Adopt these 6 Ways to Become a More Authentic Leader
- Review your leadership image – this involves self-assessment and exploring what behavioural changes can be made to build your authenticity. Rethink, redefine, revise but stay true to yourself. Make decisions based on your ethics, values and personality, be genuine, this isn’t about creating a false image.
- Enhance your self-awareness – this is understanding how your habits, personability and communication skills impact your interactions with others. Consider how others perceive your behaviours, words and actions. Positively, or negatively! Seek feedback to gain insight and reflect on how you might change your approach.
- Assess your likes, dislikes and values – This is about setting goals that are aligned with your values. By establishing your likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses and values you can better comprehend how aligned your behaviours are with your ethics. Know what is important to you now, and if or what you are prepared to change or not.
- Practice effective communication – develop communication skills that enable you to effectively express yourself and exchange messages with clarity, clearly and concisely. Skills include active listening, showing respect, empathy and understanding when interacting with others. Well-developed skills foster and build trust and deepen relationships and connections.
- Make change, act - To move forward plan your steps. Usually, small steps are the way to bring about the desired change. Sudden dramatic behavioural changes could be viewed suspiciously, as manipulative or false. Share with your trusted colleagues and bring them into your plan, they can provide feedback and act as sounding boards.
- Evaluate to grow – Monitor progress by assessing to your stated goals. Be honest but kind to yourself, remember your aim is to grow, by learning new or different skills and behaviours to become a more authentic leader.