The easiest way to be a more authentic leader
5 simple steps to being you.
Are you an authentic leader, a genuine and positive individual with truthful self-concepts who promotes openness within their environment? By building trust and generating enthusiastic support and inspiration from their teams, authentic leaders are able to improve individual and team performance to achieve win/win outcomes. Authentic leadership is a powerful approach to leadership with an emphasis on building legitimacy through honest relationships with self and others who value their input and are built on an ethical foundation.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." ~ Steve Jobs
In order to live and work congruently, we can implement the following 5 steps:
1. Release the need to be liked by everyone
Most people are walking the tightrope between their need to express their own identity, and their need to fit in. Authentic leaders have the ability of self-love as they live congruently with their authentic self, so they don’t need to be liked or loved by everyone, which provides great acceptance and freedom.
“I'd rather have the whole world against me than my own soul.” ~ Dr John Demartini
2. Create more self-awareness and embrace who you are
We are all unique and bring our own set of experiences, values, attitudes and personality into our leadership style. Creating more self-awareness and embracing who we are is an early step in the creation of the life that we want. It helps us to pinpoint what our passions and emotions are, and how our personality can help us to live in harmony with ourselves and others.
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3. Know and accept your values (including hidden values)
We all have values, whether we are aware of them or not. Unfortunately, most people (unless they enrol in a course like this), are never even aware that there is such a thing as values, and what role they play in the quality of their lives. If you know your values, you know who you are and what you stand for. Your life is owned and shaped by you on your own terms.
The ‘value of values’ can’t be underestimated because most people who live with a sense of value, know their true self, they know where to draw the line and how to set healthy boundaries. They generally experience a more profound level of mindfulness, self-worth and fulfillment.
4. Build honest relationships with self and others
Ultimately, authentic leadership is about creating and nurturing an interdependent environment, where independent people work together in a smart way by contributing and sharing their resources for a greater outcome, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (1 + 1 ≥ 3).
5. Live your true authentic self - Because everyone else is already taken!
Authentic leaders are genuine and show their true self. This does not mean that they share with the world every detail about their personal lives or something that’s irrelevant to others. But they are open and truthful about the challenges they face and allow others in, to work together and find solutions to turn stumbling blocks into steppingstones.
“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
Authentic leaders are confident yet humble. They can be an authority without using an authoritarian way. They fully believe in themselves and their abilities, yet they are down-to-earth and strive to find the balance.
Let’s work with people we like and live with people we love! Let’s value ourselves and our time, because we can never get it back.
Let’s choose wisely when we build our sustainable, fulfilling relationship between work, life and well-being so we can be balanced human-centred leaders who inspire self and others!
Activity
Work through the following self-reflection questions and write down your thoughts.
- “What are my values around family and friends, work, health, leadership, hobbies?” | “Do I actually have a hobby?”
- “Which relationships require more focus, and which ones less?”
- “Which of the above points can I take on board to embrace my authentic self?”
This topic is covered in detail in the online course “Raising personal effectiveness”. Enrol now for free.
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