You can learn how to be a leader. You can grow into one. You can transform your opinions and worldview, hone your skills, build your confidence and compassion, share your knowledge – you can do all of these things to become a true leader, but you can’t fake it. You can’t fake it at all.
Authenticity is sometimes overlooked in the discussion of what makes great, inspirational leaders, but it is never ignored. Even if we aren’t aware of it, authenticity is a quality everyone looks for in a leader – and in a general way, a quality we look for in all people.
By definition, you can’t fake authenticity. To be “authentic” is the very antithesis of fakeness – it means doing and saying things because you believe in them from the bottom of your heart.
A lack of authenticity (which by itself is a characteristic of a bad leader) is something you can spot from a mile away. Inauthentic leaders are the people who bark orders but never set foot in the trenches, the people who want authority for appearance and status, instead of a noble cause like driving innovation or problem solving.
It’s more than that, though – it’s not that leaders who lack authenticity are necessarily selfish or bad, it’s that by and large, nobody wants to follow them.
Instead of leaders who aren’t helping or inspiring their teams, you have “leaders” who are ignored – and if the leader is ignored, what’s the point of having one?
On the other hand, truly authentic leaders often become leaders by default. Their authenticity often places them in leadership roles – people recognize their passion and honesty, and naturally gravitate to them.
There are no tricks to being an authentic leader. Instead, you just have to be authentic.
Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.
Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
