Authentic Leadership

Authentic Leadership strapline

2011-07-21T01:08:00.001-07:00

"Driven by passion, driven by purpose, Authentic Leaders combine personal courage with ethical decision-making to deliver successful, sustainable and meaningful results"

After 5 years of immersing myself in the area of Authentic Leadership for my PhD, this is the strap line that has emerged.

Have I missed anything? I haven't mentioned being genuine or 'true to yourself' which many other people seem to focus on, but does that matter?

There's a difference between authenticity and authentic leadership.

What does being an Authentic Leader mean to you? And would you even want to be one?

Win a FREE place at the Authentic Leadership & Business Ethics Conference

2011-07-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

We are running a competition in our summer newsletter for a free place on the 14th September London conference.

Details in newsletter below.

My best wishes as always,
Fiona

http://www.cognitivefitness.co.uk/documents/newsletters/cf_newsletter_10_july_2011.pdf

What does being authentic in the world mean to you?

2011-06-16T03:56:00.002-07:00

For me, being authentic is a way of being in the world, rather than a way of doing - something which somehow suggests a mask, or what psychology calls an 'adapted self'.

I'm also a great believer in learning to lead ourselves first before we can expect others to follow us.

Indeed, if we are authentic with integrity and a compassionate, pro-social outlook, and if we create meaning, people will choose to follow us ........... no power, punishment or coercian required!

My best wishes to all,
Fiona

The ABC of Authentic Leadership

2011-06-16T03:56:00.001-07:00

This seems to me to be an easy way of remembering the very essence of Authentic Leadership:

A - be Authentic - be true to yourself

B - be Brave - have the Courage to Lead

C - be Compassionate - lead with empathy and concern for the well-being of others

My best wishes to all,
Fiona

Authentic Leadership Research Findings

2011-06-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

We are judged by what we do, not by what we say we are going to do.

This was one of my PhD research findings into Authentic Leaders - those who combine self-awareness and self-regulation with integrity and ethics.

I thought that there would be a difference between people's perceptions of leader's rhetoric vs what they actually do .......... however, statistically, that isn't the case. Politicians in particular need to take note - we don't care what you say, - we will make our own judgements of your integrity based on what you do!

If organisations want to gauge the integrity quotient of their leaders - it's very easy - use the new Authentic Leadership 360 and ask the people who really matter (i.e. the employees) what they really think of their leaders and whether they trust them or not!

Seems obvious to me!

My best wishes as always to all,
Fiona

Who are you? on being authentic ........

2011-06-09T06:32:00.001-07:00

Who are you?

Before a concept can be measured, it must firstly be accurately defined. This is a problem for authenticity. The Oxford English Dictionary defines authenticity as, “being genuine” or “being real”.

Harter, (2002) in her chapter on Authenticity in the Handbook of Positive Psychology, says that, regarding authenticity, there is “No bedrock of knowledge. Rather, there are unconnected islands of insight”. Like everyone here, different scholars from psychology and philosophy have their own ideas about authenticity and its extistentialist properties. What no-one argues about however, is the importance of being able to express our authentic selves and be accepted by others; inauthentic behaviours ultimately lead to stress and unwellness, mentally and physically.

The origins of authenticity can be traced back to the ancient Greek philosophical injunction, inscribed over the temple at Delphi of, “Know thyself”, which encourages the owning of and responsibility for our personal experience, emotions and thoughts and our daily behaviours. Harter says that historically, more attention has been paid to the notion of a lack of authenticity and to the different ‘faces’ that we might present to the world (and was a key theme of Greek theatre and to Shakepeare's writing as Leanne mentioned), rather than authenticity in itself.

The interesting bit for us is that Harter also suggests that we can remain authentic whilst adjusting our behaviour and acting differently within different relationships and situiations. This may be like trying on a new coat to see how well it fits us and whether we like it or not, or it may be perceived as being inauthentic, - particularly if it is perceived by others to be manipulative or narcissistic.

However, I believe that such adaptations are completely normal as we are continually reconstructing ourselves and our places in the world, “Experimentation or imitation … widens our experience or sense of possibility; it reflects a wish to find ourselves in order to be ourselves” (Harter, 2002).

Here's to being ourselves ..............

