I recall one of the key components of transformational leadership, being authenticity. The proponent of this leadership theory, Emeritus Professor Bernard Bass suggests that to be truly transformational you need to be true to yourself and others. He says you can still be a transformational leader but without authenticity, you are pseudo transformational. That is, whilst you can be charismatic, inspirational and ideally influential the authentic transformational leader focuses on the greater good, the inauthentic leader emphasises what’s in it for me.

Without authenticity a leader, well actually anyone … could hoodwink others into believing you had their interests at heart when in fact you were simply displaying charismatic qualities whilst leaning on the side of self interest.

It got me thinking where do you draw the line between a little white lie and deception? Is a little white lie equal to deception when it comes to being authentic? How important is it to be authentic?

According to dictionary.com the definition of authentic is not false or copied; genuine; real. The following words are synonyms for authentic – real, honest, ethical, genuine, true. So bring the definition and synonyms together the question is, how important is it to be genuine, real, honest, not false or copied, genuine, true?

As I write this, I am beginning to better understand the complex nature of this topic and the myriad of issues that are subsequently unravelling around me. Authenticity is a values judgement. And of course as human beings, we don’t all hold the same values.

If honesty, is a deeply held value of mine then a white lie is going to be seen as deception. If achievement is someone else’s value and to achieve means spin a yarn to gain the desired outcome then a little white lie is potentially harmless – or is it? If you spin one little white lie, how many more could there be? I am now thinking that the little white lie, no matter what your take on it, is linked to trust. Trust, whether in a business or personal setting is definitely a deal maker or a deal breaker.

I recently met a very nice person who, as it turned out fibbed about their age? And I have got to say, I know of many people who do this, but I am wondering why? Why is it we are not happy to be whom and what we are? Why do we think that a version of us will make us more lovable, enjoyable, employable and acceptable?

And this I believe is the crux of this pondering.

To be authentic means to have consciously studied self and accept where self fits and what self has to offer. Authenticity means being able to look in the mirror and see prince charming or snow white, warts and all; it means seeing and accepting the beauty of what is looking back. It means not having to expend energy on living the version for that becomes exhausting.

To be authentic, is to be real.  It is hard to find good explanation of real in this sense for you not only see real, you feel it.

When you are around authentic people you feel energised; you feed off each other, it is a mutually satisfying experience applicable to the workplace and to life in general.

To be or not to be … is a choice … and I choose to be. 

What about you?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 12:47 pm and is filed under Leadership, Well-being. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.