Authentic Leadership through Values
Authentic leadership is leading in a way that is aligned with your values, in a way which feels true to you. This can sometimes feel difficult when balancing what others and organisations want from you, however figuring out what is important to you and how you want to show up, can have a positive impact on your career, leadership style, motivation and finding meaning in your work and life.
Authentic leaders are aware of themselves, their beliefs and values, as well as how they are perceived by their audience. Others notice how they communicate and appear, often they are described as genuine, clear, down to earth and confident (but not overconfident). Authentic leaders are easily understood and have a way of explaining things which does not feel like it on automatic mode or taken from somewhere else, which makes it easier for others to connect to them, be inspired by them and for them to motivate others. Generally, people notice when things are not quite right, even if they cannot quite put their finger on it, the interaction feels “off”.
Some steps to support uncovering your authentic leadership:
1. Think about what is important to you, look at the big picture not only work or one situation, try and be as specific as you can. What values or themes are the strongest and what topics keep coming up again and again? This is both in personal and work life, often values that you can see examples of in both are important. Write down what words are coming to mind, circle the top five and link them back to how they come up in your job, organizational values and personal life.
2. Now reflect back: when are times that you were very authentic and other times you feel you were not – what is the difference in these scenarios? There is often a link between reactions and responses to a situation, especially a more stressful or triggering situation. When we are in line with our values, we are more likely to describe the way we act as responding versus reacting. What are you doing well and want to keep? What do you want to change?
3. Ask for feedback – You might have a very good idea of yourself internally (self-awareness), asking for feedback helps develop more social awareness and how you are perceived by others, which we do not always realize at times, for example especially when we are triggered or distracted.
4. Ask yourself: How do I want to show up? How do you want to be seen and perceived? What needs to shift to become the leader? Create a vision of how you would like to lead, bringing in mind your values and what is important to you.
Something to bear in mind is that this is a process and takes time, with deeper understanding and different experiences, things can shift (not always necessarily completely change) and so can what seems meaningful and authentic, as it becomes clearer.
How do you want to show up?