LEADERSHIP AUTHENTICITY… WHAT IT REALLY MEANS

— BY ROSS SWAN

There is a lot of talk now about leaders needing to be authentic. But what does that really mean? I have heard people misconstrue the meaning. They take the word authentic, to mean, I can just be myself. But just being yourself is not that simple.

There can be a difference between being truly authentic and just being yourself. The question here is, what is driving ‘being yourself’? Are you being a reflection of your inner self or are you a reflection of the people around you?

Authenticity is a continuous connectivity between the head, the heart, and the soul. Understanding, and then living that, makes one truly authentic. If you continually see yourself through the eyes of others, then that will change the equation.

Seeing yourself through others means you become a person who is not staying true to themself, but a person staying true to other’s expectations. How often do we see executives continually rate themselves against others for the wrong reasons? Playing office politics, winning at the expense of others, and the list goes on.

Don’t get me wrong, you can be influenced by others, having mentors and role models are healthy learning opportunities. But that’s just it, it is for your personal development, not for you to be a replica of someone else. Competition is healthy also, but not at the expense of others. A behaviour which also leads to misalignment of strategic objectives.

So the being an authentic leader is something that comes from within you.

When your heart, soul and inner self are connected you will have good thoughts. Over the years coaching numerous executives, I have never met anyone, that once they are connected their to inner self, that is, recognising their deep feelings about themselves, have they wanted to treat people badly. Where thoughts to compete, seek revenge, I am better than him/her etc., come when they are in their head space, not when they are connected with their inner feelings.

An exercise I have done may times as a coach is to help people get in touch with their inner self. Its amazing how much people get out of that exercise. It quite often liberates them. They like the energy that it provides, and they work hard to be more in this mode of behaviour. That is taking regular time out to meditate and reflect.

So, with continual encouragement and selfdiscipline they start to change. It may be a long journey for some but at least they have started.

But I will admit, some bounce back to their old behaviour of headspace living and stay there for a variety of reasons. Luckily, they are the minority I have worked with. A very important outcome of being one’s true self, is that you are more conscious of your impact on others. It’s not, “I need to be myself so I can say what I want.” Yes, you need to say what needs to be said, but in a more diplomatic way. Its just takes a little patience and discipline, something you have more of when that desire comes from within.

Keeping in touch with your own feelings enables you to better understand other people’s feelings. That’s what tends to motivate you to be conscious of others. A heightener for your emotional intelligence.

The last point regarding authenticity I want to make, is about ego. To me, we have two aspects of ego. Your inner and outer ego. Your outer ego is fueled by your thought’s, not your feelings. It gets back to what I mentioned before, the desire to compete and feel superior to others. That’s head space thinking only. You may think you are feeling it, but no, you are thinking it. The feeling you are getting is only a reflection of your thoughts, such as: “yes I am better than they are, yes aren’t I good”!!!

In their mind, an Olympic athlete does not compete against others, they compete against themselves and strive for their personal best. Yes, physically they compete, but mentally they are not. They do not outwardly think they are the best, but they definitely do inwardly. It’s that inner strength that gives them the drive to compete day after day.

The same is for authentic leaders. To be authentic you need to have that inner strength not to bow to other people’s opinions as to how you should be leading. Yes, your need to be open minded to other ideas but not a direct reflection of them. Your inner ego comes from being confident and feeling that you are okay and that you can stand tall in any crowd. But that should come from your inner self, not an outer expression where you feel the need tell everyone. Your inner self does not compete with others it competes only with yourself.

That is the foundation of being authentic.

So how do I work on my authenticity?

Firstly, you need to desire which comes from within, not a desire driven by the outside environment. That is, “authentic leadership is what I am reading about so I must become one.” The problem here is that as soon as you meet a roadblock you will move to another fad because it may be easier to do. Your desire needs to come from within. You can do this through meditation or mindfulness. The key here is to just take the time out to reflect on how you want to behave as a person and are you doing that, not how you think you should behave, but how you really feel. When you compete with yourself you win, only when you compete with others do you loose.

Taking that regular time out is fueled by the desire from within. If it’s difficult to find the time, then question where your desire is coming from. Your inner being or your outer thoughts. Get that right and you can be truly authentic So, to summarize, true authenticity is about feeling it not thinking it.

About

ROSS SWAN

Ross is a perceptive and responsive leadership consultant, coach and trainer, with broad experience in varied industries worldwide, including financial services, construction, energy, beauty products, logistics, distribution, retail, engineering, hospitality, airlines, and manufacturing.

Ross is also a dynamic speaker and podcaster with outstanding skills in communication, presentation, training, teambuilding, and interpersonal relations. He works internationally, spanning a variety of industries around the globe with his projects encompassing many diverse cultural backgrounds.

Throughout the years, Ross has developed a growing desireto put an ongoing emphasis on bringing more soul into business and he believes that the most effective leaders are soul inspired.

You can catch Ross at www.soul-inspiredleadership.com