Authenticity is a deeply underrated leadership quality. As you read that, I wonder how many of you inside your head went ‘well I’m authentic’! This article (Managing Authenticity: The Paradox of Great Leadership (hbr.org)) talks about the fact that “No leader can look into a mirror and say, “I am authentic.” A person cannot be authentic on his or her own”. Establishing your authenticity is seen as a two-part challenge:
- First, you have to ensure that your words are consistent with your deeds; otherwise, followers will never accept you as authentic.
- Second, is finding common ground with the people you seek to recruit as followers. This means you will have to present different faces to different audiences, a requirement that many people find hard to square with authenticity. A quote in the article from Jean Tomlin (former HRD at M&S) sets out how she does it: “I want to be me, but I am channelling parts of me to context. What you get is a segment of me. It is not a fabrication or a facade—just the bits that are relevant for that situation.”
And in being authentic, we are encouraged to consider that “besides possessing self-knowledge and skills in self-disclosure, great leaders have to be able to recognise which aspects of their authentic selves’ particular groups of followers are looking for. Most great leaders have highly developed social antennae: They use a complex mix of cognitive and observational skills to recognise what followers are consciously—and unconsciously—signalling to them.
With that in mind, take time to think:
- How confident are you that your deeds match your words? Do you need to, could you, do anything else?
- How consciously do you think about what parts of you, you want to channel for which circumstances?
- What aspects of your authentic self are your teams signalling that they need from you?
As leaders, we can all show our people that we are role modelling the changes that all of us want to see. Let’s be better and be the change. Contact [email protected] if you would like help to do so.