What is authentic leadership? How is it displayed? How can we cultivate it? Can we learn to be authentic in our leadership? All these questions and many more run through my head when trying to make the distinctions and comprehend the different characteristics and theories of leadership. Some theories overlap. Like leading with your heart or serving others through your leadership. These very connected and emotional characteristics of leadership are seen or at least talked about in both authentic and servant leadership. Being able to change your style depending on the situation or the situational approach of leadership is also an observed trait of both theories. Authentic leadership can be transformational in its results as well. So how do we choose what kind of leader we want to be and moreover, how do we do it? I am by no means the leading authority on how to become a good leader but what makes anyone a better leader than the next person or just as good but in a different aspect? If I had to give one answer, I would have to say plain old experience. Can we be authentic and encourage others to do the same while meeting the needs of our team or organization? The more I think about it (the more my head hurts really) the more I realize that authentic leadership encompasses a multitude of leadership traits, behaviors and skills. It’s like the super hero of leadership styles.
Developing our leadership skills and image doesn’t have to be to complicated. Taking stock and having awareness of your current skills and image can go a pretty long way. For instance, if you think you talk way too fast when delivering speeches or presentations and you are often viewed as nervous, you should make a concerted effort to take a deep breath, slow down and remain calm.
For leaders, a big change can be taken as disingenuous or even seen as suspicious behavior. Small changes are what you are looking for. Changes that you can be implemented on a daily basis and that are sustainable. Extravagant, disruptive change can hurt the image you have worked so hard to cultivate or hurt the work you have done to change the image you currently have.
But before any changes can truly be made, you really need to make sure you have a truthful picture of yourself or in this case your image. Taking time to understand how other people perceive you and why, is very important. You should look for feedback from colleagues, supervisors, managers, and from the numbers i.e., direct reports and evaluations. You could even ask your friends and family members. Of course, take this with a grain of salt because some of what you get may be a little biases but take it in none the less and internalize it. All of these points of view will delineate how your own words and behaviors are viewed by the people around you.
It doesn’t mean you can’t practice new behaviors and even though they may feel uncomfortable, something small and fresh may help you get out of a rut. Of course avoid doing anything that doesn’t harmonize with your values or intentions. A desire to learn and change is what makes a leader evolve with the times always keeping in mind the image that people have of you and the image you would like to portray can be two different things.
cxg374 says
I love how you described Authentic Leadership as the “superhero” of leadership. It does seem rather all encompassing and perhaps this explains why I also felt a bit overwhelmed by the components it embodied and the meanings behind them.
I would imagine that some leaders we view as “Authentic” perhaps have their own demons or things that are not in-line with the requirements of an authentic leader. Authentic Leadership almost seems to perfect to achieve unless it is viewed from a developmental perspective in that the leader may falter but works towards gaining back his or her authentic leadership traits.
Christian