Authentic Leadership –Part 1

This is the first in a series of blog posts examining the subject of “Authentic Leadership.”

Abstract

What does it mean to be authentic? What does authentic leadership look like? What are the qualities and characteristics of an authentic leader? What deterrents are there to being authentic? Is authenticity a help or deterrent to strategic communication? What is the place of vulnerability and truthfulness in being authentic? To what leadership models should authentic leaders be compared? In this series of blog posts we will address these questions along with the postulation that authentic leadership must be measured universally against the servant leadership model exemplified by Jesus Christ, and individually against the specific gifts and purpose each individual has been endowed with by their Creator.

Authentic Leadership – Part 1

Being Authentic

What Does it Mean to be Authentic?

I remember watching Kevin Kostner’s (1990) Academy Award winning motion picture Dances with Wolves for the first time. The opening scene panned across a hodgepodge of civil War gear strewn about among wounded and bleeding soldiers. I was immediately impressed with the detail of the authentic looking items as they passed by the big screen. Even the stitching on the boots and the nails used to attach the heels were definitely different from what would be seen today. Later, I saw a behind-the-scenes feature about the making of the movie. The producers explained how they went to great lengths to be sure that every prop and costume was made authentically to the same specifications as what was actually used in the Civil War. These were not genuine Civil War artifacts, but authentic reproductions. In this sense, being authentic is not the same as being genuine.

Merriam-Webster (2016) defines the word authentic as…

…worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact… conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features… made or done the same way as an original… not false or imitation: real, actual… true to one’s personality, spirit, or character (Mirriam-Webster, 2016).

In each definition, authenticity has to do with conforming to, copying, reproducing or having the same characteristics as an original. Even being “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character” implies comparing one’s behavior against previous norms. Therefore we may surmise that authenticity occurs only in comparison to something. This should not, however, imply that being authentic means something or someone is false or merely an imitation. A Civil War boot that is made with the same materials, using the same tools, and to the same specifications as the original boots is as real as the genuine article even if not the original. With this understanding of what it means to be authentic, we must also ask what we are comparing authenticity against.

Susan Scott (2004) expresses the belief that one cannot enjoy the life, make the decisions or be the leader they are capable of being unless their actions represent an authentic representation of who they really are. As authenticity relates to conversation, she admonishes, “You must deliberately, purposely come out from behind yourself into the conversation an make it real—at least your part of it” (p. 67). Scott’s definition of being authentic accentuates individualism. It is a process that begins “—when you cease to compare yourself with others and choose, instead, to live your life… It is a deepening integrity—when who you are and what you live are brought into alignment” (pp. 72-73). Karl Albrecht (2006) echoes this idea, suggesting that authenticity is the dimension of, “how honest and sincere you are with people and with yourself, in any given situation” (p. 87). Certainly individuals need to live their own life, discover their own gifts and fulfill their own purpose. This involves taking responsibility for our own actions. Steven Covey (1990) suggests that individuals should, “Look at the word responsibility as ‘response-ability’—the ability to choose your response” (p. 71). We must take responsibility for ourselves and be proactive. We cannot make our experience the same as anyone else’s. The measure of our authenticity as leaders is not in comparison to anyone else’s experience. Yet, by definition, authenticity requires that it be validated as compared against some original, norm or standard. If comparing ourselves with others is being inauthentic, to what then should an authentic leader compare him/herself?

(to be continued)

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NOTE: Please visit this blog site each week (a new blog is posted every Monday). Over the next few weeks we will be continuing more parts on this subject of Authentic Leadership.

Next week: Part 2 - “To What Models Should Authentic Leadership Be Compared?”

References:

Kostner, K. (Producer/Director). (1990). Dances with Wolves [Motion picture].

            United States: Orion Pictures.

authentic. (2016). In Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Retrieved June 6, 2016,

            from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/authentic

Scott, S. (2004). Fierce Conversations. Achieving success at work and in life, one conversation

at a time. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group

Albrecht, K. (2006). Social Intelligence. The new science of success. San Francisco: Josey-Bass

Covey, S.R. (1990). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Restoring the character ethic.

            New York: fireside/Simon & Schuster