motivation and keep their lives in balance, thus it is critically important for them to understand what drives them. There are two types of motivation according to management theory: extrinsic and intrinsic. Although they are reluctant to admit it, many leaders are energised to achieve by measuring their success against external parameters. They enjoy the recognition and status that come with promotions and financial rewards. Intrinsic motivations, on the contrary, are derived from their sense of meaning of their life. Examples include personal growth, helping other people develop, tak­ing on social causes, and making a difference in the world. The key is to find a balance between your de­sires for external validation and the intrinsic motivations that provide fulfillment in your work.

Integrating your life

Integrating their lives is one of the greatest challenges leaders face. To lead a balanced life, you need to bring together all of its constituent elements – work, family, communi­ty, and friends – so that you can be the same person in each environ­ment.

Authentic leaders have a steady and confident presence. They do not show up as one person one day and another person the next. Integration takes discipline, partic­ularly during stressful times when it is easy to become reactive and slip back into bad habits. Integrating your life will enable you become a more effective leader. For authentic leaders, personal and professional lives are not a zero-sum game.

Leading is a highly stressful work. There is no way to avoid stress when you are responsible for people, organisations, out­comes, and managing the constant uncertainties of the environment. The higher you go, the greater your freedom to control your destiny but also the higher the degree of stress. The question is not whether you can avoid stress but how you can control it to maintain your own sense of equilibrium in becoming an authentic leader.

BY CAPT SAM ADDIAH (RTD)