However, ‘being oneself’ and of being ‘true to oneself’ assumes accurate self-awareness as compared to a deluded or distorted sense of self, which was Brian's original point. Not many of us have the courage to ask for true feedback. Perhaps we should, as ”The deepest sense of a true-self is continually formed in connection with others and is inextricably tied to growth within the relationship”. (Harter again)

Ultimately, authenticity is all about having the courage to know who we really are - what's important to us, and to live what Aristotle would describe as 'A good Life' in our pro-social relationships with others. (What we can contribute, rather than what we can take)

Possibly rather an academic posting, and for which I apologize! However, I find that Harter's quotes open up possibilities for me to play and experiment with who I am within different relational contexts (wife, mother, sister, colleague, etc) I always feel like I am a 'work in progress', and I wondered whether some of Harter's thoughts might also resonate with anyone else.

My best wishes as always,
Fiona

Authentic Leadership Conference 2011

2011-01-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Depending on how you've come across my blog, you may or may not know about the UK's only Authentic Leadership conference.

Authentic Leadership and Business Ethics: The 21st Century Imperative - A A sustainable future built on trust

Central London, 14th September 2011

This is an unparalleled opportunity to hear senior leaders from business, the military and the public sector share their thoughts on leadership, and whether pro-social, ethically driven authentic leadership can lead us through the challenges facing us today.

The speakers will explore:

Values-led leadership within Honda
Leadership lessons from the military
Pro-social and ethical authentic leadership
How to integrate business ethics within your leadership practise
Self-leadership
Your own Authentic Leadership Quotient

Expect stimulating debate, thought-provoking discussion and lively sessions with:

Ken Keir, OBE, Executive Vice President, Honda Motor Europe
Philippa Foster-Back, OBE, Director, Institute of Business Ethics
Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, Royal Society of Arts and former political aide to Tony Blair
Group Captain John Jupp, OBE, RAF Leadership Centre
Philip Hayday-Brown, Polar Explorer
Fiona Beddoes-Jones, Business Psychologist and M.D. of The Cognitive Fitness Consultancy

Full speaker profiles are available on the conference website:

As one of the speakers, I hope to meet you there!

My best wishes as always
Fiona

Authentic Leadership within the military

2011-01-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

After all the data analysis, I've got some fantastic results for my PhD with my RAF military sample and I'm currently working with some major UK organisations to generate a secondary business sample so I can compare the two, which really makes me feel as if my PhD is progressing in the right direction!

(In case you don't know, at the time of writing, I'm currently 5 years into a part-time PhD which will probably take me 7 in total by the time I've written it up, as I have to fit my studies around a full-time job as a Managing Director and business psychologist and I also have to be a 'mum').

As well as designing and writing the UK's first Authentic Leadership 360 questionnaire, I've also written a feedback report. Each participant’s personal Authentic Leadership 360 report includes feedback on the the following elements:

• Self-awareness and Self-regulation
• Ethical Virtue and Ethical Actions
• Multiple perspectives on leadership

Are you interested in some of the results that my research has found?

Well, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that on a scale of 1-5 where 1 is Strongly Disagree and 5 is Strongly Agree, overall, the RAF officers who participated in the PhD research study scored most highly in the areas of Ethics and Self-regulation.

It will be interesting to see how the participants in the business sample score against the same questionnaire.

But what do these RAF results tell us? Well, they suggest a number of things to me.

Firstly, that our RAF officers are recognised by subordinates and colleagues as being ‘in control’ of their day-to-day behaviours. Because of the military context, we can take this self-discipline to relate to diet and exercise as well as having a disciplined and controlled approach to their working practices such as the hours they work, the tasks they achieve and their equilibrium regarding their mood and temper.

Secondly, they suggest to me that the military ethos of pro-social leadership and service to others, which is one of the RAF core values, is very much lived within the RAF via their day-to-day leadership activities, and it’s impressive to see that translated into, and measured by, our new Authentic Leadership 360.

Now, more than ever before, leaders are having their thoughts and behaviours examined under a microscope and are being expected to be either a Superman or a Superwoman. It’s much easier to just be yourself. That’s where the new Authentic Leadership 360 can help. I just hope that you get a chance to use it within your organisation.

My best wishes as always,
Fiona

Great article by Amanda Heath

2010-10-29T02:10:00.000-07:00

I found this the other day (published on 21st October 2010) and wanted to share it with you. Amanda has written an excellent article which encapsulates some of the essential qualities of Authentic Leadership.

