By Maria Collar, SIOP Blogger
As a leader, there is absolutely no way that decisions can be made without experiencing a healthy dose of anxiety. Undoubtedly, there will always be times in which the decision of “should I stay or should I go” will become the crucial moment in everybody’s career. Indeed, my various roles as a leader have been permeated with the dubious uncertainty of knowing that “if I go there will be trouble and if I stay it will be double”. However, it is precisely at moments like these when true leaders take possession of the biggest tool available in their arsenal, themselves (Covey, 1990/1991).
In the journey towards becoming a more inclusive leader it is important to adopt an authentic style. Indeed, there are as many approaches to leadership as there are leaders; even those who subscribe to a primary model demonstrate tremendous variability within style. Leaders bring to the role unique traits, skills, experiences, biases, and predisposition, all distinctively shaping the personal style. Whether mostly utilizing a facilitating or coaching approach, it is essential for leaders to develop a style which would best represent their personality, as true authentic leadership is mainly an innate process springing from those unique traits and experiences constituting the self.Leadership is a lifelong evolutionary process involving continual focus on learning, developing, and growing; whereas “most of this learning and growth is self-initiated” (Covey, 1990/1991, p. 33). An authentic leader, having a deep understanding of strengths and weakness, knows that they are the biggest tool in their toolkit and thus uses the self as a vessel to facilitate development (George, George, & Sims, 2007).
Above all, an authentic leader isn’t someone who solves all problems unilaterally (Teerlink & Ozley, 2000, p. 26) but one who is able to create and sustain an environment in which all individuals can collaborate to achieve a common goal. Chiefly, great leaders use an empowering approach best known as “the window and the mirror” in which leaders look out the window to apportion credit to factors outside of themselves and at the same time they look in the mirror to apportion responsibility (Collins, 2001, p. 35). Thus, authentic leaders are able to create and sustain an environment in which talent, at all levels, collaborate to achieve a common goal with the primary responsibility of enabling the strategic direction. Consequently, they confidently cede great amount of control to the collective process.
What do you think?
