If You're Not Courageously Authentic, Whose Life Are You Living?
No one can be authentic by imitating someone else. You can learn from others’ experiences, but you won’t be successful if you try to be a copy of them.
So, who are you? People trust leaders who are genuine.
Authentic leaders are passionate about their purpose, consistently live their values, and lead with both heart and head. They build long-term, meaningful relationships, have the discipline to deliver results, and know who they are. In executive coaching, we assess authenticity as a core leadership competency. Denial is a common barrier to self-awareness: the gap between how you see yourself and how others assess you is a blind spot. Leadership research shows honesty, authenticity, and integrity are among the top qualities people seek in leaders. Scoring low on Authenticity can have serious implications for your leadership. The most successful leaders score high here.
How do people become and remain authentic leaders?
Discovering authentic leadership requires a commitment to personal development. There are no universal traits or skills for authenticity. As a coach, I help leaders reframe their life stories to understand who they are at their core. We are not passive observers of our lives; by developing self-awareness we become the creators of our story. In that process, leaders discover their purpose—their north star—and learn to claim and leverage their strengths.
Once, at a dinner with a CEO, a GM, and peers, we each chose one word to capture how others experienced us. The group picked “brave” for me. I didn’t feel brave—I felt fearful—but I could summon the courage to do difficult things. Authenticity requires courage: to speak truth to power, to surface the issues people avoid, and to take a stand.
As a child I watched my father on the 6 pm BBC news. His factory was about to strike, and he had been chosen as the workers’ spokesperson. I grew up with values of hard work, sharing, truth, justice, empowerment, and collective action. Those values fueled passionate, bold—and sometimes mischievous—leadership. I often felt justified and righteous when defending my vision and values; my reactions were conditioned and unconscious.
Because others trusted me, I could directly address issues that hindered team performance—acting courageously in meetings, confronting peers, and superiors when necessary, and speaking openly in the presence of authority. It took me decades to learn how to balance authenticity with consideration for intent and impact. Authenticity is not about hurling grenades. The good news: you can learn when to confront, how to do so constructively, and how to negotiate under pressure.
Authentic leaders are aware of the motivations that drive behavior—recognition, reward, and more—and they surround themselves with a strong support team to stay integrated and grounded.
I coach high-potential leaders who are early in their careers and intensely focused on tangible success—money, power, status. That drive can bring professional success but often leaves a sense of something missing. Over time, many realize they’re holding back from being who they truly want to be. Discovering your authentic self takes courage and honesty: the willingness to examine the experiences that shaped your leadership. As leaders do this work, they become more compassionate and willing to be vulnerable. Their ability to be present expands.
Reflect on the experiences that have shaped your leadership and the path you must follow to become authentic.
Questions to consider:
Which people and experiences from your early life had the greatest impact on you?
Which people and experiences shaped your relationship with power?
What tools help you become self-aware—those moments when you say, “This is the real me”?
Are you able to be the same in all areas of your life?
How do your values inform your actions? Have you pressure-tested those values?
How could you diversify your support team to broaden your perspective?
Are you more effective as a leader when you behave authentically?
Taking responsibility for courageous authenticity contributes to trust and to a sense of integrity and completeness about your relationship with others.