A Journey Into Authenticity

This week I am presenting a keynote speech at a national conference on the subject of Authentic Leadership. In my preparation I realised that authentic leadership is about the authenticity of the leader as a person, not their role. This then led me to ask, "what then is an authentic person?"

Firstly, I looked at who I am. My values, skills, gifts and talents; wisdom gained; my history; behaviours; personality; self image; beliefs; goals; motivations, general traits; interests and passions etc.

I then made a list of all my actions that were incongruent with who I am, asking myself the question "is what I do aligned with who I am?" Very enlightening.

The last area I considered was "what are the stretch areas that take me beyond my authentic self." These aren't necessarily bad things but they do indicate the level of stretch required as a leader. For example, if I am a naturally assertive, driven, entrepreneurial individual and I am miserable in my data entry role at work, it is highly likely that my role is not congruent with who I am. Likewise, if one of my highest values is peacefulness yet all I seem to do at work is manage conflict then again, that can be a stretch.

When we live inauthentically we tend to live in a state of internal conflict and angst due to our actions not being in sync with our core person - our authentic self. Living out of the authentic self is a freeing experience and one worth taking time to discover. It will assist you in living with yourself, understanding your history more fully, ascertaining best career choices, the quality of your relationships with colleagues, friends and significant other and help you not to be a pain in the a$#^e to those you work with or who are closest to you.