Authentic Leadership: What It Is, and How to Achieve It

Authentic leadership is one of the most popular topics in business today, with no shortage of books, podcasts, and articles on the concept. And for good reason. Employees are increasingly seeking authentic leaders committed to transparency, integrity, and genuine relationships with their teams.
What Is Authentic Leadership?
Authentic leadership means embracing high standards, integrity, and acting in the best interests of the people you lead, which then builds trust and naturally leads to stronger teams.
And taking the concept of Authentic Leadership a step further, I want to introduce you to what I call Respectful Authenticity , which at its core is about being true to yourself and acting in ways that are consistent with your values.
Authenticity – the concept – has been around for a long time.
I’m adding the word respectful to help distinguish it as a powerful tool in the workplace. Adding the notion of respectful helps eliminate many of the downsides that can come with plain old authenticity.
Being authentic isn’t about saying whatever you think or feel. That approach can be damaging either to you personally or to the company. Being authentic doesn’t give you license to be an S.O.B. We all know people who’ve taken this kind of approach – the “This is me – like it or not!” attitude or “I’m mad and am entitled to yell at people.” By contrast, Respectful Authenticity isn’t about doing whatever you want and not caring about the people around you.
Here's a secret that the best authentic leaders know, that others don’t: The most successful authentic leaders share their truths with quiet courage, and with a sensitivity to others’ needs.