In today’s dynamic business environment, the significance of authenticity in the workplace and leadership cannot be overstated. Authenticity is not just a desirable trait but a fundamental building block for creating an inclusive and productive organisational culture. Practicing authentic leadership is a totally different thing to just telling someone to do it, and for many leaders or future leaders, it isn’t easy to incorporate overnight. We must all start somewhere, and for any form of strong leadership to thrive, it starts with you taking the first, necessary steps to build an inclusive and authentic team.
What does an authentic leader do?
Learn to set the tone: Leadership authenticity sets the tone for the entire company. When leaders are genuine, transparent, and true to their values, they foster an environment of trust and openness. Employees feel more secure and valued in such a setting, which enables them to bring their full selves to work. We never stop saying that leaders must set the example for others, it’s their duty to find and create future leaders amongst teams – the best leaders can step aside and let others take control, in turn, there’s a mutual trust between colleagues – if a leader can trust each colleague, then nobody will feel any reason to not trust one another.
What impact does authentic leadership have?
Boost productivity and innovation: A key factor to building an authentic team is seeing a boost in performance amongst colleagues. Prioritising inclusion – allowing people to be themselves without judgement, it causes each member of the team to believe in the leader and vision of the business. Leadership is about doing what is best for the team, so creating an environment that embraces difference will bring an endless amount of ideas and results. Being a leader that others believe in, in a space that everyone feels they belong to, it builds a strong relationship where colleagues and leaders go the extra mile for one another. We spoke about building trust – but the real importance comes from what trust creates. The trust between leaders and the team allows everyone to not only boost their productivity, but it makes them want to boost productivity. When we feel valued by others, we feel an urge to show our gratitude – authenticity drives this.
How does authentic leadership create an authentic team?
Authentic leadership cultivates belonging: Creating a workplace where authenticity thrives involves understanding and valuing the diverse strengths of each team member. Leaders should encourage open dialogue, celebrate individual contributions, and ensure that everyone feels heard and appreciated. For far too long, many leaders have prioritised familiarity and we have seen an endless supply of homogeneous teams – this cannot continue. We are part of a very unique and special society, where difference thrives. Every team needs diverse ideas, stories and people. Surrounding ourselves with people who do not sound like us, look like us or live like us is what inclusion is about. Creating authentic teams requires everyone to adopt an inclusive mindset and embrace inclusion. Difference is nothing to be afraid of, but it is everything to embrace.
We’ve moved past the times where exclusion was accepted, we need to stop forcing people to fit in – everybody in, nobody out.
Find more on authentic leadership: https://www.carayol.com/leadership-development/authentic-leadership/
