“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” Dolly Parton

You’ve seen it!  The individual who seems larger than life!  They seem to have the proverbial “Midas Touch”, and everything they touch seems to turn golden.  Watching them from a distance is like being at a concert and seeing an artist perform.  There are lights, fireworks, and fanfare plenty.  You watch from your seat and wish you could be like them.  From a distance, they seem to have it all figured out!  Until they don’t!

Every one of us has been exposed to leaders who turned out not to be who they say they are.  They go years putting on a front and playing a part.  They know the right words, wear the right clothes, and hang out with the right people.  If they were a river, they’d be a mile wide and an inch deep.  From a distance, it looks impressive, but when you wade into the water you find a completely different reality. Simply put their actions and their words don’t line up.

Usually, when you see these types of leaders get exposed there is resulting collateral damage to the people around them and the organization they led.  The ensuing chaos hurts a lot of people!  Customers lose trust in the organization, people’s dreams are obliterated, and followers become jaded.  The impact of believing in someone who wasn’t authenticate can last years or even a lifetime.

Things are Different

Today’s workforce has become different!  That’s a reality that nobody debates anymore.  Gone are the days when people follow blindly.  Overwhelmingly, today’s workforce wants to be part of something that makes a difference.  They want to be part of something bigger than themselves.  They want to be part of something real and authentic!  This desire isn’t simply to be part of an organization that is authentic; they want to have leaders who are real and authentic.

Being an authentic leader is foundational to creating something that people want to be part of and believe in.  When you believe in a leader or organization who is authentic it builds trust, creates a shared purpose, improves outcomes, and increases engagement.  Authenticity has the opposite effect of pretense.  Authenticity builds and pretense tears down https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/authentic-leadership.  

Living an authentic life can be scary though!  Doing so requires you to be self-aware, vulnerable, empathetic, and sometimes hurt.  It’s not simply about being authentic in the workplace either.  This authenticity is something that must permeate all aspects of your life.  You cannot be authentic in the workplace and in turn be someone different in your personal life.  As a leader, you do not have separate buckets in your life when it comes to your personal life and professional life.  These aspects of your are interwoven and any duplicity will spill out when your life comes under pressure.

Self-Awareness

Being self-aware is a process that never ends.  It’s a journey that is constant and requires you to continually ask yourself and those around you hard questions.  Being self-aware requires a high degree of emotional intelligence.  Having emotional intelligence requires you to understand the wake you leave in the organization as you move through it.  Do you leave a pile of human carnage behind you as you go?  Do you bring an air of assurance and certainty to the situation?

Vulnerability

Allowing people to see the “chinks” in your armor allows people to see the real you.  They understand that you are human.  Seeing your willingness to be vulnerable and share your challenges doesn’t make those around you think you’re weak.  It has the opposite effect of making you real and approachable.  Your vulnerability gives people hope that they too can survive their own challenges and work through their weaknesses.

Empathetic

Demonstrating empathy is not the same as sympathy.  Empathy means that you understand where someone is coming from and what they are walking through.  Sympathy means feeling sorry for them. Demonstrating empathy also has the potential to increase employee retention.  In a survey conducted by Businessolver, it was identified that 90% of employees are more inclined to stay with an organization that understands their needs https://info.businessolver.com/hubfs/empathy-2018/businessolver-empathy-executive-summary.pdf

Hurt

You being authentic does have the potential of allowing you to be hurt.  Leadership isn’t easy!  Anytime you have the opportunity to speak to leaders, you will more than likely hear stories that left scars and marks on them (if they’re authentic).  Opening yourself up does place you in a position of having something used against you.  But, authenticity is the antidote to shame and if you live a life of authenticity there’s probably not much that those around you don’t already know.

Watching another leader from a distance and believing they have it all figured out is a fallacy of comparison.  Trying to compare your situation to someone else is a recipe for disaster.  It sets you up for feelings of inadequacy and frustration.  Trying to be something you’re not is not only disingenuous to you but also to those you lead.  Being a leader is hard enough without trying to be something you’re not.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde