Employees like to follow those leaders who they find genuine or real. Authenticity is integral for developing trust. – And that is why Authentic Leadership is considered essential for being a leader who is trusted by team-members or subordinates.
Have you ever been charged with a leader attempting to be influential, and only until you encounter him outside, you understand how acting skills are mixed over leadership skills? – Acting is biased to anything exclusive of entertainment.
Authentic leadership revolves around practices that match leaders’ behavior in their context, which is an integral part of emotional intelligence.
Authentic leadership is found, yes, but quite rarely in the present era.
And the leaders who practice fakeness and innerly rebel against the chapters of being real do not have a group who trusts, respects, or personally likes them.
When influenced by a real effective leader, the satisfaction that team-members feel will be quite evident while a fake leader will, in a way or another, lack something important; even the bonds that are created under the fake leader are not so pleasing.
With a not so good authentic leadership going on top, the whole team likely has no objective of being real. This post will uncover everything about authentic leadership and associated concepts. So, let us get started right away-
Table of Contents
What is Authentic Leadership?
To catch the niche of authentic leadership, you must know what authentic is as a prerequisite.
Well, authenticity is a synonym with genuineness, honesty- elements that authentic leaders carry at utmost.
They are the ones who are conscious of their capability and what lines they are constructed until—even knowing the emotions and when, where, and how to control it is critical.
But this controlling and showcasing strictly should not relate to anything fake. Do not fake; express the real person.
There is a fine line between hiding emotions when needful and faking them for personal objectives. And any leader who’s real is well-aware of how distinguished the line is.
But do you think that these real leaders, even though they walk through hiding emotions, are open about their weakness and publicly rectify it? They accept, learn, and grow for better ground for authentic leadership.
The area that sees the more advanced version of the leader in the results drives through until the end of the journey. Rather than prioritizing the subjects to a personal liking, real leaders’ niche is having a positive outlook towards the organization.
Neither the power nor the cash is bothering a person who is playing authentic leadership, but it’s the entire team’s success and effort.
When most of us might think that a heart’s role should be eliminated to grab the best results, the factual could be vice versa. Its heart and softness imply empathy for the workers to put out their best rather than a cruel directness.
Why Authentic Leadership is a tough phase to acquire?
The expression of realness sounds cool and easy at the same time but is it the case?
If it is that easy, why do most leaders hide their real face and instead deliver a better yet fake version of themselves?
Many prominent leaders who practice as a leader to sustain authentic leadership reports on the subject are initially easy. But with time and additional responsibilities, the tenure evolves hard.
No matter how hard it is, in the way of thriving to work better, the hardness can be beaten. And what leader are you if there is no facing of the challenges?
It is the duty of the leader on how to perform the scale of authentic leadership.
Perhaps, it is the next leadership skill that many enjoy grabbing within while the rest pass it off with their acting skill.
But as for now, if you have not yet caught any term of the skill, there is still time for you to learn.
Because it is just another text of leadership skills, it can be learned and rolled over to a better version with each second passing.
You only need the firmness and dedication that won’t allow a bit of giving up. Like any other training phase of skills, learning authentic leadership might take a month for you or a week for some. It’s all a matter of dedication and will to put forth the needed efforts.
Role of Relational Transparency and Balanced Processing play in Authentic Leadership
The fact that made-up reviews are no fun or pleasing with long-term positive effects must not surprise all the effective leaders qualifying the notion of authentic leadership skill.
All the leaders who solidify deep with the meaning and about it take no chance with constructive feedback that is meant only to please. Authentic leaders always and always will choose to be honest even though it might hurt the person.
It is like they believe in directness but with empathy. Only then will the team have scores of rectifying.
The option that leaders choose from whether or not to please the employee and maintain a good bond is directly nodded. For them, it’s the improvement that is best, and it’s even better when collided with empathy.
Leaders beforehand know that without honesty, no success is summoned to hit.
When a leader is honest, the team delivers the same level of honesty.
Being honest is important, and what stands on an equivalent significant line is the correct evaluation of decisions and staying firm to it. With just one go, the leader must sublimate to the best possible decision.
But again, the approval of any decision must come along with the ‘eyes of each working body in the team. It should be mutually confined and in favor, even for a bit to all.
Other than just the approval, it’s quite crucial that a meeting is held where the interactions are at the peak in which opinions are noted, and few alternative solutions are stated, just for the backup.
Even after the decision is approved and sent for enforcement, a short review meeting is to be caught where a leader can understand and run down to where they had lacked not to repeat it in the upcoming events. Such meetings are indeed a much-needed session for improvements.
Here is a video by Marketing91 on Authentic Leadership.
Characteristics of Authentic Leaders
- Self-awareness
- Leading with heart
- Focusing on long term results
- Integrity
- Listening Skills
- Transparency
- Consistency
- Sharing success with the team
- Drawing on experience
- Understanding their purpose
- Demonstrating self-discipline
- Practicing solid values
Channelization of Authentic Leadership in an Organization
Authentic leaders are the best influencers, indeed! They are a gift to a team without which the backward would follow.
The leaders and their loyalty enhance the positivity for anything.
Without an authentic leader, the entire team would be surfacing pitiful sentiments where the member is scolded and harshly spoken with. Authentic leadership teaches about speaking the truth but with empathy.
If authentic leadership is absent, outside collaboration and trusts wouldn’t conclude. The element that emerges out the proper trust is given out by authentic leadership. And it’s believed that without trust, success arrives in no shape.
With time, authentic leadership seems to decline with an unreasonable scale, while the need for it increases. As a leader, to have a report with not so legit statements might not be attractive and neither fit for collaborations.
A couple of decades back garnered an office environment where humans weren’t asked for. Instead, humans in the form of robots were in demand.
Neither the leadership skills were checked, nor were the smart aspect required. And if the worker was unsatisfied, they had an option to exit so that a spot remains for another robot-human.
The algorithm has now been overturned to a better concept. Leadership skills are mandatory, while the next crucial thing is adaptability.
You need not be a robot. Changing doesn’t eliminate the ties of robot-like workers but seems to have got better with it. Now, employers are in search of talented species who have their creative ways of handling situations.
Ask yourself how some businesses are so successful while many aren’t? What’s the execution and conclusion of both?
Well, there is just an identical term to answer both, i.e., authenticity.
When any organization, NGOs, or big, small business that tends to abide by authentic leadership norms, it attracts success and better engagement.
The authenticity is rightly whacked at NGOs. For them, loyalty must be the priority and spotted at first.
Without knowing what’s in and around, you are not eligible to crack leadership qualities.
An articulate consciousness is very influential in the tenure of authenticity skills. However, one might think how being self-aware can give limelight to factual, what indeed is true.
In a slim way, having self-consciousness initiates good communication to authentically enhancing the workforce. As for a society filled with peaceful communication and authentic leaders, there’s no threat of harmony. Talk and solve is the most suitable tagline for it.
Final Thoughts about Authentic Leadership!
The phases of authentic leadership and endorsing the same qualities are perhaps an experience to not miss. In the whole course, you meet new facts and objectives that no reference can serve.
And particularly for the learners, it’s the modification for the better tomorrow. And these skills are having an expiry date of zero. It never ends but only spreads.
When looked upon critically, this period of change is the most significant without which the future is predicted to be strayed from authentic leadership.
Authentic leadership revolves around living on purpose, connecting with people, and genuinely fulfilling your passions. It plays a crucial role in achieving productivity, prosperity, and profit.
How crucial do you consider authentic leadership for an organization?
What traits do you find necessary for a leader to be authentic? Share your views with us in the comment section below.
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