Ever felt that horrible awkwardness when you were first put in a position of leadership? You might have felt like you were too small to fill the expectations that the job came with. Or the awkwardness stemmed from feeling you had to be different than the normal you. Or maybe you felt awkward because you now had to ‘perform’ amongst people who used to be your colleagues. Now all of a sudden they are your underlings, but you feel bad even thinking that word.
Yes, you can have that little embarrassed laugh of recognition now… Most leaders have been there so to speak. But the fact that you feel like this is a good thing; it will keep your two feet on the ground. And that awkward feeling might spur you on to explore what you really think and believe about leadership and who you want to be as a leader.
In 2007 Harvard Business Review published an article called ‘Discovering your Authentic Leadership’ by Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N McLean and Diana Mayer. The article started by referring to over 1,000 studies over a 50 year period into leadership styles, characteristics and personality traits. Conclusion of those studies? There was no conclusion. The authors expressed a heartfelt ‘Thank goodness.’ about that. I am inclined to agree with that sentiment.
Bill George wrote:
“Authentic leaders demonstrate a passion for their purpose, practice their values consistently, and lead with their hearts as well as their heads. They establish long-term, meaningful relationships and have the self-discipline to get results. They know who they are.”
So getting rid of that awkwardness is really about becoming confident in yourself as a person and therefore as a leader. You and you-the-leader are really one and the same person; and your journey starts by recognising this fact. You will need a good dose of self-awareness to learn from your own life experiences and to use these invaluable lessons in shaping your authentic leadership behaviour. Think about some important moments in your life, and ask yourself if the lessons that you learned then influence who you are today. How did these experiences shape your values, your sense of right and wrong, your behaviour?
If you know your purpose and values and allow your passion to fire up the people who work with you then you are well on your way. Combine this with self-discipline, clear goals and a healthy relational life, then I’m pretty sure the word underling won’t feature in your mind anymore.
There is no template for leadership, no predetermined success formula that you can follow. To be an authentic leader all you need to be is you… but please let it be your best you; if not for yourself, then for your ‘underlings’ sake!
Want to learn more about becoming an authentic leader? Download the free xpand theme letter on ‘Discover your authentic leadership style’ here. Xpand offers a 2 day Authentic Leadership workshop at your organization in which you can explore: (1) your story, (2) your potential, (3) your vision, (4) your work-life integration and lastly (5) your support structure. More information via info-sa@xpand.eu
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