How can we deliver great results AND be true to ourselves?
We may think that we need to bend ourselves into a particular shape to be successful at work; however, the most successful leaders are authentic and open about their strengths and weaknesses. This blog explores how authenticity can empower us to make our unique contributions at work—a 5-minute read.
I’ve researched the amazing women in my network to distil their collective wisdom into five strategies for success: purpose, authenticity, self-care, quality relationships and the long view. Over the coming months, I will write about each one through my Strategies for Success blog series. This time, I’ll explore authenticity.
“As I grew in experience and my confidence, I realised it was a strength of mine to say, ‘I don’t know the answer – let’s learn and work it out together with confidence to create great results” Strategies for Success.
For my research, the women I spoke to reflected how their authenticity developed over time and required intentional effort and dialogue with others.
What is authenticity?
For some, authenticity is knowing we live our lives according to our deeply held personal values. This requires us to understand what is important to us and notice what feelings and beliefs arise in different situations. If we have a strong emotional response to something, one of our deeply held values has likely been transgressed. Our Signature Strengths (see the previous blog on purpose) can give us a clue; they are typically essential to who we are, so it is not unusual for them to overlap with personal values, such as fairness, honesty and hope.
Like the women in my research, others view authenticity as more dynamic than simply tuning into our values, beliefs and feelings. From this perspective, authenticity is cultivated and worked on over time. Dr Karissa Thacker defines authenticity as; "…the process of inventing yourself. It is an active process of experimentation and figuring things out.”[1] The belief that we are either authentic or not limits our thinking. Viewing authenticity instead as an active process creates possibility and learning, which is more enabling. This dynamic approach is how I prefer to work with authenticity when partnering with my clients by asking questions like what values do you want to express when you show up to this meeting, presentation or conversation?
A question that often comes up when discussing authenticity is around vulnerability. Just how much of ourselves is it ok to show at work? Let’s bring vulnerability expert Dr Brené Brown into the conversation: “Vulnerability minus boundaries is not vulnerability… Some of the most vulnerable and authentic leaders I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with personally disclose very little.”[2] Vulnerability does not mean letting it all hang out and using your colleagues to work out your emotional stuff. However, it is appropriate if sharing your emotions or experience will help move your relationship or work forward positively.
Why should we care about authenticity?
It sounds plausible that being authentic is a good thing for us. If you have ever worked somewhere where you felt like you just didn’t fit, you will know how exhausting it can be to bend yourself out of shape. Although there is no such thing as a perfect fit, the culture of the organisation you work in needs to match your values and beliefs to a good-enough level to be a sustainable relationship.
Research shows that we benefit as individuals and organisations when employees are more authentic.[3]Individuals experience greater well-being and health-related quality of life, and organisations experience greater employee engagement, improved performance and lower turnover.
In our increasingly complex world, it is not always optimum or possible for one person to have the answer all the time. Suppose you lead a team of capable people, and you always provide the solution. In that case, you are potentially missing some nuance or detail that the team knows but are not empowered to share because the dynamic is that you always know the answer as the leader. Showing your vulnerability, like one of the women in my research, "I don't know the answer, let's work it out together," could empower you and your team to create an innovative solution that you could never have come up with alone.
How can we cultivate authenticity?
At an individual level, research shows that imagining a positive future self creates agency and the intrinsic motivation (see the previous blog on purpose) required for long-term behavioural changes.[4] Having employees who consciously cultivate their best selves is also great for organisations. Harvard Business School Research found that best-self activation saw improvements in people’s emotions, resistance to disease, stress and burnout, creative problem solving, and performance under pressure and relationships with their employer.[5]
I often turn to Thacker’s Three Selves model with my clients. Humans are complex beings, and this model stimulates conversations around at least three versions of ourselves;
1. our current self – whom we think we are and whom others believe we are,
2. our ought self – whom others want us to be,
3. our ideal self – the best and most authentic version of ourselves.
What strikes me about authenticity is how deeply personal it is to each individual, yet, paradoxically, how connected it is with how we relate with others; it challenges us to honour self-reflection and dialogue. My view is that if we can create an environment where we can bring the best version of ourselves more often, then we have the foundations of living authentically. This environment includes the conscious awareness and use of our Character Strengths (especially our Signature Strengths), having a clear vision of our ideal self, understanding our current self (informed by our perceptions and others), and using vulnerability skilfully. How can you be more authentic?
Learn more about my research and approach to coaching here.
[1] The Art of Authenticity: Tools to become an authentic leader and your best self. Dr Karissa Thacker.
[2] TED podcast WorkLife with Adam Grant and Brené Brown: How to be vulnerable at work without spilling everything.
[3] Living the good life: A meta-analysis of authenticity, well-being and engagement. Anna Sutton (2019).
[4] The Ideal Self as the Driver of Intentional Change The Journal of Management Development. Richard E Boyatzis and Kleio Akrivou (2006).
[5] How Best-Self Activation Influences Emotions, Physiology and Employment Relationships. Daniel M. Cable, Francesca Gino, Jooa Julia Lee, Bradley R. Staats (2015)