Authentic leadership is an approach to leadership that emphasizes building the leader's legitimacy through honest relationships with followers which value their input and are built on an ethical foundation. The authentic leader acts upon his or her values and beliefs, and inspires others to do the same, is committed to know and develop oneself. Are you committed to developing yourself; know your motivations and the purpose of your leadership? Read this article to know more about authentic leadership style and discovering your authentic self.
“A person cannot make hard decisions, hold unpopular positions, or stand tall for what he believes unless he knows who he is and feels comfortable in his own skin. I am talking about self-confidence and conviction. These traits make a leader bold and decisive, which is absolutely critical in times where you must act quickly, often without complete information. Just as important, authenticity makes a leader likable, for lack of a better word. Their realness comes across in the way they communicate and reach people on an emotional level. Their words move them; their message touches something inside. When I was at GE, we would occasionally encounter a very successful executive who just could not be promoted to the next level. In the early days, we would struggle with our reasoning. The person demonstrated the right values and made the numbers, but usually, his people did not connect with him. What was wrong? Finally, we figured out that these people always had certain phoniness about them. They pretended to be something they were not - more in control, more upbeat, more savvy than they really were. They didn’t sweat. They didn’t cry. They squirmed in their own skin, playing the role of their own inventing. A leader in times of crisis can’t have an iota of fakeness in him. He has to know himself - and like himself - so that he can be straight with the world, energize followers, and lead with the authority born of authenticity”. – Jack Welch in Winning
What is clear from the comment of Jack Welch produced above is that no one can be authentic by trying to imitate to be someone else. One can learn from others’ experiences, but can you be successful by just trying to be like them? Your followers will trust you only when you are genuine and authentic, not when they see you as an imitation, replica of someone else. Leadership has many voices and has many styles. Authentic leadership is all about being what you really are and not trying to emulate somebody else.
The authentic leader acts upon his or her values and beliefs and inspires others to do the same. He can stand tall for what he believes, he knows who he is and feels comfortable in his own skin. He can be straight with the world, energize followers, and lead with the authority born of authenticity. Authentic leaders avoid self-deception by fiercely examining their behaviors and decisions, genuinely asking for feedback on how to improve performance. They are committed to know and develop themselves.
1. Authentic leaders genuinely desire to serve others through their leadership
2. Authentic leaders are interested in empowering their followers
3. Authentic leaders are more interested in developing people and leading to make a difference
4. Authentic leaders lead with purpose, meaning, and values
5. Authentic leaders build strong relationships and networks of collaborative relationships
6. Authentic leaders are consistent, reliable, and strong
7. Authentic leaders are dedicated to personal growth and learning
8. Authentic leaders are aware of their strengths, limitations, the perceptions of others toward their leadership, and how they impact others
9. Authentic leaders are transparent, perceived as genuine and sincere
10. Authentic leaders set consistent and high standards for moral and ethical conduct
11. Authentic leaders ask for help, solicit opinions and viewpoints before making an important decision
12. Authentic leaders build credibility and win the respect and trust of followers
13. Authentic leaders act in accordance with deep personal values and convictions
True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George and Peter Sims (2007)
Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value by Bill George
The ten most important qualities that define a good leader are self-awareness, interpersonal and communication skills, ethical values, organizational consciousness, self-confidence, adaptability and flexibility, imagination and creativity, focus & result-orientation, continuous self-development and accountability and ownership for his actions. These ten qualities of leadership every good leader should possess to a certain extent and must continually strive to develop them.
Authoritarian Leadership Style
Although generally considered as a traditional, outdated, and non-preferred style of leadership, the autocratic style still can be used effectively in certain situations. It is a leadership style characterized by individual absolute control over a group. If you work for an autocratic leader, your job is usually to do what you're told. Learn more about this style and situations where this could be an effective style to use and when to avoid this type of approach. Analyze the characteristics of this style to evaluate if your followers consider you an authoritarian leader!
Crisis leadership is a very important part of leading in today's world. The skills a leader needs in order to guide people during a crisis are different from the skills needed to help a group grow. Are you a good crisis leader? What is your leadership style in case of a business crisis situation? A business crisis can test the strongest of leaders, read this article to explore how to ensure you’re ready to take action and weather the storm when one strikes you.
A good leadership style is something that every effective leader must have in order to succeed, but identifying what that entails or does not entails might be difficult to understand. Most of the research on leadership focuses on the exemplary, best practices, and positive attributes of effective and successful leaders. This article talks about a new approach to learn leadership using lessons from bad leadership. That is the lessons to be learned by examining leaders who have not effectively exercised their power, authority, or influence.
Understanding of how individuals of different cultures interact with each other is very important. Not all individuals can adapt to the leadership styles expected in a different culture whether that culture is organizational or national. In a fast-paced business environment, developing a richer understanding and sensitivity to other cultures is a skill that leaders must possess. Learn to be effective in a cross-cultural setting.
Power is the ability to exercise influence or control over others. Leadership involves authority and it is very important for leaders to understand what type of power they're using. The 5 Types of Power in Leadership are Coercive power, expert power, legitimate power, referent power, and reward power. Authority is the right to command and extract obedience from others. It comes from the organization and it allows the leader to use power.
We define Lean as the systematic elimination of waste through a continual effort to decrease inefficiency; the lean leader strives to create a more efficient organization. Lean leadership is a philosophy. It is a consistent way of thinking and being in your role as a leader. The focus of this approach is on raising new leaders and help their team embrace a culture of continuous improvement. Learn what we mean by lean leadership style and its principles.
Bureaucratic leadership relies on a clear chain of command and strict regulations. Bureaucratic leadership style is a very decent style for work involving serious safety risks, such as handling toxic substances, moving large objects. The focus is on compliance with rules and laid down procedures to make sure that the group is doing their job correctly and safely. Learn some advantages and disadvantages of this style and situations in which this style could prove to be effective.
Appreciative leaders encourage contributions from those around them and facilitate the discussion to mutually solve problems. Understand the concept of Appreciative Leadership and learn about tools to create and ask powerful questions - that lead to new discoveries and possibilities. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong in the workplace, learn about, and build upon what works. Learn in this article the art to apply appreciative inquiry to specific situations and challenges at your workplace.
“Level 5 Leadership”, this term was coined by Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great” and it is all about achieving "Greatness" as a leader. This article will explain what we mean by Level 5 Leadership and what the characteristics of a Level 5 leader are. What it takes to achieve greatness as a leader, and what are the steps and strategies that one can use to move up to this top level of leadership.
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