#Authentic #Leadership - "I believe..."

Leadership is a very individual thing and means different things to different people. Part 3 of our leadership series follows our earlier blog posts on #Leadership Styles and #Situational Leadership, we are now exploring the issue of authenticity.

Authentic Leadership - what face do you show others?

All the research is very clear, whatever the preferred or adopted leadership style - leadership should be authentic. This builds trust and inspires others to follow.

So what does authentic leadership look like?

Elements of Authentic Leadership

Self Awareness:

• Be genuine
• Understand your emotions
• Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses
• What are you personal values? Live them, ensuring your actions match your words
• Openly share your "mistakes" to drive learning
• Show the real you, not the face you feel you should show or the one that everyone expects

Lead with Heart:

• Recognise the contributions of others
• Celebrate successes, through building a sense of "community"
• Demonstrate emotion and empathy
• Connect with others
• Demonstrate vulnerability - this does not equate to failure
• Be honest
• Give thought to any implications your decisions may have

Strategic:

• Consider the long term view/direction - be visionary and imaginative, encouraging others to follow
• Encourage others to engage with the vision by appealing to shared aspirations and values
• Innovate
• Big picture view - focus externally as well as internally to drive continual improvement

Build Relationships:

• Build rapport
• Understand the drivers of others and any underlying emotion across the organisation
• Demonstrate a genuine interest in others
• Foster collaboration and be regarded as a trusted business partner of choice

Business Goals:

• Put business goals ahead of your own to ensure success - its not about power, personal success or ego
• Create a decision making culture, where others feel genuinely empowered