Being a leader requires more than demanding and not exceeding your job description. You need to present your authentic self including your unique traits and deficiencies to achieve leadership success. Today people struggle to find genuine leaders because business speak and PR makeup conceal authentic leadership. Once you uncover and display your authentic self it creates major results in leadership. People prefer leaders who remain true to themselves rather than robotic performers of corporate mission statements. This article explains why staying true to your values impacts leadership style and reveals the problems caused by pretending to be someone else. The outcome proves tricky to handle yet delivers superior results.
Why Authenticity Feels Like a Buzzword (But Isn’t)
The term authenticity has become so common on LinkedIn that it feels like a tired corporate jargon. Every top manager says they tell things as they actually are yet their team members see through their Zoom screen performances. Being authentic at work amounts to more than just meaningless talk. When leaders maintain authenticity they synchronize their conduct with their sermon and display their values in every department. Showing your true self becomes more difficult during challenging moments. According to Harvard Business Review research published some time ago people exhibit greater trust in undistorted leaders. They will forgive errors when they see your genuine nature. So, why’s it so hard? Being honest needs courage that many people avoid by choosing protection over exposure.
The Trap of People-Pleasing
Many leaders face difficulty by attempting to meet all team expectations. You have probably experienced managers who constantly agree with all suggestions because they are afraid of causing conflict. A true leader should not depend on popularity to gain authority. Instead of following public demands you ruin your moral support system. Your values? They turn into mush. This manager accepted every work deadline no matter how it ruined his team’s performance. He believed he would become more popular by doing this. Nope. They resented him for it. Being real requires rejecting opportunities that hurt despite their appeal. Being direct is not the same as acting mean.
Values: The Compass You Didn’t Know You Needed
You experience challenges in leadership yet move through it uncertainly as if lost in a cloudy path. You will lose direction when you have no clear beliefs to guide you. Your moral compass works like a traditional compass despite its minor damage because it helps you find your direction. Your values are practical guidelines that exist beyond your personal notes in the journal. These leadership instincts reveal what to continue doing what you do and when to alter or end specific tasks. The leader I respect shared her decision to reject a lucrative promotion because it harmed her team members. Your principles become realities when you demonstrate them instead of simply saying them. Find your personal values and use them as your guidance system.
How to Dig Up Your Values (No Shovel Required)
How can you determine which principles lead your life? The inner values you need to lead are not visible on your skin but they guide your decisions. Begin with the things that make you angry. Injustice? Laziness? Bullshit? That’s a clue. Review the times when you felt deep pride in yourself. You demonstrated your courage by backing others and making difficult choices people avoided. Write that down. The process feels confusing but that is the entire point of the exercise. Authenticity isn’t polished; it’s raw. Test your selected values like honesty and grit once you have created a list of them. When facing an issue ask yourself what honesty would do to solve it. You’ll see.
The Messy Beauty of Leading Without a Mask
After setting your values and becoming genuine you need to move forward. Preparation is needed because being authentic has challenges ahead. Showing your weaknesses is part of genuine leadership. You demonstrate your real character both by admitting errors and revealing your intense fear about significant choices. During a meeting the CEO showed his emotion by crying as he admitted he had no solution for the layoff problem. The audience split into two groups—those who thought he had lost his mind and those who grew more respect for him. That’s the gamble. Despite believing in perfection people seek someone who shows their real human side. And yeah, you’ll get pushback. Some’ll call it weak. Screw ‘em. The ones who stay? They’re your tribe.
Owning Your Screw-Ups
Nobody nails it every time. Not even the big shots with corner offices. Unlike authentic leaders authentic leaders refuse to shift responsibility. Spill coffee on the report? Laugh it off. Tank a project? Own it, fix it, move on. During a client pitch I presented such a poor performance that the client left before I could finish my statement. The team members and technical problems would have been convenient targets for my blame. Instead of passing the blame I admitted my mistake to my supervisor and completed a new version before work began. She rewarded me with a promotion although she did not dismiss me from my position. Why? She trusted that I would tell her the truth from then on. Your reputation stays intact whether you make mistakes or try to conceal them. So, lean into the mess. It’s freeing.
Building a Team That Trusts You (And Calls You Out)
Your team will become open and honest when you demonstrate authenticity. Their genuine feedback becomes available to you because they trust you to handle the truth. That’s gold. A leader who focuses solely on presentation attracts employees who avoid open dialogue. When people see your true nature they feel safe to speak their minds with you. One of my junior staff members pointed out my plan was incomplete. The sting from her feedback hurt but she proved her point. We fixed it together. Real communication between leaders and their team emerges when employees understand their manager will handle feedback effectively. People feel secure to deliver open feedback when authenticity makes honesty the preferred behavior.
Listening Without Losing Your Cool
Establishing trust relies mostly on keeping silent to pay attention to others. Leaders find this activity challenging to master. They are focused on their future plans rather than paying attention to others. As someone who is real they focus on understanding details instead of merely showing approval. Get curious. Criticism that pushes you to retreat under your desk demands your attention. My startup-owning friend believes his staff generate his greatest concepts through their active criticism. Having the necessary courage and trust in your core values helps you develop this essential skill. Leaders possess the capacity to handle tough feedback because they lead genuinely through their actions.
The Long Game: Why Authenticity Wins
Some leaders use charisma to steal attention briefly even though authenticity lasts much longer. But authenticity? The real power of leadership comes from lasting dedication to real beliefs. Persistence in leadership matters much more than successful performances in individual battles. People favor the engaged leader over the person who performs well then vanishes. History shows us that leaders who stand their ground like Mandela and that teacher succeed more than dazzling individuals do. Their realness made their values stick with everyone. Being yourself will create lasting impact regardless of public presentations. Being your authentic self will naturally lead to positive results in leadership.
When the Going Gets Tough
Authenticity proves its strength most during difficult times. Being authentic becomes much easier when extra money appears in your account. During financial challenges or market failures your true beliefs are thoroughly proven. During difficult moments you either lose your balance or maintain your stability. During a PR disaster the director accepted responsibility set out a solution while remaining available to media representatives. My team reacted enthusiastically in ways we had never achieved. Why? Everyone recognized she was being genuine in her actions. Hard times reveal your true identity by removing any pretense you have. Choose someone who deserves to be followed.
Being genuine as a leader requires time and effort to achieve. You need to make this decision which proves challenging yet brings great fulfillment. Stand by your real beliefs and shed your false behavior to see results. You will not succeed at everything but the people who stay loyal to you are worth more than any workplace. Your true supporters will face any challenge for you. A genuine leader is more valuable than a big office space.
LekFex 