5 Impediments of Authentic Leadership
March 26, 2016 | Written by Sree Ravela
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
Authentic leadership requires genuine care for constituents, unwavering adherence to core values, and a focus on building transformational relationships rather than just transactional ones. Leaders must consistently demonstrate their principles through actions, empowering their teams and respecting diversity beyond mere rhetoric. Check out these five key characteristics that could impede your goal to become an authentic leader.
1. Artificial Feelings and Expressions
Genuine leaders need to have true feelings, care for the needs and the well-being of all their constituents. If you want to be an authentic leader, you must be yourself under all conditions and situations. Always keep up with your promises and never disown them under any circumstances. Such behaviors will instantly break the trust that you may have earned over a period.
2. Drifting From Your Core Values and Principles
The most respected leaders are those who are value-based and operate with their core principles. You may publish your core values to your teams but during difficult situations, under the guise of holding someone accountable, if you tend to look for scapegoats, remind yourself that core values are being litmus tested. Your followers will easily smell any minor drift from your principles. Authentic leaders should intentionally develop a strong connection between their values and day-to-day behaviors.
3. Only Focusing on Transactional Relationships
It is very common for leaders to offer staff incentives for achieving higher goals. However, a leader’s focus should be to try intentionally and expand individual and team competencies beyond simply achieving day-to-day goals. They should also work diligently toward adding value through synergies. Authentic leaders commit to building lasting relationships with their followers and will always aim for transformational leadership instead of simply transactional.
4. Never Walking Your Talk
Your fully empowered team should not wait for your final say on each and every decision. Empowerment should not just remain a keyword used in meetings or communications from time to time. When you say you respect diversity, your team composition should clearly and honestly reflect that.
5. Lack of Self-Awareness
Leaders can become more effective by not only discovering the strengths and managing the weaknesses of their teams but more importantly, knowing their own blind spots. If you are not committing to authentically getting to know your total self, then you are not making strides toward becoming an authentic leader.
Authentic leaders cultivate self-awareness, addressing their own blind spots while developing their teams' strengths, and they commit to continuous personal growth through intentional effort and practice. Intentional efforts and constant practice will help achieve your goal to be a more authentic leader.