It’s a great question. I’ve pondered this for over a decade now, so if I may, here are 6 ideas I’ve found “authentically” helpful.
1. Share Your WHOLE Story
Followers want to know and understand leaders. That’s natural. But when leaders only share their highlight reels, they present a sanitized version of themselves. People are attracted to leaders who limp, not strut. Nobody has it so together that they’ve never experienced a failure or setback. We should be willing and able to share our whole selves as part of our entire story.
2. Pass Along Credit and Accept the Blame
Authentic leaders are secure enough to pass along credit while accepting most of the blame. They don’t need to feel better about themselves by hogging the credit. In their security, they can freely support the success of others.
The phrase, “I don’t know, but I’d like us to find out,” is one of the more powerful statements a leader can make. No leader knows everything. And your followers know this is true. When a leader pretends to have all the answers, they don’t fool their team but limit the team’s ability to succeed.
3. Be Quick to Apologize
We call this keeping short accounts. When you’ve wronged or hurt someone, even if accidental, authentic leaders are quick to apologize.
Now, you may be thinking, “they need to grow up and stop being so sensitive.” And perhaps you’re correct. Many people are too easily hurt or “triggered” these days. But it’s unhelpful to them, you, or the organization to allow a hurt to fester.
If there is pain, it’s worth a conversation. Authentic leaders can apologize and, in doing so, gain influence to have a more nuanced growth conversation in the future.
4. Be Self Aware
Self-awareness is a crucial trait of healthy leaders. An authentic leader seeks to be more aware of themselves. This is easy because everyone around you knows what you’re good at, not good at, pretend to be good at, etc.
Being self-aware means you can acknowledge what almost everyone else knows. If you’re unsure if you’re self-aware, conduct a 360-degree review. Or just ask some team members what they see positively and negatively in you.
5. Engage in Curiosity, not Criticism
Authentic leaders tend to be more empathetic leaders. They aren’t out to put people down but pull them up. Curiosity is the pathway to helping everyone improve.
Now, this doesn’t mean you should avoid truthful evaluations and critical analysis of people and performance. It does mean you do it from a posture of support. An authentic leader can have these conversations.
6. Embrace Diversity
As authentic leaders know they don’t have all the answers, they do everything possible to bring diverse ideas and opinions to the decision table. This means surrounding yourself with people not like yourself.
The Results?
Through personal experience and study, I’ve found that authentic leaders are loved, admired, and trusted more than any other leaders, which makes sense.
While an inauthentic leader may believe they’re fooling everyone, their counterfeit confidence fools very few. Pretending to be more than you are is pretentious and disingenuous. These fake behaviors also erode trust and influence.
The problem is how much security is required for authenticity to appear.
Insecure leaders cannot be authentic or genuine. These leaders are terrified of being “found out.” They live in a world of filters and image management, which looks good on the surface but doesn’t last under pressure.
