Everywhere I look, there is a deep need for leadership. Without leadership, there is often a lack of order, direction and purpose. It often feels like a ship without the captain, or the home with absent parents, the employees just getting the job done, or a classroom in chaos.
It is not enough that leadership is needed in all walks of life, but it is so important to lead authentically- leadership that is genuine, true and accurate. As a Leadership Development Coach, I often want to know more about the individual that I am coaching that would help me understand how they would be able to lead authentically.
One thing that remains true is that how you show up in one place, is how you show up in many places. So, authentic leadership does not begin and end in an office setting or with your job. It is a way of being that encompasses all of who you are-whether it is with your children, your instructor, business partners, friends, spouse, boss, etc.
At the foundation of this type of leadership is an understanding that we are called to be leaders and that we need to learn how to lead in excellence. Part of that process is learning more about the strengths and weakness of our gifts and talents.
Appreciating the skills that we have learned along the way in this journey called life. With that said, you begin to cultivate the perspective that you are not called to be like “so and so”, but you are called to be who you have been created to be which is unique to you.
Authentic leadership is always in the service of those under our care. As a result, it suspends this notion of “quid pro quo” – if you do something for me, I will do something for you.
Authentic leadership encourages the growth and development of ourselves and those around us to be stretched beyond the status quo.
Authentic leadership brings with it the understanding that you don’t need to compete to get ahead, instead you can find the uniqueness of what you bring and operate in that brilliance within the spheres of your influence. So, you are not looking to “kill” off the competition.
Authentic leadership does not operate from a place of stress, but from a place of rest. Thus, there is a resistance to the norms of the industries of operating in “stress mode” because that is the way it’s always been done. Yet, authentic leadership denies the assumption that ‘stress mode’ way of being is the only way and demonstrates another way.
Although there is much more I can say about authentic leadership, I will stop here and say that this type of leadership excites me, because it disrupts the norms and allows me to open up to a different reality from which I can lead from. When I lead from this space, it affects all those around me. What are your thoughts? Are you tired of trying to be like someone else? Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? What motivates your team to work with you?
If you would like to talk about how to improve your leadership style, schedule a call to see if coaching is appropriate for you.