Article

Authentic Leadership – To thine own self be true

“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become.
If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” –Oprah Winfrey
It’s amazing how many of us have two sides to our personality, a ‘work me’ and a ‘home me’. At work,
we often try to come across a certain way, whether it’s to garner more recognition or to fit in with our
managers and colleagues; we end up changing ourselves and how we act. This is especially true in
leadership, where managers often feel pressure to fit their personality to match their role. The problem
is that by ‘acting the role’ of leader, those around them often feel like they’re being lied to or deceived.
Then leaders are stunned when their employees don’t like them, don’t trust them and end up leaving.
But if individuals can remain authentic in their leadership approach, they can bring their whole self to
work while still being effective, productive and inspiring leaders.

What is authentic leadership?

The idea of authentic leadership has been around
for a long time, even if it was known by different
names until Bill George’s book ‘Authentic Leadership’
popularised the term out in 2003. Since then, the
term has become business jargon, often overused
and not well enough understood to be meaningful.
But there is something behind the jargon – ideas and
concepts that have been around for centuries that
can help leaders lead people by having a sense of
self-awareness, identity, honesty and passion.

We all have a different idea of what authentic

leadership is, based on our own knowledge and
experiences:

“At its most basic level, authenticity means being “Authentic leadership for me encompasses the
genuine – not a replica, not a copy or imitation. whole leader and a leader cannot be authentic just
In leadership being genuine implies that we are some of the time or when times are buoyant. It is
embodying our true selves into our leadership role. about showing the behaviours of an authentic leader
Being true to ourselves calls us to draw on the very all of the time and not just ‘in pockets’. An authentic
essence of our values, beliefs, principles, morals leader demonstrates their ability to exhibit the right
and that all of these create our ‘guiding compass’ behaviours especially when needed in times of
in the job. Not somebody else’s compass – our change and challenge. A high level of self-awareness
own! Authentic leadership holds making the most is of paramount importance and the foundations
of our strengths, recognising and trading off our required for being an authentic leader. A leader
weaknesses and taking full self-accountability for cannot be authentic with others if they do not
the impact we have on others. What authentic understand what this looks like for them.”
leadership is not about is adopting the styles or
traits of other leaders.” – Victoria O’Dea

– Steve Robinson

1 © The Insights Group Ltd, 2014. All rights reserved.

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Authentic Leadership – To thine own self be true

The key behaviours of an authentic Have an ability to get their ego out of the way -
they truly empower and develop others
leader
‘Big ego leadership’ lies at the opposite end of
The central component of authentic leadership is the continuum to authentic leadership. Authentic
genuineness, which means every authentic leader leadership holds out the first and foremost principle,
is different. However, there are several markers that ‘it’s not about me’. It’s akin to the truly brilliant
these leaders tend to share. magician who knows that he cannot cross over into
the world of magic until he puts everything else
Authentic leaders:
aside and behind him – including his own desires
and needs – and focuses totally on bringing an
• demonstrate behaviours which enable you to
experience to the audience.
trust in them all of the time
• take ownership when they have made a mistake
and share responsibility for any mistake
• show the necessary courage to push further up
the leadership chain, to question current status
quo or defend their people or processes

There is a perceived level of expectation around

what a great leader should do and how she/
he should behave. These expected norms can
create myths about leadership being inspirational,
exhibiting unrelenting confidence, having
They influence and inspire others by revealing a
unwavering decision making, showing unshakeable
bit themselves
self-belief and revealing no signs of personal
weakness. In authentic leadership, whilst some of
In being able to ‘lift their veil’ and reveal their true
these may well help in the execution of the role, the
selves, authentic leaders transfer humility, credibility
real test is somewhat more grounded.
and trust to those around them. They generate
believability by being ‘human’. People follow them
Authentic leaders:
not through the leader’s manipulation, carrot or
Continually commit to their own learning in stick strategy, or through threats or even because
order to understand themselves as a person and of their power or position – but through compelling
influence. Authentic leaders demonstrate some
how they and others see the world
vulnerability and at the same time fully understand
Deep self-awareness is the foundation here. And it their genuine influential ‘edge’ with others.
builds and grows – it’s a lifelong journey of learning
Deliver great outcomes over longer periods of
from experiences and being able to share these
along the way. They resonate with others by telling time
stories of success and defeat, of good times and
In a world increasingly impatient for results and
tough times and of accomplishments and setbacks.
demanding immediate outcomes, authentic
Truly knowing their values – who they are, what do
leadership is continuously tested. The pressures
they believe in, what’s the right thing to do – for
of instant delivery versus longer-term desirable
the right reason and in the right way is often all that
outcomes are a true leadership tension in itself.
leaders have to help navigate by when the deep mist
Authentic leaders though, know what they can and
of uncertainty prevails.

