Authentic leadership : a journey to find your best way to lead

This is the final editorial in my series of personal reflections on leadership. Leadership and the Citizen should be read first to set the context.

It’s worth noting that my observations on leadership are based on what I believe to be important, and how I personally have tried to lead. I have failed, let myself and others down, and made the same mistakes more than once. With help from many leaders along the way, I did better and became a more capable leader, but never infallible. I aim to do better everyday and sincerely hope by sharing my thoughts, your path will be less rocky than mine.

In this editorial, I will discuss my approach to leading authentically. I have included pictures of people I deeply respect as authentic leaders.

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Image credit - Eleanor Taylor

Hopefully, if you are reading this editorial, you have a sense of what’s important to you as a leader or you are trying to find it - how you want to lead, how you don’t want to lead, and areas you want to develop. There are countless people and resources available to kickstart your personal reflections and help refine your leadership development. Part of any leadership journey is determining how to take all of the advice and make it work for you. How can you merge personal experience, leadership skills, and best practices in a way that aligns with your personality and intrinsic nature? Enter the idea of authentic leadership.

Now, I will disclose that I find myself in a dilemma with terms such as authentic leadership. On one side I dislike overused terms that can dominate the discussion on a subject, especially around leadership. On the flip side, sometimes the trendy idea is actually important, but the hype can lead to misunderstanding. Authentic leadership is one of these ideas that can be misinterpreted or even manipulated. Leadership experts, of which I am not one, carelessly throw the term around. Too often, the term is explained as leaders, “just being themselves.” If you show up as your true self then you can lead “authentically” and deliver excellence to your team. If only it were this simple. Imagine how amazing the world would be if everyone was already a great leader and they simply had to be themselves for their inner Eisenhower to emerge.

Image credit - Terrance Wolaniuk

As with most nuanced issues, the truth lies somewhere on a spectrum that is unique to each person. On one extreme of the spectrum are leaders whose actions are driven by trying to be what they envision as the archetype of an ideal leader. These people often have the best of intentions, but struggle because they have not taken the time to understand how to make best practices work for them as an individual. At the opposite end of the spectrum are “leaders” who lack self-awareness and make no effort to genuinely improve. Often these people try to justify their laziness or ineptitude by highjacking terms like authentic leadership. How could someone be a bad leader if they show up as their authentic self? In a word, easily.

As I have attempted to convey over the last four editorials, leadership is dynamic and demands constant attention. It is an interplay of human relationships, emotions, complex environments, and constant problem solving. This is not a place where you can “mail it in” and expect to fulfill your responsibilities. Some leaders make it look easy which can give off the impression of minimal effort. I have never found this to be true. The best leaders have found the sweet spot of leading authentically which is why they are comfortable and relaxed in the role. They have aligned leadership best practices with their individual strengths and refine this balance constantly. They might make leading look effortless, however, it’s anything but. In my experience, most leaders who appear to be naturals are exceptionally hard workers who take leading seriously.

Image credit - Sebastian Bouchard

The way I have framed this might seem daunting, but let me assure you that everyone can find an authentic way to lead. Here are some of the things I have done over the years in my efforts to lead authentically:

• As I highlighted in my editorial Communicate and Connect, being self aware is an essential part of leading. Are you someone who loves being around people or is it a struggle? Do you like the details of a problem or do you prefer to rely on instinct? Is who you think you are as a leader the same as how people see you as a leader? Some of these questions you can answer yourself while others might require outside resources. To really understand who you are it’s worth digging into your personality type and emotional intelligence. Also, any formal feedback from supervisors, peers, and followers can be useful to improve your self awareness. If you don’t have a good sense of who you are as a person, it will be hard to understand how to lead in an authentic way.

• As a general rule for life, defining and living your values is vital to your credibility as a person and leader. Have you ever met a leader who is inconsistent in their decision making? Or perhaps they will modify their actions based on what they believe to be popular or less likely to attract attention? I’m not talking about changing a stance on an issue because ideas can evolve and positions should be adjusted accordingly. I’m more focused on the immutable things in life such as beliefs and values. When you make the effort to truly define your values, it will provide you a solid foundation as a leader. Have a look at my editorial Courage - essential fuel for leaders for a deep dive on this subject.

  

  Image credit - CBC, Stuart Beare

• I’m always amazed at what I learn when I sit back, listen, and observe the actions of a leader. By taking a more passive stance at the appropriate moments, so much becomes apparent about people’s intentions, abilities, and character. The good, the bad, and the ugly are revealed. This is especially useful for new leaders who are trying to figure out what “right looks like” for them. When you see something worth noting, write it down with an explanation about why this action elicited a specific emotion in you or the impact it had on the team. Capturing these observations will give you a reference to help you implement the good, and avoid the bad.

• After all of the self reflection and analysis there will be areas of personal and professional development that need improvement. Assuming you are not dealing with a significant character issue, you should be able to sort out any areas of improvement through a combination of self-study, assistance from mentors, and leveraging workplace resources. As an example, when I reached a certain level in the military I was required to attend more social functions, which was not appealing. However, after some reflection, it became clear that if I wanted to fulfill my responsibilities as a leader then social events were important opportunities to communicate and connect. Despite not always wanting to make the effort to go, attending social work events gave me the opportunity to lead in a different way and learn more about my team as individuals. Once I recognized the value of those social interactions, social events have become far more enjoyable and I look forward to meeting new people or deepening my existing relationships. Through reflection I found the part of social events that was authentically enjoyable for me.

• It’s not all doom and gloom. The good news is you will likely have far more strengths than areas for development - so lean into your strengths. Of course it’s important to work on parts of yourself that need development, but ensure you are making the best use of your strengths. If you were great in math and terrible at writing would you take engineering or literature in university? The same is true for leadership. Take advantage of your strengths as a leader while always developing other parts of your skills in the background. What could be more authentic than embracing the things you are good at as a leader?

Image credit - Paul Albertson

• One of life’s best cheat codes is to surround yourself with people who share your values and demonstrate professional excellence. Find those people whose character you respect and avoid those who drain your energy and enthusiasm. People with shared values will not only make you better, but you will enjoy their company and likely build meaningful friendships along the way. They will help build your confidence to lead authentically.

The people who love leadership tend to be the ones who do it authentically. They have found a way to be proud of the small leadership wins, but are never satisfied that they have achieved mastery. Being a leader is a journey with no finish line. There are uphills, rough terrain, and inclement weather along the way, but leading as a citizen is too important to shy away from these challenges. I will end this series with my initial pitch - Leadership and the Citizen - as why I believe every Canadian citizen has a responsibility to lead.

“With all that said, here’s my final pitch on why you should be a leader. Leadership is not a choice. Virtually everyone is already a leader in some aspect of their life - whether they know it or not. Everyone has a responsibility to lead in order to positively contribute to their workplace, society, or their family. If you are not leading, the time to start is now. It will be uncomfortable at first - being accountable for failure, directing a team, and dealing with interpersonal conflicts. It will get easier to lead, but it will never be easy. Start small and be kind to yourself as a new leader and seek mentors to share their expertise and experience. Leadership is a way citizens can leave things better than they found them. So, why should you lead? You lead because it’s the right thing to do.”

Image credit - Skies Maganize, Chris McKenna