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Wednesday, 12 November 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Authentic leaders, according to Bill George, genuinely desire to serve others through their leadership. They are interested in empowering the people they lead to make a difference; more than they are interested in power, money or prestige for themselves. They are guided equally by the heart and the mind, practicing heart-based guidance grounded in passion and compassion, as well as thoughtful leadership grounded in the qualities of the mind.
They lead with purpose, meaning and values and their people relationships are extremely strong. People follow them because they are consistent, reliable and strong. When they are pushed to go beyond their beliefs and values, they will not compromise. They are dedicated to personal growth and learning because they believe that becoming a leader takes a lifetime.
Authentic leadership encourages individuals to investigate their pasts, identify key defining moments in their lives that helped shape who they are and use these as springboards to identify their individual, authentic leadership purposes. In fact, leadership is very personal and different for everyone.
Authentic leaders are Level 5 leaders who demonstrate ontological humility and are aware of their strengths, their limitations and their emotions. They also show their real selves to their followers. They do not act one way in private and another in public; they don’t hide their mistakes or weaknesses out of fear of looking weak. They also realise that being self-actualised is an endless journey, never complete.
Authentic leaders are mission driven and focused on results. They are able to put the interest of their people at the centre of their business strategy. Highly engaged and motivated employees make the difference between a truly successful organisation and a mediocre entity and are the drivers of customer engagement. Authentic leaders are mission driven and focused on results. They are able to put the mission and the goals of the organisation ahead of their own self-interest. They do the job in pursuit of results, not for their own power, money or ego.
Authentic leaders lead with their heart, not just their minds. They are not afraid to show their emotions, their vulnerability and to connect with their employees. This does not mean authentic leaders are ‘soft’. They leverage on Socialised Power and not Personalised Power. They are able to demonstrate Social Intelligence competencies. When the situation warrants it, they communicate in a highly impactful and direct manner which is critical to successful outcomes, but it’s done with empathy. Directness without empathy is cruel.
Authentic leader’s purpose and values
Rajeev Peshawaria in his book ‘Too many bosses too few leaders’ clearly states that the essence of authentic leadership is to create a future that is better than the present. Purpose and your values are the guides that help you in pursuing it. Your purpose and values define your leadership identity and give you the energy you need to stay the course.
The only way to define your purpose and values is to ask yourself some tough questions and answer them honestly. Answers may not come to you right away, so you have to keep asking the questions until you find the answers that are right for you.
Thus, firstly you need to have clarity of personal purpose. After that, you have to imagine a better future. Once a clear picture of a desired future takes shape in your mind, determine the values that will guide you while pursuing that better future. Chances are you will be clear about the values and principles you would use to resolve difficult dilemmas.
Values determine your emotions and the energy created by emotions (emotional energy) in turn produces great performance.
However, emotional energy can be positive or negative. +ve emotional energy = memorable great performance, -ve = regrettable performance and behavior.
Authentic leaders understand the importance of recognising and channeling their emotions toward great performance and away from regrettable performance. They also understand that a prerequisite to managing emotions is having clarity about values.
How do values determine emotions? A core trigger of emotions in life is either a match or a mismatch between deeply held values and the situation at hand. The degree and type of emotion felt depends on the extent of the match or mismatch.
[The writer is the CEO and C-Suite Master Executive Coach of Centre for Executive Education (CEE Global). CEE is a premier network for established human resource development and consulting firms around the globe which partners with our client to design solutions for leaders at all levels who will navigate the firm through tomorrow’s business challenges. CEE offers human capital management solutions for addressing challenges posed by a multigenerational workforce including talent management and executive development programs (executive coaching and leadership development) that help leaders develop the skills and knowledge to embrace change and catalyse success in today’s workplace. Website: www.cee-global.com Email: [email protected].]
