Friday, 27 July 2012
Authentic Leadership: The key to building Trust
I’m delighted to be able to share with you privileged access to an article that’s just been published in People Management magazine (which is the official journal of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, the CIPD).
http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2012/07/authentic-leadership-the-key-to-building-trust.htm
This open access to those of you who are not CIPD members will expire in a month.
The article is easy to read on-line, although if you decide to print it, the font seems to be a 6, which makes it quite difficult to read. People Management have kindly agreed to supply me with a pdf of the article in a month’s time, which I will, of course, share with you.
The online version is missing the visual diagrammatic of the Greek temple I designed which represents the ‘3 Pillars of Authentic Leadership’, however, if you have seen the Academic Poster of my PhD research, you will already have a copy of it.
Grateful thanks go to People Management for their generosity.
My best wishes as always,
Fiona
P.S. People Management have a daily email Digest which is always interesting, useful and relevant to Human Resources practitioners and leaders, and a LinkedIn group which is also excellent. These are both completely free resources for you and CIPD membership is not necessary.
Fiona Beddoes-Jones, FRSA
Principal Psychologist and Managing Director,
The Cognitive Fitness Consultancy
01476 861010 - office
07950 337 099 - mobile
http://www.cognitivefitness.co.uk
http://www.3peaksleadership.co.uk
"The world we have created is a product of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking".
Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Authentic Leadership strapline
"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?
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?
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Win a FREE place at the Authentic Leadership & Business Ethics Conference
Thursday, 16 June 2011
What does being authentic in the world mean to you?
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
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
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
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
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Authentic Leadership Research Findings
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
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
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Who are you? on being authentic ........
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
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
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