In summary, Amanda states these as

* Pursuing a genuine purpose with passion and having the courage to stay true to it

* Finding the balance between how much of your true self to display and how much to keep hidden

* Knowing when to switch your focus from yourself to others (with a low ego so that you can genuinely listen)

* Skillful communication

* Creating material value through strong relationships

Here's the on-line address of the article should you want to read the whole thing

http://blog.bowlandsolutions.com/blog/thoughts-from-bowlands-partners/0/0/authentic-leadership-the-latest-fad-or-an-essential-quality

My best wishes as always,
Fiona

Authentic Leadership and 21st Century Enlightenment

2010-09-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

You may not have heard of the 21st Century Enlightenment Project from the U.K.'s Royal Society of Arts. It's a fascinating read and links Authentic Leadership with a humanistic, and some might suggest, even spiritual perspective.

Here's the link to the paper http://www.matthewtaylorsblog.com/tag/21st-century-enlightenment/

Let me know what you think. Matthew Taylor, the charismatic CEO of the RSA would also be interested in your thoughts and comments.

My best wishes as always,
Fiona

Ethical Leadership in Tough Times

2010-09-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

I've just read an excellent article by Phil Hayes of the U.K.'s Royal Society of Arts (the RSA). It sums up many of the underpinning philosophies that embody Authentic Leadership.

You can find it here:

http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/2010/09/07/ethical-leadership-tough-times/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RSAcomment+%28RSA+Comment%29

I hope it triggers some interesting thoughts for you, as it did for me.

My best wishes as always,
Fiona

Sustainable Leadership vs Authentic Leadership

2010-08-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

People Management magazine in the U.K. recently published an article on Sustainable Leadership and I was struck by its similarities to Authentic Leadership. The crux of the author's argument being that only ethics-based leadership will be sustainable in the longer term

Here's the link to the article

http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/08/sustainable-leadership-perennial-philosophy.htm

Professionally ethical and morally corrupt?

2010-05-31T14:49:00.000-07:00

When I first began my PhD and starting working within the UK military's Royal Air Force, the Group Captain I was working with made it very clear to me that within his representation of Authentic Leadership there is a differentiation between the personal and the professional.

I was only to study professional leadership within the RAF. Naturally I agreed. After all, Leadership, much as it is a personal journey, is most often considered to be a professional role, and it was the perception of that role that I was investigating.

Of course, always curious, I wanted to explore what he meant in more depth.

It transpired that he meant the difference between what he described as professional ethics and personal morals.

Leadership and management within the military (and I expect that this is true within all of the UK's armed forces, not just the RAF) is a highly stressful and pressurised role in an equally stressful environment, and very often marriages bear the brunt of that pressure. Before a marriage breaks down irrevocably, or perhaps as a way of coping within a marriage that hasn't yet broken down irrevocably, some service men and women, like men and women from all other walks of life, may look outside their marriage for comfort. Within my PhD, I was only to focus on professional ethics and not on personal ones.

As leaders are always expected to be role models, is it possible, I wondered to be both professionally ethical and morally corrupt at the same time? Or is this a value judgement that is severely limiting?

You will have to think about that particular dilema for yourself as I am not about to answer it for you (I couldn't - you need to make up your own mind, baed on your own beliefs and values)

What I can say though is that the Group Commander's comment links to the difference between the way that ethics is perceived in the military in the UK compared to the US where it is very different.

The US military sees ethics as a part of someone’s CHARACTER. e.g. are they honest and trustworthy in what they do? (and therefore, will they do the right thing?) In contrast, the UK military sees ethics as higher moral reasoning, i.e. as the ETHICAL CAPACITY to think through ethical dilemas and therefore to do the right thing.

An interesting insight and not yet something that is really being debated within the UK military, even though ethics are becoming very much debated at the highest levels in all 3 UK armed forces.

I think I can confidently predict that the integrity and transparency of leadership decision-making within the UK's 3 military services will be on the agenda at the highest levels for some time to come.

Whose Ethics?

2010-05-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have recently been touring the country delivering introductory workshops on Authentic Leadership to a number of branches of the UK's CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). I've met some great people, and had some fascinating discussions!

One of the questions that keeps coming up is, “If Authentic leadership is majorly concerned with ethics, whose ethics are they?”

What a great question! What so we mean by ethics? (or, perhaps to phrase it slightly differently, an ethical framework), and are ethics personal or professional, individual or collective?

