Authentic Leadership Is All The Rage: Learn Why It Is All Wrong

It's all the rage! Authentic Leadership. Everyone talks about it. Everyone has an opinion about what it is and they're not shy about telling you how you need to change to become an authentic leader. So if everybody is talking about authentic leadership, it should have a very common definition right? Wrong!

If you research various definitions of authentic leadership you most definitely do not get a single definition and none of them seem complete. However, after analyzing all of these so-called experts, I did find some common elements:

• Has purpose, a vision, and passion for the vision. If a leader has passion for the problems they are solving or the customers they are serving, that passion is contagious and spreads through the entire organization

• Has a good core set of values, specifically integrity. Being honest and having strong moral principles drives trust and loyalty. Working in an organization without trust is like an engine without oil. It will grind together, create friction, and eventually seize up.

• Has humility. When one recognizes that they may not be the smartest person in the room and can make room for the opinions of others, the outcomes improve and you can unlock exponential growth.

• Is self aware. Self-awareness is the key ingredient to improvement. If you're not self-aware you will never adjust to the people or situations around you and stick with less effective methods that can decay teamwork and growth.

The Dictionary Definition

If you look authentic up in the dictionary, here is what you find:

“true to one's own personality, spirit, or character”

And I don't mean to be a naysayer, but are we really looking for authentic leaders per this definition? Do we want somebody who is being themself even if their true self is not constructive?

I'm a hyper achiever who has the patience of a gnat. But I did NOT find expressing that impatience in an authentic way to my true self helped me as a leader. Empathy and understanding helped. Integrity helped. Humility helped. Being a strategic leader and active listener helped. Having the self-awareness to know that my impatience was not constructive also helped. That gave me an opportunity to tamp down my impatience and give people the time and space they needed to get something done without undue pressure for my unrealistic timelines.

What About Genuine?

After searching on the internet further, I found a coach that suggests that the word genuine is more appropriate than authentic.

Her way of looking at the difference between genuine and authentic is as follows:

“authentic' refers to how you are being yourself. It is a reference to self-expression. That is, how you express yourself reflects how you really are inside, what you are thinking, feeling, perceiving and believing.

“genuine” is more about how you relate to other people

So are we looking for genuine leaders? When someone is genuine and relates to you in a caring way then maybe? But again, not to be a naysayer, genuine and authentic are synonymous. So I disagree with that other coach. Genuine is just another way of saying authentic and still falls short.

What Are We Really Looking For In A Leader?

After all of this reflection, I propose that what people really want is a leader who does have the common characteristics I outlined above:

• Has purpose, vision, and passion

• Lives with integrity

• Has humility

• Is self aware

And when you look at those characteristics, what I see is emotionally intelligent and visionary.

So instead of using the word authentic and confusing everyone around us, can't we all admit that what we are really looking for are leaders who are,...

Emotionally Intelligent?

What do you think?

If you are seeking a path to becoming a better leader, coaching may be for you. Schedule a free coaching discovery call to explore how coaching can help you become an emotionally intelligent and visionary leader who garners respect, loyalty, and high performance.