Authenticity. To me this is leadership. What do you think? What does it mean to be an authentic leader? Does it matter? What are your personal experiences? Stephen
Kevin Ha
Incubator Business Manager at AUT Business Innovation Centre (AUT BIC)
Authenticity and leadership must go hand in hand. In order to lead for a belief, cause or vision you must first; as a leader believe in it yourself otherwise how can you guide and preach to others and genuinely have strong views and motivations for a particularly outcome whether it be winning a war, a rugby game or score a major commercial contract. Based on this we can say being authentic does matter as it is your ambition and desire to achieve a common goal that is infectious and this can spread to others ie followers.
Personal experience; I’ll share an interesting one away from a business context. I’m an authentic leader. I provide shelter, food, friendship and protection. I discipline appropriately, never with force but assertiveness and only if he has done something wrong. I reward when good behaviour is displayed. In return I get loyalty. I’m technically weaker, not stronger or faster and he could easily tear me to shreds or seriously hurt me. But he doesn’t because I show empathy and authenticity. I’m the pack leader and he is; of course, my dog.
Aniruddha Joshi
Executive Director at Hirco Group
What if being inauthentic is an authentic part of your personality? Not just a facetious question. I have seen leaders lie, cheat, steal to get what they want and where they want to be. Leadership can be quite amoral – witness Hitler – authenticity has connotations of honesty and therefore morality.
Just thinking aloud.
Kevin Ha
Incubator Business Manager at AUT Business Innovation Centre (AUT BIC)
Interesting point. One point of leadership I believe is rallying people together to work towards a common cause, goal, belief, moral or value. Those objectives might be for “good” or “evil” but whichever one it is’ is dependant on how strongly one affiliates with it; thus believe in it strongly. Whether one as a leader lies, cheats, steals, is honest, or whatever is almost irrelevant since it is still working towards a common belief; that what you’re doing is “right” in your mind and is also right in the eyes of your followers. The example of Hitler is a good one. We might think he is a tyrant thus is therefore amoral etc, but his die hard followers think he is a “hero” and is very moral in what he is doing. All driven by perception……..
Stephen Drain
Director at Centre for Innovative Leadership at AUT University
I’m doing some work on the dark side of leadership: http://www.corporatepsychopath.wordpress.com – those leaders in our midst who have no conscience. They are quite different in a real sense to us. All that drives them is “winning”. So yes, they might be authentic in their winning, but it’s only for themselves, not for any common purpose. And I know you might need to add “good” in there too Joshi! Hey thanks for the comments so far.
Matt Perkins
IT Manager – AUT Business Innovation Centre
Did someone turn out the light or is it just dark in here?
For me, being “authentic” simply means that what comes out of your mouth is what you believe to be the truth. The objective is irrelevent.
As far as authentic leadership goes? I think you need to be able to draw from your own experiences and be able to express these to others. To be open to criticism yourself so that you are also able to grow as you lead. Now this opens another question: How to be a sucessful leader? Maybe you need to have a vested interest in the objective or outcome?
Chris Lund
Human Resources Manager at Wattyl NZ Limited
Authenticity should be implicit within our leadership as being authentic is being true to yourself. Understanding who we are creates the point of difference that followers will recognise and genuinely support.
Aniruddha Joshi
Executive Director at Hirco Group
The difficulty I have is thinking of a role where one should not be authentic. A case can be made that everyone even if they are unemployed should be authentic – as a personal quality. It is hard to see what is unique about authenticity as a requirement for good leadership. It is a rqeuirement for a good human being. Its a bit like saying a good leader should have two arms and two legs. Yes, well so should every one.