I'm going to give you my personal answer from my own perspective, based on the research that I have done so far. For me, at this moment in time, this is a bit of a work-in-progress answer, so we may find that my thoughts on the subject change over future years and as I get nearer to the end of my PhD and my Viva. (It's bound to be one of the questions that I get asked if I don't make my thinking and my rationale absolutely crystal clear in my thesis, so now is as good a time to be thinking about it as any!)

Rodney Smith, from the Department of Government Relations, University of Sydney, maintains that ethics are collective not personal. He's suggesting that they are socially constructed frameworks that we choose to operate within. In fact, he goes further, suggesting that ethics are formal collective mechanisms of behaviour which are transparent codes of conduct based on democracy and discussion, which are collectively agreed.

He doesn't say that they are always written down, historically, some cultures have had speech, but lacked a written, recorded language. So what he's suggesting I think is that our own personal and professional ethical frameworks are shaped by, and exists within, a collective, socially constructed one.

We therefore need to differentiate between the collective and the personal when talking about ethics. Although they are often used interchangeably, I think that some writers use the word ethics when they mean the collective framework, and morals when they mean our individual position within that framework.

However leadership is inherently personal; Authentic Leadership even more so, so where does that leave us?

My position today then, in so far as my thinking has developed, in answer to the question, "Whose ethics?" is to say that ethics are the collectively and culturally agreed rules of behaviour which govern what is deemed as socially and culturally acceptable. And our morals are where we personally position ourselves within that framework.

I hope that helps ........... you don't need to agree with me by the way!

My best wishes as always,
Fiona x

If you want to know more .................

2010-04-01T01:20:00.000-07:00

Of course I'm not the only person working in the field of Authentic Leadership! There are quite a few of us actually, and we even have a global community via LinkedIn. So I thought that I would just recommend some of the best people and organizations to you; it's up to you then if you want to contact them and find out more so you know who is going to best be able to support you on your own journey towards AL.

http://www.cognitivefitness.co.uk This is me. Our Authentic Leadership Programme is called 3 Peaks as it integrates together the 3 critical areas of Cognitive Fitness, Operational Fitness and Physical Fitness. It's a programme designed for business leaders, so if your journey is a more personal one for you at the moment, then possibly one of the other organizations would suit you better.

http://www.authenticleadershipcircles.com has been founded out of Vancouver by a wonderful lady called Tana Heminsley. She has also founded the global community which you can find at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2011319&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

http://www.neilcrofts.com and http://www.authenticis.com Neil is a lovely man who works globally with individuals and businesses to help them identify their true purpose

http://aleadershipinstitute.com is owned and run by Judith Bell out of Novato, California. It's a lovely site with some valuable resources.

and finally http://www.oliviermythodrama.com/ Richard Olivier is a classically trained actor who uses the plays of William Shakespeare to teach lessons in leadership. His workshops are geat fun and his site contains many short video clips so you can see how he works.

I hope that this short summary is useful to you and assists you on your own authentic leadership journey

My best wishes as always,
Fiona

Only 33% of UK employees trust their senior managers

2010-02-04T04:48:00.000-08:00

This is the (almost shocking) finding from the UK's Chartered Institute of Personel & Development. It means of course that 66% of UK employees DON'T trust their senior managers.

The report suggests that UK employees don't trust their senior managers to:

a) tell them the truth
b) keep them informed, or
c) do what's best for the employees rather than what's best for the organization or for the manager themselves

As TRUST is one of the positive leadership outcomes that is achieved by Authentic Leaders, it's understandable why I am beginning to see job adverts in the UK press actually asking for 'authentic' leaders.

But my question (and my concern) is, do employers actually know what they're asking for if they say that they want an authentic leader AND MOREOVER, how on earth are they going to measure it?!

If the quality of someone's leadership is best defined through the perception of their followers, how is an interviewer going to identify that within the recruitment process? Are we going to have interviews informed by 360 degree feedback appraisals? I don't think so! (Although I do know of quite a few candidates who take their Thinking Styles feedback report to interviews to show recuiters the strength and quality of their thinking, so who knows!)