2 © The Insights Group Ltd, 2014. All rights reserved.

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Authentic Leadership – To thine own self be true

can’t settle or compromise on in the short term – “Authenticity is the alignment of

because it will impact on the longer-term outcome.
Authentic leaders have a ferocious tenacity on head, mouth, heart, and feet -
the longer-term goals. They align their personal thinking, saying, feeling, and doing
values develop future leaders and build sustainable
successful organisations. the same thing - consistently. This
builds trust, and followers love
leaders they can trust.”
How to be an authentic leader
– Lance Secretan
An in-depth study by the Harvard Business
Review of effective leaders ranging in ages
from 23 to 93 found that there is no “cookie
cutter leader”. Every person interviewed had
a different idea of what an ideal leader looks
like, with each individual having a unique
combination of characteristics, traits, skills
and styles that led to their own success. The
one common theme was that all the leaders
were consciously or subconsciously taking in
their real-world experiences continuously, and
using those experiences to frame who they
were at their core. As a result, they found the
“purpose of their leadership and learned that
being authentic made them more effective”.
Conclusion
This study is one that we all can learn from, The rampant pace of change in our world in
itself requires agility, flexibility and adaptability
whether we’re managing other people
of leadership styles and approaches to an ever-
professionally or not. That’s because the changing landscape. Complexity will increase
study shows that leaders are not born leaders; around technical, economic, financial and social
they become great leaders throughout the issues in the world and when we add in the very
course of their life by taking in experiences ethical, moral and consciousness testing dilemmas,
and letting it guide them and their leadership that complexity will be exacerbated.
style. That is a tactic anyone can adopt well
before they reach managerial level, or even Perhaps all of us striving to be our unique, authentic
before they enter the workforce. selves will create a collective array of authentic
perspectives, values and principles to complex
situations. The tensions and conflict here will be
vividly apparent but paradoxically this may also
give rise to the existence of the one last bastion of
stability – authenticity.

3 © The Insights Group Ltd, 2014. All rights reserved.

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Authentic Leadership – To thine own self be true

About the authors

Steve Robinson, Victoria O’Dea,

CEO and Founder, Si Consulting Ltd Client Relationship Manager, Insights
Steve is an experienced business Victoria is a Client Relationship
leader and consultant with a highly Manager at Insights and manages
diverse and successful background a wide range of accounts. Prior
in multi-disciplined leadership. As to joining Insights Victoria had
owner and CEO of Si Consulting, 10 years+ experience in Sales
he works with leaders and teams and Learning and Development
in developing and sustaining their within large FMCG Blue Chips
performance and impact. Steve adds a powerful mix Organisations. Victoria prides herself on understanding
of useable and sustainable approaches that will see clients’ business needs and drivers, and developing
individuals, teams and organisations achieving greater measurable solutions which help them provide the
performance. required deliverables for the individuals, teams and
organisation.
Steve brings 25 years of first hand commercial experience,
including a Board appointment and senior positions with Victoria first got introduced to Insights in 1999 when
Specsavers and Fitness First, built on the foundation of she was a delegate on an Insights Discovery Workshop
a successful career in corporate finance and banking. and received her first Insights Discovery Personal Profile.
Steve is also a licensed practitioner of Insights Discovery, It was at this moment that Victoria realised the true
a coach, group facilitator, trained trainer and speaker at potential that Discovery could bring for enhancing
business events and seminars. relationships and in turn enhancing sales with clients.
This realisation soon evolved into a genuine passion
and enthusiasm for learning and development and
developing people in order to help them maximise their
potential.

4 © The Insights Group Ltd, 2014. All rights reserved.