Authentic Leadership

This is an excerpt from a larger article by Michael Hyatt. To read the full article go here.

Let’s take a look at five ways you can be more authentic:

Discover your strengths:

• Look inside of yourself and identify your strongest threads.
• Reinforce them with practice and learning.
• Carve out a role that draws upon your strengths everyday.
• Recognize that your greatest room for growth is in the areas of your greatest strengths.

Manage your weaknesses:

• Spend time in identifying your weaknesses.
• Do not ignore them.
• Acknowledge that you cannot be talented in all areas.
• Find ways to manage your weaknesses so you can free up your time to hone your strengths.

Identify your personal values:

• Rank the following values in order of importance: integrity, patience, honesty, gratitude, humility, forgiveness, compassion, perseverance, spirituality, joy, and discipline.
• Expand the list by adding other personal values that are important to you.
• Articulate the importance of each value to your life.

Develop a strong connection between your values and your behavior:

• Commit yourself to your personal values.
• Stay the course regardless of obstacles.
• Find ways to go over, under, or through the obstacles.
• Do not go around them—instead, overcome them.
• Remember that your behavior reflects your values.

Build relationships with a diverse group of friends and associates:

• Create genuine relationships by being authentic.
• Authenticity builds trust and makes us more compelling and attractive leaders.
• Be prepared for the adversaries that will be created because you’ve remained true to your values and beliefs.
• Remember that leadership is not about being popular.

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