To download a full copy of the report and it's findings follow this hyperlink:

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/general/_employee_outlook.htm?wa_src=email&wa_pub=cipd&wa_crt=strapline_strapline_none&wa_cmp=cipdupdate_270110

If you are interested in more information about what Authentic Leadership is and the PhD research that I am conducting into it, please have a look at the Resources page on the Cognitive Fitness website http://www.cognitivefitnes.co.uk

My own personal opinion is that what organizations have identified is what the literature has already said about authentic leadership, which is that interventions made by Authentic Leaders are more favourably received by followers; meaning that positive outcomes such as trust, optimism and the quality of relationships are all magnified by the lens of Authentic Leadership. Outcomes are more influential and their resultant impact is increased; Authentic Leadership is therefore a ‘leadership multiplier’ (Chan et al. 2005)

If organizations really do want to employ Authentic Leaders they need to be very clear about what that means and why they would want to do that; Authentic Leaders are very much their own people, - they have their own recognizable voices and are not 'yes men' (or, for that matter, women). If they believe that something is ethically wrong, not only will they say so, they will actively oppose it.

As recent research has also identified that organizations led ethically out-perform those organizations which are not, perhaps it it these outstanding results that organizations want to achieve rather than Authentic Leadership per se ............

........... or perhaps I'm just being cynical? For the sake of our global community and for our planet, I hope not.

My best wishes as always,
Fiona

Thank you Janet from Sweden!

2010-01-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

I recently had an email from a psychology student in Sweden asking about the published 'gurus' in the field of Authentic Leadership research and any questionnaires which currently exist to measure AL.

Bruce Avolio is one of the most well published academic authors on the subject, whilst Bill George is probably the most well known practitioner with his book, True North.

Goffee & Jones with their book and Harvard Business Review article both entitled, "Why should anyone be Led by You?" straddle both theory and practice. They have a very easy writing style and are well worth a read.

As far as I am aware there isn't a commercially available 360 instrument that measures AL, certainly not within the UK anyway. This of course is one of the reasons that I am currently developing one myself within my PhD!

Walumbwa and colleagues (which includes Avolio) have developed a 360 in the US which they very generously make available for research purposes to bona-fide students, however I'm not aware of it being accompanied by a business-focused feedback report or any specific development activities.

I will post more about my own PhD research into AL in due course!

Walton & Weybridge CIPD event - part 2

2010-01-27T01:06:00.001-08:00

So what's the difference then between Authentic Leadership and 'pseudo' Authentic Leadership? And why should anyone care?

Well, for those of you have studied, and remember, your leadership theory, of all the significant leadership theories that exist, Bass’ Transformational Leadership theory best links the concepts of leadership and authenticity in that it emphasizes the role that authenticity and morality play in the way that leaders transform organizations and lead their followers to higher levels of performance.

Bass suggests that authentic transformational leadership is particularly grounded in a leader's deeply held personal moral convictions and he contrasts this with pseudo-transformational leadership where such moral character is lacking and a leader only 'pretends' to hold certain moral convictions because they want to achieve the benefits that being a transformational leader can give them. The emphasis here with Bass as you will probably have noticed, is on the TRANSFORMATIONAL aspects of leadership rather than on AUTHENTICITY of the leader per se.

Bass & Steidlmeier in their 1999 paper, Ethics, character and authentic transformational leadership behaviour. (in) The Leadership Quarterly, 10, pp.181-217 make the point that the literature surrounding Transformational leadership has been consistently linked with historical literature on virtue and morality, such as those exemplified in the writings surrounding Confucian and Socratic philosophies. Therefore the moral character exemplified by authentic leaders is consistent with the Transformational leadership model.

However, as I will explore in future blog entries, the concept of Authentic Leadership goes beyond that of merely being transformational in Bass’ terms.

My best wishes as always,
Fiona x

Walton & Weybridge CIPD event - part 1

2010-01-27T00:40:00.000-08:00

Last week I did a short evening workshop event in Surrey for one of the UK branches of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.

WoW! What a wonderful and friendly branch! In fact, I would go so far as to say that it's the friendliest CIPD branch that I've ever been to, and that's all down to the leadership and combined personalities of the committee. Of course, as so often happens within the field of leadership, their friendly and professional approach is mirrored by their 'followers'; those members who travelled from far and wide to join us.

Thank you everyone for making the evening so enjoyable and the debates so lively!

