In his book “Authentic Leadership” Bill George
“Others follow them because they know where they stand. They are consistent and self-disciplined. When their principles are tested, they refuse to compromise. Authentic leaders are dedicated to developing themselves because they know that becoming a leader takes a lifetime of personal growth…Authentic leaders genuinely desire to serve others through their leadership. They are more interested in empowering the people they lead to make a difference than they are in power, money, or prestige for themselves. They are as guided by qualities of the heart, by passion and compassion, as they are by qualities of the mind.”
1) The Defensive Leader
A defensive leader entrenches himself in a small comfort zone. He hasn’t developed the capacity to search inside and be honest with himself. When confronted with a threat, he blames others or circumstances. He vigorously defends his position because his unmanaged ego demands that he be right.
I often hear the argument that “jerks” say everything on their mind and are authentic (I’m not naming names here, but politics is full of examples!). If you assume that their unexplored egos are the same as their real selves, then there is some truth in that statement. But Defensive Leaders (sometimes jerks) are not conscious and have zero interest in self-exploration.
2) The Reactionary Leader
A reactionary leader also needs to stay in his comfort zone. He is aware of some of his personality patterns, and believes that they are his real self. He has not mastered self-regulation and reacts to any external stimuli. His undisciplined personality controls him.
3) The “Playing It Safe” Leader
The leader that plays it safe avoids authenticity. Instead, he focuses on fitting in, because he has not developed enough conviction and strength to go against the crowd. He makes a conscious choice to wear a mask.
4) The Level 5 Leader
Jim Collins, author of the best-selling book “Good to Great,” labeled the highest level of leaders Level 5 leaders. These leaders possess both personal humility and an iron-clad professional will.
While Collins sees this combination as paradoxical, I don’t. It is a natural result of hard inner work and a high level of consciousness. Leading from a place of security and confidence, a Level 5 leader’s ego doesn’t need to be fed. He focuses on and cares for others. He welcomes opposing opinions. His strong personal will transcends his professional life, and he never compromises his personal values.
“Good-to-great transformations don’t happen without Level 5 leaders at the helm,” said Collins. “They just don’t.”
To be a Level 5 leader, both authentic and conscious, you need to:
- Do your inner work
Inner work starts with knowing yourself: your motivation, strengths, weaknesses, personal values and purpose (these are your inner guidance). This sounds easy, but, it is not. Clarifying and understanding who you are is a lifelong endeavor and requires conscious effort, discipline and an unwavering commitment to self-development. It takes courage to persistently explore and confront the parts of yourself that you want to avoid.
- Develop self-awareness
It’s the cornerstone of authenticity. Daniel Goleman, an internationally known psychologist and author, said:
“When I was conducting research for my book “Working with Emotional Intelligence,” I had access to about 200 competency models that companies use to identify star performers. These are all proprietary since they provide each organization with a competitive edge, but I was able to identify common themes. For example, emotional self-awareness is a leadership competency that shows up in model after model. These are the leaders attuned to their inner signals, recognizing how their feelings affect them and their job performance.
Goleman defines self-awareness as “knowing one’s internal states, preference, resources and intuitions.” To be authentic and conscious, you must recognize personality patterns or triggers as they appear and know how to relax them.
- Make a conscious choice
After pausing and inquiring, decide how to behave and feel. Is your habitual pattern the best choice for this circumstance? Or is another behavior more helpful now? What emotion supports you? Level 5 leaders recognize, own and shift their emotions as needed.
Becoming an authentic and conscious leader is difficult and doesn’t happen overnight. You can do it if you are vulnerable and dedicate your life to self-exploration and self-growth. Why not start now? The revelatory journey will make you a wiser person and better leader.
Leadership quote: “Leadership comes from standards provide by those who have already led under the incidence of battle.” Kevin J Palmer
Palmer Private Equity, is rooted in Kevin’s Behavioral Economic Research that once set standards for Wall Street brokerage firms. It is now run by Kevin & Gretchen both formally trained at NYSE traded corporations. Its Philanthropic entity invests for the public good in the family’s nonprofit. Kevin is a Financial Freedom Fighter, who as an epigrammatic writer illustrates how emotional intelligence leads to decision processes that enable economic dignity & improves quality of life. He published two books as well as numerous articles and blogs on economic and financially related topics and his third book will be out in 2023. Kevin has also had radio appearances on NPR’s Market Place, NPR affiliate KJZZ-FM, KXTZ-FM, as well as television appearances on KPNX-TV, KVVU-TV5, KNXV-TV. He currently resides in Scottsdale, AZ
“Peace through Prosperity” projects to challenge Injustices through Self-empowerment.
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