These days when I am talking to people about what Authentic Leadership is all about and how are we going to help bring a positive change to the status quo, one thing that is coming out unanimously is that people aren’t experiencing ‘authentic leadership’.
The practices that are being followed by such leaders are giving signs of insecurity that they carry about their own jobs. They don’t hire better people deliberately just to ensure that their position of power remains intact! They use their position in issuing Performance improvement plan out of grudge with specific employee..strange isn’t it?
They fail to appreciate others, promote politics within the team that helps consolidate their control over the proceedings.
I think not many would be ‘evil’, its just that they are following strategies they had seen from their seniors and culture of fear of losing job continues!
We need to be smart in order to fill that gap by sharing practical implications of how the situation can be improved provided we start following and appreciating ‘Authentic Leadership’.
It’s time to facilitate that cultural shift.
The real growth can be attained if people around you are growing!
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 genuine – not a replica, not a copy or imitation. In leadership being genuine implies that we are embodying our true selves into our leadership role. Being true to ourselves calls us to draw on the very essence of our values, beliefs, principles, morals and that all of these create our ‘guiding compass’ in the job. Not somebody else’s compass – our own! Authentic leadership holds making the most of our strengths, recognizing and trading off our weaknesses and taking full self-accountability for the impact we have on others. What authentic leadership is not about is adopting the styles or traits of other leaders.” – Steve Robinson
The rampant pace of change in our world in itself requires agility, flexibility and adaptability of leadership styles and approaches to an ever changing landscape. Complexity will increase around technical, economic, financial and social issues in the world and when we add in the very ethical, moral and consciousness testing dilemmas, that complexity will be exacerbated.
Perhaps all of us striving to be our unique, authentic 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.
In fact, studies have shown authentic leadership serves as the single strongest predictor of an employee’s job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and workplace happiness.
To ensure long-term happiness and productivity out of your team, then, it’s critical you demonstrate a level of authenticity as a leader.
Also read | Workplace Flexibility
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