LEADERSHIP: WHAT THE HELL IS AUTHENTIC?

"Discovering Your Authentic Leadership" (Harvard Business Review, February 2007) is like a 20-minute, personal-growth workshop.  All the feel-good, righteous stuff is there.  You should be self-aware and authentic.  Don't try to be like anyone else.  Find your own life story and build on that.  Ensure you've got life balance.  Well, all that's fine so long as it finds you on parade and taking leadership actions others will esteem and follow.  And, in this regard, my experience (from three decades of consulting and leading) says there are other factors as well.  Like being passionate and driven, market savvy, technically proficient, tireless in the service of your team and, yes, at times even angry and unfair.  Generals Patton, Napoleon and Wellington weren't heavily into self-awareness.  Nor are many CEOs – including ones I've known and admired.  Nice is certainly valuable, but not sufficient.

I am not arguing against personal growth or self-awareness – but they're no guarantee of effective leadership.  They can equally lead to self-indulgence and manipulation of others.

And, much that drives successful leaders is not self-awareness but grit-in-the-oyster stuff – perhaps childhood experiences hidden from awareness, that makes it mandatory to succeed.  This doesn't make people necessarily good or bad, but it may make them highly effective.

And, the same is true in most fields, for example, for musicians or sportspeople.  They don't lead balanced lives.  Winning and being the best is the only goal.

And, what in the end is "authentic" anyhow?  Is it being honest, being yourself, not copying others?  But, we all do the latter and the article both rejects and accepts that.  Very confusing.

So, let's get back to basics: the only thing a leader needs is followers.  And, their presence depends on what you do.  But, there's no single answer here.  It depends on the situation.  And, that's why V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership Action Planning tool offers you choices, not ready-made solutions.  It starts from your people and their needs, not yours.  Above all, it's focused on action: what you need to do – not who you are.

In 40 minutes, you'll have a printable plan of your personal leadership actions.

Categories for this Potshot:

HBR articles, Great-leader Potshots, Model stamina and discipline, Be EQ-effective, Understand your marketplace, Excel as a technician, Build teamwork, Focus on being the best,

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