How To Practice Authentic Leadership

Many years ago I worked with a client who was thinking of starting up her own business. She had many talents, and interests with lots to offer. Part of the process of finding out what she wanted to do was to explore her current employment. Clearly, she had a problem with her relationship with her boss. Over the weeks we worked together, we were able to transform this relationship and the way we achieved this turns out to be at the heart of authentic leadership.
Authentic leadership is a leadership style that emphasizes self-awareness, transparency, and ethical behaviour. According to Northouse (2016), authentic leaders are genuine, honest, and focused on building strong relationships with their followers. They lead with a sense of purpose that is grounded in their values and beliefs and are committed to developing themselves and their followers.
While there are many factors which describe authenticity. There are some key characteristics of authentic leadership involved in the situation with my client. These are:
At the heart of authentic leadership is self-awareness. Authentic leaders have a deep understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, and values. They are willing to be vulnerable and transparent, acknowledging their flaws and weaknesses. This level of self-awareness enables authentic leaders to build strong relationships with their followers, as they are able to relate to them on a personal level.
Apart from self-awareness, the right attitude is also a critical factor in leadership. Authentic leaders approach their work with a positive attitude and a growth mindset. They are committed to learning and growing, both personally and professionally, and they encourage their followers to do the same.
Authentic leaders are transparent in their actions and decisions. They communicate openly and honestly with their followers, sharing their thought processes and explaining their decisions. This transparency builds trust and respect among followers, creating a sense of loyalty and commitment to the leader and the organization.
Authentic leaders are deeply committed to ethical behaviour. They hold themselves to a high standard of integrity, treating others with respect and fairness. They prioritize the well-being of their followers and the organization above personal gain, and they are willing to make difficult decisions that align with their values and beliefs.
Turning back to my client. Her work environment seemed to be causing her much anxiety. One of the biggest “thorns” in her workplace side was her boss. She knew she was really good at her job. Nevertheless, he overlooked her for promotion and opportunities. She observed that her boss was quite formal. He appeared to treat her differently from others. She told me about a couple of occasions when others had got great work projects and pay raises. Despite her obvious skills, My client wasn’t considered. Clearly, her relationship with her boss was the main issue for her at work.
The relationship between one particular colleague and the boss made her completely see red. Her boss had a particularly great working relationship with the other female colleague. Even the little things like her boss saying “good morning” with gusto to this lady felt like a rejection of my client. Observing her boss sharing a laugh and joking with this colleague, made my client feel left out, isolated and unappreciated.
When I asked my client to tell me what she thought of her boss she happily let loose on her frustration. She rattled away about his ability to be divisive, unfair, have favourites, unappreciative, and moody. This list was long and I felt her frustration, disappointment and her sense of being treated unfairly.
I then asked her to put herself in her colleague’s shoes and to think about how she might describe him, given the relationship she had with him. The light, even at this early stage began to dawn. She started using words like friendly, likeable, amusing, appreciative, and many more being the opposite of her own view. I then asked her if she had ever considered that her colleague might have a more successful relationship with their boss because she saw him in a more positive light.
I set my client a task for her to go to work and simply view her boss through the eyes of her colleague. Then to self-observe what happened. I knew this exercise would begin a shift in her narrative about her boss, but even I didn’t anticipate the transformation she experienced.
At the next session, she told me how amazed she was at the difference she found with him when her attitude towards him changed. Without even saying anything to him. She said he started off smiling at her and began stopping by to have a chat now and then. He even took her into his office to tell her what a remarkable job she was doing. The penny had dropped. She learned a valuable life lesson. Our attitudes are pivotal in forming relationships. Authentic leadership is born of such understanding.
Bringing authentic leadership to relationships is a crucial aspect of building strong and meaningful connections with others. It requires honing self-awareness, adopting the right attitude, behaving transparently, and acting ethically. By embodying these traits, individuals can develop trust and rapport with others, creating a positive and productive relationship. This is the switch in effect my client made which transformed her relationship with her boss. This is how she applied the key aspects of authentic leadership to achieve this transformation.
She looked at the situation in a different way, thereby heightening her self-awareness. Self-awareness is the first step in bringing authentic leadership to relationships. It involves understanding oneself, including one’s strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. With self-awareness, individuals can better understand how they impact others and adjust their behaviour accordingly. This level of self-awareness also enables individuals to be more empathetic and understanding of others, leading to better communication and rapport.
