What exactly is authentic leadership?
Photo by Mario Gogh on Unsplash
“He that thinketh he leadeth, and hath no one following, is only taking a walk. If you’re all alone as a leader, are you really leading?” - John Maxwell.
Our position on what consitutes “authentic leadership” is contrary to most of the repackaged nonsense, and we’re about to tell you exactly why.
A great deal of vacuous crap has been written about leadership, and much like the changing body styles on cars, we seem to merely adapt a new exterior or buzzword every four to seven years to keep up with the trends to signal that the old training options are now antiquated.
Go back over all the magazine and journal articles about leadership from the last few decades, and you will almost certainly find some reference to how difficult the current market is, how uniquely stressful the present conditions are, and how unprecedented challenges will cause unpredictable outcomes for organizations throughout the world. What usually follows is some repackaged leadership philosophy, and a repackaged group of consultants ready to connect you to the emerging solutions for volatile markets. Rinse and repeat.
Yet leadership does not occur in a vacuum: it is relational, situational, and exists within symbiotic ecosystems.
We know from decades of experience across industries and from personal experience as leaders in them that “leadership styles” are not a fixed and defined method of being. And “style” is just a useless word, implying you can don it as a hat, swirl it like a cloak, or drop it like a pair of trousers.
In fact, both leaders and their followers constantly adapt to changing circumstances, markets, governance and regulatory shifts, as well as the daily needs of their staff and stakeholder demands.
This is the definition of ‘authentic leadership’ in a journal article from 2005:
“Authentic leadership as a process draws from both positive psychological capacities and a highly developed organizational context, which results in both greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviours on the part of leaders and associates, fostering positive self-development.”
That definition seems very broad and lacks a functional degree of specificity. And who are those lucky leaders who can unfurl themselves so authentically because they enjoy a “highly developed organizational context”?! Most organizations are in the process of developing. Even those that may be considered “highly developed” from the outside are fairly chaotic from the inside.
What, don’t believe it? Okay - how many times have you heard the phrase “digital transformation” in the last month alone? Okay, how about even the last week? Exactly.
Digging deeper, they then defined authentic leaders as:
“... those who are deeply aware of how they think and behave and are perceived by others as being aware of their own and others' values/moral perspectives, knowledge, and strengths; aware of the context in which they operate; and who are confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, and of high moral character”.
Yogi on a bed of nails, anyone? Guru atop a snowy peak? Mother Theresa amongst the masses? Get real. Above all, get useful.
These definitions don’t align with any conceivable notion of authenticity as a work practice as one might define it in 2023. Today the popular version seems to imply something different. Contrast these contemporary leadership sentiments:
“Being comfortable enough at work to share your personal life, interests, and flaws with coworkers… kind of like John Legend’s song, “All of Me.”
(How many cringeworthy stories have you had to endure at the water cooler?)
Or
“When you enter a place or workplace, you bring a lot of ‘you’ with you. Some elements are real and some are designed to serve a situation. Coming with wholeness in its most natural state—or with no suppressed behaviors—is bringing your whole self to work. This wholeness includes your mental, physical and spiritual being and nothing needs to be dropped off outside the workplace to be yourself.” - Sahil Sharma - Professional learning leader - Toronto District School Board
(No suppressed behaviour, hey? Not even gonna touch that one.)
Or this one on offer by Indeed - Career Guide;
“Being your authentic self at work can be very beneficial to your mental health and professional growth opportunities. Displaying your true personality allows you to be open and build trust with others, which often can help you develop a professional network and gain an advantage in promotion selection. Also, sharing personal experiences with others and sharing your authentic personality at work may encourage your coworkers to act more authentically as well.”
(How about friendly, professional - and go get your work done?!)
Great advice perhaps, if only your authentic self corresponds nearly perfectly to the accepted norms and conventions of your workplace, and society. If your perspective, lived experiences or central beliefs contradict the Zeitgeist, your authentic self will likely “not fit the culture” and alienate everyone around you to the point of stifling your career with a large, fluffy pillow.
Very likely the reason for your dismissal won’t be given as: “Oh you’re just too authentic for us”! You may experience anything from a chilly ostracism to the outright cancellation we’re becoming so accustomed to (essentially, the de-platforming of views that threaten the dominant ideological fealty of our times).
Ask any neurodivergent person about bringing their “whole selves to work”. Most of them are quirky, highly intelligent, and highly unemployed. No one wants to see that stuff - or deal with it.
So what exactly IS authentic leadership? If it’s not “letting it all hang out” then what is it?! Leaders aren’t random atoms bouncing off their slowly boiling frog pot. They must self-regulate and contain the people and organizations they lead, providing the conditions for business to flourish and for people to grow. We’ve all experienced leaders who “let it all hang out” and none of us has enjoyed that experience. It’s a kind of narcissistic throwback to kindergarten where tantrums, pouting and all-about-me is the daily.
What happens when you tell your staff that you have doubts? They have doubts. What happens when you appear unsure, unfocused and unaware? Your staff lose focus. As a leader, you provide the safety and the context. That means keeping some thoughts and behaviours to yourself, and it means exercising the experienced power of discernment in when and where and with whom to discuss those doubts, fears, unripe ideas, faint possibilities and other things that can knock your staff out of whack.
For most people, change is uncomfortable. So unless you’re very sure about what you’re saying / doing and proposing, your unripe thoughts and feelings and your personal woes and troubles have no place at the workplace.
So we’ve established that being “authentic” does NOT mean “bringing your whole self to work”. What it DOES mean is that you relate to others in such a way that you don’t pretend to be someone else - you are authentically you - but in a role, in a specific type of organization, for a specific purpose.
Somehow in recent years we seem to have lost the plot. Work is, in fact, simply commerce, for the profitability of shareholders. Work is always about rallying a group of people around common values and an organizational purpose to achieve strategic, tactical, logistical - and yes - relational goals.
And in the process, you will likely become more self-aware, better self-regulated, and discover untapped or greater potential than you knew you could draw on before you had this particular workplace experience.
THAT’S authentic leadership.
We are ALL in the process of becoming.
About the Authors:
Anna Garleff is the Founder of Garleff Coaching and Consulting Group. Her writing focuses on decades of experience as an organizational psychologist and her interactions with clients from around the world. This knowledge translates into informative blog articles, leadership tools, and stories that help frame the world of work. Anna continues to ghostwrite for KPMG, Deloitte and PwC - and for executives who want their ideas woven into communications with impact.
You can contact Anna using the Contact Us page of the website.
Neil Gonsalves is an Indian-born Canadian immigrant who grew up in Dubai, U.A.E. and moved to Canada in 1995. He is an Ontario college educator, a TEDx speaker, an author and columnist, and an advocate for new immigrant integration and viewpoint diversity.