A couple of really useful and interesting things that emerged from the debate were that people want some definitions of what 'Authentic' Leadership IS and what 'Authentic' Leaders DO (verses Charismatic Leaders or Servant Leaders for example)so here is my definition of what an Authentic Leader actuall IS:

“Someone who is both psychologically self-aware and philosophically ethically sound”

Now, I know that sounds slightly academic,- well, as I'm doing PhD in Authentic Leadership I guess that would fit! What I will do, now that my life is back on a more even keel and I've resumed my studies, is pick out some of the most relevant parts of both the academic writing on AL and also from the pragmatic, practitioner led stuff and post it up here for you in a way that I hope will be useful.

In the next post I will write more about one of the other interesting debates that we had last week about the difference between 'authentic' leadership and 'pseudo-authentic' leadership.........

My best wishes as always,
Fiona x

Authenticity vs Authentic Leadership

2009-03-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

I've restarted this blog on the 14th January 2010, so well done if you've noticed that the orgininal date and my blog content don't quite tally up!

It seems fitting, at the start of a new year, to review the year that has just left us and to look forward to the year ahead. I noticed, during 2009, a significant increase in the use of the words 'authentic' and 'authenticity'; from articles on holiday destinations that have remained unchanged by tourism and as such, have remained 'true to themselves', to making 'authentic' chocolate cakes like our domestic godess, Nigella Lawson!

I am often asked whether 'authenticity' and 'authentic leadership' are the same; whether being true to yourself and your own principles is enough to make someone a good, or even a great, Leader.

The simple answer is that no, being authentic on its own is nowhere near enough! There is an enormous divide between the two states of being. They may sound similar, but in reality, a huge chasm divides them. Before I explore with you what each means for us in today's complex world, let me explain briefly where the two ideas came from.

In terms of written historical records, both can be traced back at least to the ancient Greeks; although the underlying principles of both are evident in earlier Confucian and Buddist philosophies. The similarities between Eastern and Western philosophical ideals over millennia regarding an individual's moral and ethical character whilst also remaining true to themselves suggests that socially and psychologically, the two concepts of authenticity and authentic leadership transcend cultural, temporal and geographical boundaries.

So what are they then, these two ideas that sound so similar but are actually worlds apart in terms of their implications for people's behaviour? Historically, being 'authentic' means more than just being true to yourself in terms of living by a set of beliefs, values and standards that represent your own moral compass (or as Bill George puts it, your 'true North'). Being authentic means more than Shakespeare's, "To thine own self be true".

Shakespeare omitted a word! What he really meant to say was, "To thine own TRUE self be true".You cannot possibly be true to your own TRUE self if you lack the understanding to really comprehend and acknowledge who your true self really is. Many of us spend a lifetime trying to understand who we are at our core and what that means for us as partners, parents, colleagues and neighbours. Before you can BE authentic therefore, you must be self aware enough to really know what's important to you, both personally and professionally in all spheres of your life. And you must actively reflect on how life's daily challenges influence you; whether they serve to reinforce your sense of self, or whether they shake you to your core.

Authentic Leadership incorporates this dimension of personal authenticity, and adds to it the concept of personal integrity; our morals and ethics. Ethical decision making is at the very heart of the principles of Authentic Leadership. The Authentic Leader does what is right and moral and just for society and the wider community, whilst STILL displaying a consistency with their moral values that allows them to remain true to their own true sense of self.

Sometimes it isn't a very easy path to tread. My argument therefore, is that although the narcisists and psychopaths who are so evident in the history of warfare and dictatorships may well have been authentic in that they were being true to their own true (violent) natures, in no way could they ever be considered Authentic Leaders.

Truly Authentic Leaders are psychologically self-aware and philosophically sound; ethical and moral people who are empathetic and compassionate to others. They not only know themselves very well, they encourage all of those around them to achieve their full potential.

The desire and search for such leaders pre-dates one of the first recorded examples of such a man; the Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, who, in his books of Meditations to himself, reflected on his leadership role as General of the Roman Legions and Master of the Roman Empire.

I hope that I have been able to explain the difference between the two terms of Authenticity and Authentic Leadership. The principles of Authentic Leadership underpin the 3 Peaks Leadership Development Programme (an exciting leadership development experience of which I am honoured to be Programme Director).

To learn more about Authentic Leadership and what that might mean for you, have a look at the 3 Peaks Leadership Development Programme at http://www.cognitivefitness.co.uk or visit the Resources page on the same site.

Happy New Year to you.

My best wishes as always,
Fiona
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