Leadership is about authenticity. Who you are is how you lead! Let me say that again, who you are is how you lead. I have reading a terrific little book, If You Know You Are, You Will Know What To Do, by Ronald Greer. This powerful book is about living with integrity. Ronald says that out of integrity one is defined and makes the choices that become their life. It's about doing the right thing when you know it's the right thing to do. It's who you are. It's being true to the lives to which you have been called. It's who you are when someone's watching and when there is no one around.
Integrity is both personal and moral. Personal integrity is when you are authentically the person you were created to be. It means living a life of wholeness, congruence and without regret. Moral integrity is when you do what is right simply because you know it is the right thing to do. It means living a life of character and virtue. Integrity takes both. Leadership takes both. Authenticity and integrity go hand in hand.
Like all of us, I have seen leaders crumble by the facades they present. I too have fallen and experienced succumbing to this condition. When the pressure is on, the "real person" comes out. I am now exposed and afraid that the sham has been revealed. What's next, guilt and shame. And I have found myself revert back to type, only when I had not taken my previous errors, learned from them and then modified my behaviors. In other words I did not learn from my experience. I had not learned a better way. I put up a facade to let others believe that I have.... but as they say, facades crumble.
There is some truth in this facade condition in all of us. It may not be all the time and only under certain circumstances. Ask yourself how's that working out for you? We can keep convincing ourselves that the facade is working and that no one will find out. But you know it's there, so what's stopping you! Fear of exposure? Where is the authenticity in that? Where is our integrity in that? If you are able and willing to look at yourself honestly and openly, changing your focus and behaviors will be an amazingly sobering and liberating experience. Not putting the effort into knowing who you are stalls many leadership careers and personal lives. Pretending to be someone or something you are not creates other issues. Trying to be everything to everyone is another common flaw. Is it any wonder Authentic Leadership is a trending topic around the world today.
Authentic leadership starts with integrity. Integrity comes from the Latin integer, meaning whole, integrated, complete. It is where your beliefs, convictions, thoughts and behaviors are integrated together in your life. It involves your values. A person of integrity intentionally follows a moral or ethical code. A major element in anyone's completeness as a person is following the set of values in which you believe and by which you strive to live.
Authentic leadership also starts with Self-Awareness. Self-aware leaders go to great lengths to learn from their mistakes and errors. They understand their strengths, their weaknesses and impacts on others. They take the lessons. They learn to maximize their strengths and work on their weaknesses. And the importance of knowing your impact on others can never be underestimated.
A leader I knew during my career could never get away from being called "Mr. B". No matter how hard he tried he could never step away from the formal name from the people he led. He was a tall man and quite stern looking, so he intimidated people without trying. He realized he needed to break away from what he saw as his "professorial" formality. He went to great pains to connect with people at their level. He moved away from the constant work and task communication and connected with what they valued and treasured, and slowly the formal name started to ease. He started to connect better with his team and because of this he started seeing a better team. He saw greater initiative and constant improvements. The formal approach and perception of intimidation had curtailed his team engagement, and when he worked to connect with his team at their level, the results multiplied.
Now he created a better leadership and team environment by having the self-awareness to understand the reasons behind the formal approach, and the desire to change it to create a better environment. Many leaders I have known and worked for would not have the self-awareness and some would welcome the perception as it created fear and intimidation as the major influencing aspect.
Self Awareness Leads to Insight
Self-Aware leaders should ask themselves the following questions if they want to maximize their leadership skills and effectiveness.
- What drives me? What is my purpose?
- How am I currently feeling?
- What is my mindset and how is that affecting my attitude to others?
- How am I impacting others?
- How are others around me feeling and reacting?
- A daily walk alone with your thoughts
- A routine time and place to stop and think, e.g. A bench overlooking a special view, a particular chair in their office/home, a long walk with your dog, a great yoga session.
- Some meditate.
- Some even lie down and still their mind to reflect.
If you really want to improve your results, ask yourself. Who are you? What is your purpose? What impact are you having on others around you? How am I feeling? How is my team feeling?
Thank you for taking the time to read this. How would you begin to break through your thoughts, emotions and actions to becoming a more self aware leader? We would love to hear from you with comments or questions. Send me a note via email at brad@aperiocoaching.net or on Twitter @bparcells.
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