Authenticity Gets Some Street Cred

...WALL St. cred, that is.

Thanks to pal and Business Pundit Rob May for sending me a note with the subject line, "you should blog this." It contained a link to an Economist article about authenticity in leadership.

Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, two British academics, write that the most important trait any CEO must have is authenticity.

After 25 years spent observing well-regarded chief executives and good managers further down the ladder, the authors conclude that those who are true to characteristics they already possess make the best bosses. Their message to the aspiring high-flyer is “be yourself”, have a lot of self-knowledge and be comfortable with who you are. Identikit executives hiding behind the latest management fad, ambitious role players, time-servers and office politicians may manage to creep to the top. But Messrs Jones and Goffee insist that those they seek to lead will soon find them out. Authenticity cannot be faked, they say, and a little eccentricity won’t hurt either.

I love that this story constitutes business news--truly! No snark intended. I love that I've been asked to present with Ensight's Jeremy Wright at the New Communications Forum about Authenticity for businesses contemplating entering the social mediasphere. I love that people don't look at this word anymore and go, ewwww. How granola.

The fact is, authenticity hasn't changed, but our perception and understanding of it has. For one thing authenticity isn't synonymous with being woo woo or "out there". Companies that fake a green philosophy or open management style are Inauthentic. On the flip side, there are plenty of awkward types who inspire the best in people and understand their strengths and limitations; they are authentic, and effective.

As Daniel Pink says in A Whole New Mind: Competence has become a commodity.The only way to differentiate yourself in the business world today is to insist on being yourself. Ironically, it takes some of us years to come full circle back to the place we were, before we tried to be someone else.

Thanks, Rob, for forwarding the link. Tres vrai!

authenticity leadership executive development

Comments

[sandra]

Do you ever wonder how much time it takes people to come up with conclusions like this? I just need to figure out how I can make money for stating the obvious.

In any case, great link.

[Jon Moter]

Thank you for blogging about this. I've forwarded the article to some friends who do business coaching, and are focused on authenticity (Arete-types) who would appreciate having the idea promoted in a publication like The Economist.

I've been enjoying reading your blog in general. I like your mix of sharp analysis and personal sharing, mixing your insights into your own life with those of the professional world.

[Dan]

Having been "fixated" in my consulting career on helping leaders reach into their own authenticity, I would say that the trend lines are both hopeful and distressing. While increasingly I come across leaders who say things like, "I don't have to get feedback from anybody" I also come across, in a similar proportion, people who are more open than ever and are hungry for the self-knowledge that will help them lead truly and with purpose. We all stand on an edge, and we can make the choice. More consciousness or less. Of course, less is a bad bargain but it is often easier, and I've learned it's prudent not to be too smug. No one knows, really, what pain it will cost someone to come to terms with self. But I believe there is a hidden reward for those who choose the diligent path: an opening, a portal, not only to understanding, but ultimately a kind of unconditional love. It's out of style to say such things, of course, but unless someone has that, I believe it is truly difficult to be who you are and in turn deal with the day-to-day vicissitudes of actual relationships, tough projects, and really leading.

[andy woolard]

Great discussion on authenticity today - glad I was part of your presentation.

[Helen Smith]

It's difficult for a boss to be authentic when the subordinates are too busy being yes-men/women. But unfortunately, our workplace systems are set up such that bosses can succumb to the lure of dictatorial power. Also suggest you read this excellent manifesto at Changethis.com - Why your boss is programmed to be a dictator (http://www.changethis.com/19.bossdictator) - you will understand why it's so difficult for people to be authentic, when the system is built to do the exact opposite.

[Jerome Alexander]

When will they learn that all management fads have a limited life! There are no "silver bullets" and no substitutes for good smart work. Worse yet is when some consultant tries to evangelize the workforce into believing in some "new religion" replete with its own rituals, icons, and Bibles. It's all intended to convince the masses that their attitudes about pay cuts, grueling schedules and idiot managers are wrongminded. God forbid (the real one)that one ever gets on the wrong side of one of these "prophets" by having an original thought or challenging the doctrine. Remember the Spanish inquisition? What an insult to the intelligence of employees and good managers.
Successful organizations innovate. They are honest with their workforce and respect divergent opinions. They do not need to use goofy gimmicks and play games with employees' psyches.
In fact, there is really only one thing that all successful organizations have in common - they are successful. Excerpted from "160 Degrees of Deviation: The Case for the Corporate Cynic."