Authentic Leadership: Inspiring Others Through Creative Truth
Leading with Heart and Honesty and yes, rose-colored glasses 🌹👓
Welcome back to thecrea8ve.com, passion leaders! In today's dynamic world, the call for genuine leadership resonates louder than ever. Forget the polished facades and carefully crafted personas. What truly inspires people to rally behind a leader is authentic leadership – a style rooted in truth-telling, treating individuals with respect, and fostering an inclusive environment. When you infuse your daily leadership with creative authenticity, you don't just manage; you ignite a movement. But there's more to authentic leadership than just being honest and transparent. It's also about bringing passion, enthusiasm, and a touch of optimism to your role. It's about wearing your rose-colored glasses with pride and inspiring your team to do the same.
📍 Laying a Foundation of Trust
Imagine trying to build a house on a shaky foundation. It's destined to crumble. The same principle applies to leadership. Your team needs to trust you, and trust is built brick by brick with honest communication.
Whenever I start with a new team, whether I manage them or influence them, I begin with a team offsite. Away from the distractions of the office, offsites provide a unique opportunity to foster genuine connections and build trust. Shared experiences, whether it's collaborative activities, team-building exercises, or simply enjoying meals together, break down barriers and create a relaxed atmosphere where team members can open up and get to know each other on a deeper level. This shared understanding and camaraderie form the foundation for strong working relationships, open communication, and a supportive team dynamic – all essential elements for successful collaboration and achieving shared goals.
Beyond the initial team offsite, I establish consistent rhythms of communication through regular team meetings and dedicated one-on-ones, as I find this crucial for nurturing ongoing information sharing and deepening trust within my team. These intentional touchpoints cultivate rapport by providing dedicated space for open dialogue and active listening. Furthermore, they serve as vital channels for disseminating necessary information, ensuring everyone is aligned and informed. Importantly, these consistent interactions empower my team members by providing individual support, addressing concerns, and recognizing contributions, ultimately fostering a sense of confidence and security within the team.
Authentic leaders understand that sugarcoating or withholding information ultimately erodes confidence.
Instead, they embrace truth-telling, even when the message is challenging. This doesn't mean being blunt or insensitive, but rather communicating with transparency and clarity.
Think about it: people are intelligent. They can sense when they're not getting the full picture. By sharing the realities – the successes, the setbacks, the challenges – you treat your team like the grownups they are. This fosters a culture of mutual respect and allows individuals to make informed decisions and contribute meaningfully.
I experienced firsthand the critical importance of shared understanding during my time leading a high-impact team at a previous company. We were directly responsible for delivering some of the organization's most crucial strategic objectives. My team was incredibly dedicated, and I made it a priority to ensure they understood the 'what,' 'why,' and 'how' of their daily tasks. However, a significant disconnect emerged: I lacked visibility into certain overarching objectives from my own superiors. This information gap inadvertently left my team feeling detached from the larger company vision, hindering their ability to connect their hard work to the ultimate goals and putting them at a distinct disadvantage for true success. To bridge this gap, we proactively built and cultivated our own 'what' and 'why' – essentially, a team playbook. This living document clearly articulated our specific role, our intended approach, and our core goals. By transparently sharing this playbook with stakeholders across the organization, we were able to forge crucial alignment with other teams on a common set of objectives, effectively creating our own sense of purpose and direction within the broader landscape.
⭐️ Beyond the "What": Sharing the "Why" for Deeper Engagement
In today's information age, people crave context. They don't just want to know what they need to do; they want to understand why. Authentic leaders are excellent communicators, taking the time to explain the rationale behind decisions, strategies, and goals.
This is where the "creative" aspect of authentic leadership comes into play. Instead of simply dictating tasks, paint a picture of the bigger vision. Connect individual contributions to the overall mission. Help your team see how their work makes a difference.
