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Today we will look at:

• What authentic leadership is and is not.

• Discuss barriers to displaying authentic leadership.

• We will look at where you are at in terms of authentic leadership and how you can further develop your authentic leadership.

• The great leadership paradox of being agile and modifying your leadership practice to different people and situations while still

remaining authentic (i.e. Can you be authentically agile?).

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Take a moment to think what you see is authentic leadership:

• Think of a leader you admire and who you believe displays authentic leadership (could be a offshore, dead or alive, from any walk of

life/sector)

• What is about them / what are their behaviours, actions and words that makes them authentic? This could be things they do or do not

do.

People use their unique set of strengths in unique ways .

They often compensate for those aspects of their leadership which are less natural, with certain strengths they have. Some may find it

difficult to be direct so will to change others’ behaviour by being conciliatory and reasonable. Some may not naturally pick up on the

impact they have on others so try to structure the pace focus of their communications in ways that allow others to give them feedback

on how they are coming across.

While there is a huge number of books on leadership and more recently authentic leadership there is no definitive profile of an ideal

leader. Let alone an authentic leader. Could talk about key themes in leadership that came across in Sharon’s PhD research if needed.

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There are however some clear messages about what autentic leadership is not.

Authentic leadership is not about imitating someone else.

• Remember how each of the leaders we discussed earlier was quite unique and very much themselves.

• You can learn from observing others and from other’s experiences but you are unlikley to be successful when you are trying to be like someone else.

• If someone is playing a role that isn’t a true expression of their authentic self, we will sooner or later feel they can’t be trusted. We may also find them hard to

read or feel they are sitting on the fence (this is something we often see when people try to second guess what we are looking for, or over compensate for what

they think is a weaknesses, when we are observing them during a simulation as part of an assessment or development centre).

• Australians and New Zealanders in particular, trust leaders when we perceive them to be genuine and authentic, not a replica of someone else.

Authentic leadership is not an excuse for bad behaviour (or showcasing and defending everything, good or bad, that comes naturally to us). As will be obvious when

we discuss the barriers to displaying authentic leadership.

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Similarly there is a general consensus about what authentic leadership is. Authentic leadership goes beyond traits and interpersonal

approach to leadership to include moral values and honesty components.

Being self aware and knowing your authentic self. This comes through the literature (and our observations) as being consistently one of

the key attributes of an effective leader.

• Knowing who you are at the core.

• Knowing what you know and what you don’t know well.

• Your strengths, development areas, untested skills.

• Being clear about your impact on others (e.g. a person who has a highly energetic and results-driven leadership approach may not

realise that in their quest to enhance performance and achieve results for their organisation they can be too full on or intimidating).

• Being clear and passionate about your leadership practice.

Consistently practicing your values and principles.

• Your values are what is most important to you, what you are prepared to sacrifice and the trade-offs you are willing to make (e.g.

concern for others).

• Principles are your values translated into action (e.g. create a work environment where people are respected for their contribution,

provided with job security and enabled to fulfill their potential).

Balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

• It’s important to understand what drives you. Authentic leaders balance their motivation so they are driven by their inner values as

much as a desire for external reward and recognition.

• We are often rewarded for our success and achieving results through tangible rewards and recognition from others.

• Our intrinsic motivators are consistent with our values (e.g. personal growth, helping others, taking on social causes, making a

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difference). Intrinsic rewards are what typically give us greater satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment.

Leading with your heart as well as your head.

• Strong ability to win hearts and minds.

• Balancing your focus on achieving results with the people dynamics and sensitivities in situations (i.e. people’s feelings and

emotions) or the people outcomes you need to achieve (e.g. inspire and encourage people, put people at ease, ensure you are

taking people with you, etc).

• Aligns with Jim Collins’ Level 5 Leadership model (i.e. Builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical combination of personal

humility plus professional will).

Establishing long-term and meaningful relationships.

• Building strong relationships so they can get the support and advice they need, to help them maintain perspective and help

them stay on course.

• Gaining the trust and respect of their stakeholders so you are able to leverage relationships to achieve results.

• Being assertive rather than aggressive or passive.

Empowering people to lead.

• Empowering those around them, not just their direct reports to step up and lead.

• Empowering people in their organisations to achieve great results (which is after all the bottom line for all leaders).

• Aligns with concept of followership leadership.

Having the self discipline to achieve results.

• At the end of the day you have to deliver results – but authentic leadership enables you to do that without any “collateral

damage” and grows and satisfies the people around you.

Leading a balanced and integrated life

• Modeling a good work life balance.

• Staying grounded and engaging in a range of activities.

• Taking care of yourself – physically, emotionally, spiritually etc.

• Think of your life as a house. Can you knock down all the walls between the rooms and be the same person in each of them?

In summary, while each author or researcher puts his or her own flavour on how they define authentic leadership there is a focus

on knowing yourself well and being genuine in your actions and interactions.

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As HR practitioners and managers, you are lucky to be an observer of other's leadership behaviors and see where individual would

benefit from guidance on being a better and more authentic leader.

• It is common to see some people struggling when they are making the transition from a contributor/worker/service and advice

deliverer, to a manager and leader – they often do not have a clear sense of the type of leader they want to be.

