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E S TABL ISHING A L A S T ING L E G AC Y
Adam would learn in the days and weeks to come that his inability to remain authentic to himself and to others was the underlying reason his superstar teacher threatened to leave the school. As a principal, there is little doubt your authenticity will have a dramatic impact on you and others, and if you change who you are to meet the challenges you face as a school leader, the consequences may be severe. Or, in the words of writer Eric Jackson (2014), “If you want to keep the most talented members of your team, it’s time you started looking in the mirror and realize the biggest reasons why people quit have to do with you.” In this chapter, we delve into the question Who am I? as it relates to authentic leadership. We discuss what authentic leadership is and why it matters before discovering several strategies on how to become an authentic leader. You will then have the opportunity to assess your level of authentic leadership and reflect on the impact of your leadership on the wider school community.
What Is Authentic Leadership? The innermost ripple of our Lasting Legacy model (figure 1.1) asks the question that is the focus of this chapter: “Who am I?” We believe the answer to this question will help you become a more authentic leader and will act as the premier catalyst for your faculty’s belief in you, laying the groundwork for a sustained legacy. Lasting leadership must start from within the leader. In other words, you must realize who you are from within in order to understand how to lead authentically. The roots of authenticity can be traced back to ancient Greek philosophy’s short yet infamous phrase, “Know thyself.” In his book True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, Bill George (2007) describes authentic leaders as: Genuine people who are true to themselves and to what they believe in. They engender trust and develop genuine connections with others. Because people trust them, they are able to motivate others to high levels
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Adam struggled to answer questions like these, doubting his ability to be competent enough to be principal at Edward Nash High. To compensate for his lack of administrative leadership, he focused on his image, trying to live up to the pressure of how he and others thought he ought to be. He embodied a leadership persona driven by short-term personal victories, taking down anyone who got in his way. But, in doing so, he completely neglected the values that brought him into educational leadership in the first place—values like servanthood and empowering others. That’s when the gap between who he was as a person compared to who he was as a leader began to widen, eventually leaving him guarded, defensive, and unable to fully open himself up to those around him. Now, thinking back, it was at that moment that the trust between Adam and his staff began to wane.
