Are you struggling with being a genuine, authentic leader? Discover why authenticity matters and how you can embrace it in your leadership journey. Did you hear the news? Merriam-Webster’s 2023 Word of the Year is “Authentic.” (Oxford announced their word for 2023, too: “Rizz.” Rizz refers to a person’s charisma or charm in attracting others. Rizz is new to me. I’ve never heard this word, much less used this word. It may be my lack of charisma. Or my age.) But in church I’ve heard the phrase authentic leader more times than I can count. Everyone talks about beiong an authentic leader.
Be An Authentic Leader
I spent a decade in the marketplace before transitioning into ministry leadership. My early marketplace days were like most of your marketplace days. Full of work for profit and shareholder value. Ministry is different. Nobody ever asked me to be more “authentic” In my marketplace roles. But in the church? I heard it a lot. And I mean, a LOT. “Can you be a little more authentic?” “When you preach, I’m not sensing too much authenticity.” “Can you say that more authentically?”
“What does that even mean?” I would retort. “I’m feeling frustrated with all your ‘be more authentic’ talk, so should I express my ‘authentic’ frustrations publicly?” I wondered.
What Is Authenticity, Anyway?
It seems weird that a word that’s been around so long is now reaching “Word of the Year” status. Perhaps because the vast majority of people using this word can’t really define this word. They want it, but they don’t know how to describe it. They want their leader or pastor to be more “authentic,” but what does that mean?
By definition, authentic means to be genuine or real. No wonder people crave authenticity. Our world is built on a lack of genuine and real. Today’s movies feel more like a CGI computer creation than a reality of life. Social media is nothing but filters and selfie retakes. Botox, fillers, and plastic have become the norm, not an exception.
Nothing feels real because, in many cases, nothing is real.
Hence, we all desire “authenticity.” We say we desire something real. Something genuine. We say we don’t want fake or filtered. Yet our ongoing overuse of fake is why authentic are in such limited supply.
How to Be An Authentic Leader
What does all this mean for us as leaders? If our staff and organizations desire more authenticity, how can we offer that in a genuine and helpful way?