During a period where my responsibilities expanded significantly, leading a large organization of up to 170 individuals, I recognized the challenge of maintaining a strong sense of connection and shared purpose. To address this, I proactively created "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) sessions. These weren't just formal Q&As; I framed them as open forums where anyone could inquire about anything – from strategic shifts and company performance to team challenges and even my own leadership philosophy. The vulnerability and directness fostered a surprising level of trust and understanding across the extended team. Simultaneously, to bridge the gap between my team's crucial work and the broader leadership, I initiated regular "Fireside Chats" and internal demos. I would invite my superiors to these sessions, not just as observers, but as active participants. My team would showcase their latest projects and explain the 'why' behind their efforts directly to senior leaders. This not only provided invaluable context and visibility for my team's contributions but also allowed my superiors to connect with the individuals driving key initiatives, fostering a deeper appreciation and understanding of the work being done at all levels. These initiatives, the AMAs and the leadership demos, were my creative way of ensuring that even within a large structure, the 'why' wasn't lost, and everyone felt connected to the overarching mission.
When your team understands the "why," they become more invested. They feel a sense of purpose and ownership, leading to increased motivation, creativity, and a stronger commitment to achieving shared objectives.
🌹 The Power of Rose-Colored Glasses: Inspiring Hope and Possibility
There was a moment in my career as an early manager at a tech startup where I was criticized by other managers for seeing things "through rose-colored glasses." Initially, I was taken aback. Didn't they see how seriously I took the work and leadership? But through further reflection and feedback, I came to understand that perhaps their criticism stemmed from a different place – maybe a touch of jealousy or even intimidation. You see, I lead with a genuine sense of optimism, always bringing energy and enthusiasm to the team. Yes, at times I might have come across as overly excited or fun (in contrast to their seemingly dreary demeanor), but this very optimism infused joy into my team's work. And that passion, that positive outlook, ultimately translated into real, tangible positive results.
While truth-telling and transparency are essential for building trust, it's also important to remember that leadership is about more than just facts and figures. It's about inspiring your team to reach their full potential. And sometimes, that means putting on your rose-colored glasses and sharing your vision for the future.
As leaders, we have the power to create a sense of hope and possibility, even in the face of uncertainty. When we share our dreams and aspirations for the team, we inspire them to reach for greater heights. We show them that even in the midst of challenges, there is always a path forward.
This is especially important in times of change and uncertainty. When the future is unclear, it's easy for teams to feel lost and discouraged. But when leaders maintain a positive outlook and share their vision for the future, they can help their teams navigate the unknown with confidence and resilience.
🤗 Inclusivity: Weaving a Tapestry of Shared Understanding
Authentic leaders recognize that the best ideas and solutions often emerge from diverse perspectives. They actively cultivate an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute.
This means going beyond surface-level interactions and intentionally sharing more with your reports and staff. Open the lines of communication. Encourage questions and feedback. When people feel like they are part of the process, their engagement skyrockets.
Think about the power of shared understanding. When your team knows the challenges you're facing, the strategic considerations, and the overall direction of the organization, they can:
Anticipate needs: They can proactively identify potential roadblocks and offer solutions.
Contribute more effectively: Armed with context, their contributions become more targeted and impactful.
Feel a sense of belonging: Inclusion fosters a stronger team dynamic and reduces feelings of isolation.
🛼The Ripple Effect of Leading Authentically: A Continuous Journey
When you lead with creative authenticity – by embracing truth-telling, treating people like grownups, and fostering inclusivity through shared understanding – you create a powerful ripple effect. Your team will:
Be more inspired: They'll be drawn to your genuine approach and feel motivated to contribute their best.
Develop greater trust: Transparency builds a strong foundation of trust and loyalty.
Become more engaged: Feeling valued and informed leads to higher levels of engagement and commitment.
Be more likely to follow: People naturally gravitate towards leaders they respect and believe in.
Authentic leadership isn't a destination; it's an ongoing journey of self-awareness, vulnerability, and a commitment to genuine connection. By consciously choosing truth, respect, and inclusion in your daily interactions, you'll not only build a more successful team but also inspire others to embrace their own authentic leadership potential.
What are your thoughts on authentic leadership? Share your experiences and insights in the comments below!
xo,
Gilli
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