A leader who doesn’t feel ready for leadership responsibilities will struggle to trust their abilities. They will compare themselves to everyone else, live with doubt and insecurity. They want to show up authentically, but because of their own doubts it isn’t easy for them. Brene Brown said that “authenticity is a practice and you choose it every day.” I like to believe that all leaders are doing the best that they can to show up authentically. They may not even realize that they aren’t already showing up that way and how much energy it is taking away from them.
Building self awareness of this disconnect in your authenticity is the first step to help you explore what is causing it.
You can ask yourself some key questions:
- Are you comparing yourself to others or focused on doing what you think is right?
- Can you be the person that you really are, instead of the person that everyone else wants you to be?
- How can you take small actions to become that authentic leader now instead of in the future?
- What if you set an intention to be authentic in every interaction that you had with your team, clients and management?
Practicing authenticity every day will help you until it is second nature.
It builds your confidence and helps you to focus on your leadership, trust in yourself, and allows you to spend less time in comparison. Creating the leadership brand that is authentic to you and who you want to be requires vulnerability to be able to show up in a genuine way. It allows you to focus on your authentic self, build trust and create stronger relationships with your team and others in the organization.