To be authentic is to be reliable, true, dependable, faithful, trustworthy, genuine. The question is are you an authentic leader or person? The world is looking for authentic leaders who back their words with action, people who are not caught up with the politics and manipulations in the organization for the sake of survival and pleasing the herd. When you are all alone and introspecting your leadership style or brand, when you look yourself in the mirror are you happy with what you are looking at? Do you have room for change? I believe we all should be ready to course correct when we identify things about ourselves that we need to work on. Doing whatever you do for the sake of climbing the corporate ladder irrespective of who you trample upon is not worth it. Develop yourself into an authentic leader and you will be pleased you did. Your employees, direct reports, peers are looking for authenticity. They are looking for a leader who leads from their values, a leader who can say No to things that will hurt the others and diminish their moral, a leader who is ready to stand up for what is right, a leader who is ready to defend the rights of others, create psychologically safe spaces for people to speak truth to power, a leader who goes to bed and can say I did what is right under pressure and challenging circumstances. I encourage you to be an authentic leader. You will sleep better, dream better, smile better, and look great as you look in the mirror. Have a fantastic week and see you at the summit of leadership champions.
