“People are always judging you based on where you’re from, where you went to school, how you look, how you talk. But at the end of the day, you’re going to have to look into the mirror and accept who you are. It’s all about being authentic.”
Authentic leaders and authenticity describes the quality or condition of being authentic, trustworthy or genuine. Self awareness, self assessment, character and integrity are qualities that effective leaders have possessed throughout history, in endeavors ranging from religion, politics, business and war. Of all the character traits effective leaders possess, authenticity is a common theme throughout history.
Fundamentally, a leader must possess the ability to inspire, motivate, cajole, coerce and lead people to achieve goals or outcomes. These goals may not be considered personally important or personally worthwhile by their followers. These outcomes are unachievable in the long term if a leader is considered to lack authenticity. Authenticity within a leader is vital, particularly when considering a long term approach.
Why self-awareness is crucial
Effective authentic leaders possess one of the most important qualities required; self awareness. A clear understanding of their personality and inner workings assists a leader in judging, understanding and controlling their emotions when in difficult situations. This in turn enables them to maintain their composure and have a clear understanding of what it is they are trying to achieve and how they are going to do it.
An effective leader must have a very clear understanding of their personal values and morals as well as what is considered ethical. These act as a barometer for measuring decisions as right or wrong. They may be ethical decisions, or morally based, that will be made in accordance with their internal ‘moral compass’. Our moral and ethical compass is set for human beings from a very young age. The way people are raised by not only parents, but also a community, shapes the definition of what is considered right and what is considered wrong during the formative years.
Develop your moral compass
When a leader is presented with choices of a moral or ethical nature, they may need to conduct a quick self assessment against what they consider to be acceptable. History is heavily populated with examples of leaders that made poor decisions based on their moral and ethical compass. One example is that of cyclist and seven time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong dominated professional cycling having survived testicular cancer from 1999 to 2005 by winning the Tour de France consecutively. Having aggressively denied doping allegations for most of his professional career, he eventually admitted to systemic performance enhancing drug use throughout all seven victories, in 2013.
The example set by Armstrong is a good illustration of when a leader makes a decision that is clearly wrong and against a set of morals and ethics, yet somehow justified internally. As the lie and the actions are repeated it becomes easier to subdue the effect of the moral reasoning to a point where the lie becomes a version of the truth.
A good man has a moral compass
In more recent times, numerous examples of white collar crime represent poor choices that have been made by leaders when presented with opportunity for personal gain. These leaders may have achieved their positions through effort, performance and results, but were ultimately brought undone, over the long term, due to having a lack of understanding of what was consider ethically right and morally acceptable.
One very good example of an individual listening to their moral compass was a former employee of President Nixon’s administration in the United States of America, in 1972, by the name of Jon Huntsman. He accepted a position working directly for President Nixon’s chief of staff, essentially the second most powerful person in the USA, if not the world. When instructed to take unscrupulous actions against a congressman, that had not been supportive of the administration, he refused.
Huntsman accredited the values he had carried with him since childhood as the guiding force that prevented him from following the directions that would have caused the downfall of an innocent rival politician. Within six months, Jon Huntsman had sought employment elsewhere as he was considered to be disloyal by the chief of staff from that point forth. He was to later enjoy a very successful life as a businessman and philanthropist working to fund cancer research.
Know thy self
The example set by Jon Huntsman is a clear illustration of what leaders can achieve by having a well developed sense of self. Only by having a very clear understanding of where their moral compass is pointing will a genuine leader have the ability to measure their decisions during periods of reflection. A leader that has a loose moral compass may generate effectiveness for a short period of time, but at some point they are highly likely to make bad decisions that will have serious consequences attached to them. One such example would be the late Alan Bond of Australia.
The infamous businessman, yachting sponsor, corporate criminal and former Australian of the year achieved notoriety when he pleaded guilty to using his position to embezzle funds from a company in 1997 and was subsequently sentenced to seven years’ incarceration. Alan Bond may very well have started his business dealings in an honourable manner initially, but at some point made decisions that were not only illegal, but also knowingly morally and ethically wrong.
Therefore, a strong self awareness with regard to personal values may not be vital to a leader’s performance and success in the short term, but most certainly is crucial in the medium to long term success of authentic leaders their company or organisation.