With a change of attitude towards her boss, she was able to see him in a different light. The right attitude is another essential component of authentic leadership in relationships. A positive attitude and growth mindset encourage personal and professional development, both in oneself and in others. It creates an atmosphere of encouragement and support, where individuals can thrive and succeed.
She dropped her mask of negativity and opted for a freeing open way of relating with her boss. Her ability to put aside her past attitude and communicate in a more open way showed she could practice greater transparency. Transparency is crucial in building trust and rapport in relationships. It involves open communication and honesty, sharing thoughts and decisions, and accepting feedback. By being transparent, individuals can create a sense of trust and respect, which leads to stronger connections with others.
Finally, she altered her own behaviour, giving her boss the benefit of the doubt and seeing him in a positive light. She understood her part in creating the relationship. Instead of blaming or doubling down on her initial attitude, she cared enough to do her part in repairing the relationship. In this way, she applied an ethical stance towards the relationship. Acting ethically is a cornerstone of authentic leadership in relationships. It involves treating others with respect, fairness, and integrity, prioritizing the well-being of others and the relationship above personal gain. Ethical behaviour creates a sense of trust and respect, which leads to stronger connections and positive relationships.
Human relationships are one of the most fertile, challenging and rewarding areas for developing self-awareness. Relationships are the best training ground for authentic leadership. Being aware of and actively improving relationships both inside and external to the workplace is the cornerstone of great leadership development. and authentic leadership. Relationships must be appreciated for the learning opportunities they hold.
The problem is we look at relationships through the wrong lens mostly. We use relationships to gauge our own or others’ self-worth, or we use them as if there is a hierarchy of good and bad people. We use them to suffer rather than celebrate.
In the workplace, the extent of our discussions about relationships can often be limited to those about contractual terms and conditions. These simply ignore one of the fundamental musts for authentic leadership, personal relationships, and I don’t mean romantic ones!
If only we could just grasp the fact that relationships are learning opportunities which increase the opportunity for authentic leadership, then we would create a much better world and lay the way for much more effective and caring authentic leadership.
For me, some of the authentic leadership lessons, human relationships hold are:
Authentic leadership can flourish when it is known that
This situation demonstrates how the four traits of authentic leadership (self-awareness, the right attitude, transparency, and ethics) can repair a key relationship in the workplace. By applying these traits, the individual was able to rebuild trust and respect, creating a positive and productive relationship.
I help leaders develop self- mastery, helping them to become confident in their own inner guidance.
I collaborate with leadership experts, managers and HR professionals to help them get their own message and unique services and products to a wide audience.
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Another good book is “The Million Point Leader.” Its an easy read with some very powerful concepts.
Nice thought provoking article and I agree that whilst relating with others our attitude cannot not have an influence on the quality of the relationship. People know without knowing how they know whether or not we like them. Thanks for reminding us and the share.
Alan Jones
Cafe Style Speed Training
Thanks for your positive feedback Alan. I have to remind myself quite often about my own attitude! I hope this finds you well, on this murky Tuesday morning!
“People of different abilities and skills will come and go in the workplace equal to the growth of the organisation. Appreciating that there should be healthy relationships for past, present and future employees are essential.” This speaks to me. Especially since it puts it to the organization as well as highlighting the employees as a set of abilities and skills that we, as the other employee-abilities and skills-are similarly valued. Good relationships ARE important in corporate culture as well as our day-to-day lives. We should be on the look out for that fire on that bridge and the closest place to find some water.
Hi Kerri
Thanks so much for your insight and comments. Relationships are an equal responsibility for the Organisation and the Employee. I hope you’re having a great week!
Christina, What a great post! I love the example of your client and how easy it was to transform a situaiton simply by being aware of what spirit she was bringing to their engagements. I’m sharing with this quote from your post, “People feel what you are thinking about them, even if they aren’t consciously aware.”
Chery, thanks for the positive feedback, and I’m glad you liked the example. Part of the success of that particular strategy was the willingness of the client to embrace that they might indeed have played a part in their bosses attitude to them. Getting people to accept that is the difficult part! Thanks again for commenting. Much appreciated.
Nicely written piece Christina and absolutely spot on with regards the importance of interpersonal relationships to leadership. I have developed more effective ‘active’ listening through coaching and the impact has been amazing. I also got a great deal from : 6 Habits of Remarkably Likable People http://bit.ly/1gzeyAJ which you have probably already seen. Cheers Mark (Twitter@MarkCrippsHK)