“What we need to figure out is what does it look like when YOU do it,” said Cary as he sat across from me at the small round table in his office. Cary Alstadt was the VP of Operations, and was my mentor at that time. I was a fairly new manager – eager to set my team up for success and make a great impression, while also slightly intimidated by the who prospect. He described the various approaches he observed in other managers at our plant. The Super-Direct One. The Subtle One. The One Who Ran Head First Into the Brick Wall Over And Over to Knock It Down. The One Who Analyzed Every Angle.
Cary’s lesson for me was an important one. While I could model other people’s leadership styles, I really needed to be ME if I wanted to lead authentically.
Harvard Business Review (HBR) recently posted an article, Discovering Your Authentic Leadership. “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.”
The research HBR conducted an authentic leadership really struck a chord with me. They interviewed 125 successful leaders of different backgrounds to learn how they developed their leadership abilities, collecting 3,000 pages of transcripts. And what emerged from their data? The group of leaders being studied “did not identify any universal characteristics, traits, skill, or styles that led to their success. Rather, their leadership emerged from their life stories.”
CEO of Young & Rubicam Ann Fudge said in her interview, “All of us have the spark of leadership in us, whether it is in business, in government, or as a nonprofit volunteer. The challenge is to understand ourselves well enough to discover where we can use our leadership gifts to serve others.” This sounds a lot like SELF-AWARENESS.
For you to ponder: What people or experiences have had the greatest impact on you? What are your top five values? What motivates you? Do you “show up” the same regardless of who you are with or where you are? How do you get feedback and coaching to grow and develop? Need a coach? Contact me!
What does it look like when YOU do it?
What a great question to continually ask ourselves. Thanks, Cary.
