HR Pulse

The Rise of the Authentic Leader

The ideal qualities and behaviours for leadership have been extensively researched. However, it is difficult to identify what exactly the ideal leader is, as different situations call for different leadership styles.

Millennial employees within a South African firm were asked to identify the key behaviours and traits of a leader that they believe help them to be more effective in their own jobs. The employees of the firm noted that they are more effective when their leader is genuine and trustworthy. They shared that they worked more effectively because their leader is "approachable, understanding and adaptable". They also felt that a leader who provided them with autonomy and encouragement was helpful as they were not micromanaged but rather guided along a path to a solution that they, themselves, could determine.

These behaviours and traits indicated that they thought that an authentic leadership style offers them what they need to be effective at work.

Why is Authentic Leadership relevant in 2016?

Authentic leadership is relevant in 2016 because it employs the simplest concept: being yourself. A leader who acts as they always would, without any pretense comes across to their peers and colleagues as genuine and someone you can trust. An authentic leader sticks to their guns and can act with integrity, as they are able to act naturally and sincerely. The respect they earn by being themselves, with all their potential flaws, may make leading much easier as their followers recognise them as someone they can trust at face value.

So what can you do to develop your own leadership style into one that will be highly valued and enable your employees to perform effectively? Characteristics of authentic leaders, with tips for establishing some of their best practices are outlined below:

1. Know Thyself

Authentic leaders are self-aware and cognisant of their strengths and developmental areas. They are aware of their emotions and the affect emotions have on their behaviours, ways of thinking and decisions. This facilitates amicable relationships with colleagues as they are conscious of communicating with people in the way that they would like to be communicated with. This awareness can also bring attention to their current mood and motivation level, why they are feeling how they feel and thus, what they can do to change that and work more productively.

You, as a leader, can use mindfulness practices to develop self-awareness. These skills can also be extended to your employees.

• In a stressful situation, take a moment to gather your thoughts. Sit back comfortably in your chair, close your eyes and pay attention to your breathing. Breathe in slowly counting to four, hold momentarily and breathe out to the count of five. Repeat at least three times to create a calm and focused state of mind that will help you manage the situation better.

• In meetings, ask employees a question that brings them to the present, such as "what are you grateful for today?". Alternatively, ask everyone to identify on a scale of one to ten, how they would rate their mental presence in the meeting. This centres the individual on something other than the stream of thoughts rushing through their mind about work, family and other everyday challenges. Bringing the employee's awareness to the present allows for a more constructive meeting to occur.

• Be mindful of when to email and when to call to convey a message in order to manage the daunting email inbox. Convey the message simply and concisely. Be thoughtful about the subject header in the event that the recipient needs to search for your email. Doing this may elicit responses of a similar nature too.

2. Transparency is Key

Authentic leaders value transparency and clarity. They promote being open with employees, encouraging conversations that ask questions, practicing transparency by involving employees in decision-making and keeping them aware of changes and the reasons for changes within the business. Authentic leaders do not hide their flaws and weaknesses, they recognise them and work around them. The following tips can help you to be more transparent with your own employees:

• Adopt an open door policy by making yourself available and demonstrating that you are approachable and willing to listen to constructive feedback.
• Identify your own areas for development and work on improving them or working with them.
• Acknowledgement of your weaknesses allows you to balance your weaknesses against the strengths of the employees. Thus, harnessing the team's strengths to be more productive and efficient.
• Demonstrate accountability by acknowledging when you make a mistake and actively working towards resolving it.
• Apologise sincerely when an apology is necessary.

3. Adopt a Learning Mindset

Authentic leaders empower and motivate their followers. They also prioritise learning and development and motivate their employees to continually improve and, in doing so, acknowledge the value that they see in the employees. The learning and development focus arises from their forward thinking and commitment to seeing the business flourish in the long-term. You can adopt a learning mindset by:

• Offering honest feedback that provides your employees with a potential path for performance improvement.
• Having conversations with your employees, asking them what they would like to get out of their role, where they see themselves going and acting on their responses through support, motivation and opportunity creation.
• Participating in training and endorsing training and development initiatives, thereby encouraging your employees to do the same.
• Launching a ‘Learn-Over-Lunch' training session whereby the employees are offered the incentive of lunch while participating in a training session.

4. Be Yourself

Everyone will have their own values and principles that they apply in their own lives. Authentic leaders understand their beliefs and values and ensure they live up to them in all aspects of their life. Knowing your moral perspective helps you to better navigate through difficult situations that leaders are faced with in the workplace.

• Being coached can help you to identify your values and beliefs and to ensure that they are consistently applied at work.
• Being aware of what you agree with, what you can tolerate and what you do not accept enables you to "flag" events or behaviours that may be detrimental to the organisation.
• A coach can be used as a sounding board for ideas that you have, whilst reminding you of your values and beliefs that you want to portray in your leadership style.
• Develop strategies with your coach for how to handle difficult situations that you think you could find overwhelming. Thus when you are confronted with the situation, you have an action plan in place for how to deal with difficult situations with integrity.

These suggestions can be utilised in order to develop your own leadership style or foster this particular leadership style amongst the management in your company. Before implementing or undergoing any change process, it is critical to determine your current approach to leadership. If you would like to investigate your leadership style or the leadership style within your team or company, feel free to contact Saville Consulting (0861 728 4553).