• Having an authentic leadership identity provides a reference point/blue print for planning and reviewing one’s own leadership

behavior.

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Individual managers, especially those who are new to the ‘game’ or do not really see themselves as leader (i.e. responsible for others

and their contributions) have often not invested the time necessary to think about what being a leader means, let alone an authentic

leader.

And . . . . . For some individuals, there are significant barriers to being an authentic leader.

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What gets in the way of people defining their own leadership?

Note: Limited awareness of impact/attention to one’s impact on others reduces opportunities to adjust/learn etc.

In addition:

• As mentioned, not seeing one’s self as a leader.

• Not devoting time to thinking about one’s leadership value proposition.

• A reluctance to move out of one’s comfort zone and to experiment with new behaviours and approaches.

• Overdoing the understated/facilitative leadership.

• A limited ability to apply self-learning.

A key step in discovering your authentic leadership is to be clear about what you want to stand for as leader. Know who you really are, how you want to behave

and why.

One of the most commonly cited reasons we hear when we discuss authentic leadership is that people believe they would not be authentic if they didn’t do what

comes to them naturally. People are reluctant to change behaviours that feel most natural to them, even when others tell them they need to change.

• However …. the thing is that what comes naturally, can also get pretty nasty. If a leader (who is for example overly directive, critical, non-communicative, has

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low EQ, crass, judgmental or rigid) is being ‘authentic’ they will not enable others to be the best they can be and it is likely to be difficult to attract

talented people and align employee achievement with achieving shared goals.

• While what comes naturally may not be nasty it may not be effective. For example, a leader who is by nature very trusting, tolerant, humble while

leading in a way that feels natural or authentic may be naïve in their judgment of others, be surprised by the standard of results delivered, avoid conflict

or managing performance issues etc. All of which can lead to lack of delivery of results and poor performance.

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For example:

The words may be Calmness, maturity, and gravitas.

The behaviours that suggest the credibility and professionalism an individual; may be after could include:

• Measured and circumspect reactions.

• A certain degree of formality in communication (i.e. avoiding colloquialisms such as “cool” and “wicked”, avoiding a rising intonation

at the end of sentences).

Identify situations where you need to demonstrate your desired style

In which situations is it particularly important for you to present as credible and professional? For example, when interacting with

people more senior than you and with clients. Remind yourself of the behaviours you would like to display when in these situations (see

below).

Develop a leadership ‘game plan’

Work back from your desired outcome to decide on your leadership strategy. Take time prior to going into a situation to decide how you

will go about displaying the desired leadership behaviours. You need to ask yourself questions such as:

› What do I want to achieve?

› How do I want to project myself?

› What impact do I want to make (i.e. what words do I want people to use to describe the impact of my leadership style)?

› What behaviours do I need to display to achieve my objectives?

› How will I know if I have achieved the desired result?

You may also want to review some management/leadership texts to identify the behaviours you wish to display and that you would like

to focus on in the future.

Self-reflect and regularly evaluate your performance

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Seek regular feedback

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Regularly review with them their progress, achievements and challenges. Help; and assist them with any changes needed in focus and

emphasis.

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What steps can you take today, tomorrow and over the next year to develop your authentic leadership?

Ask yourself (among other things):

• What can I do to become more self aware?

• What are my most deeply help values?

• What motivates me intrinsically?

• What is my leadership ‘brand’ or purpose?

• What do I want my legacy to be?

• What does being authentic mean in my life?

• Is my life grounded and integrated?

• What kind of support do I need?

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In some instances, the environment may be a barrier to being an authentic leader.

Individuals often struggle with authentic leadership if they are in a role or organisation that is not aligned their authentic self. Some of you may already be familiar

with this (e.g. Zenger and Folkman’s Extraordinary Leadership model).

A leadership sweet spot is where there is an intersection of:

• Competencies – your skills, behaviours and abilities (which can include knowledge and expertise)

• Passion – what you love to do, what gets you out of bed in the morning, what gives you the greatest satisfaction, what energises you?

• Organisational needs – the outcomes an organisation values.

Your competencies, passions and authentic self need to be valued by your organisation. Only when all three are aligned can you display authentic leadership.

Roles in which there is an alignment of :

• Competencies and organisational needs but no passion are likely to leave you feeling bored and pigeon holed

• Organisational needs and passion but poor alignment of competencies are likely to see you perceived as a poor performer. Your passion and drive can’t make up

for your competency short comings.

• Competencies and passion but poor alignment with organisational needs is likely to make it difficult for authentic leadership. We see this with people who

struggle in one organisation but fly in another.

In some instances, people are in the wrong role for the wrong reasons, don’t forget to fact that into the assistance you are giving managers.

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In summary, while each author or researcher puts his or her own flavour on how they define authentic leadership there is a focus on

knowing yourself well and being genuine in your actions and interactions.

Hand out “Authentic Leadership Self-Assessment Questionnaire”. Suggest each person completes the questionnaire and then scores

themselves. Do the results fit with how they see themselves? Understanding self is an important first step to helping others build their

own understanding.

In addition: you can be both authentic and responsive to those around you and in different situations. The key to being authentically

agile is to know your authentic self well and then craft your leadership practice so it is consistently fit-for-purpose while maintaining a

sense of self no matter where you are, what you are doing or who you are interacting with.

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