November-December 2011
Be Authentic – Get Results
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By George Burk Authenticity: quality or condition of being authentic, trustworthy, or genuine. Syn: realness, validity, truthfulness. Ant: fantasy, falsehood, invention, untruth. Most people can spot a liar “a mile away” or can tell if you’re being insincere with them or others. When you’re honest and prove (i.e. validate) that your leadership resonates from the heart and your head, your chance for the results you seek will improve dramatically. Here are a few suggestions to help you become even more authentic — more “genuine” than you are today: Make it real. To be genuine is to demonstrate the signs you are a humble human being and leader; you know and accept what you don’t know; you learn how to laugh at yourself; you seek others opinions, suggestions and input; you love yourself without being In Love with yourself. Those signs validate your perception of you and that others have of you that you are authentic. Apple’s former CEO Steve Jobs, who passed away recently, had the reputation of being self-assured in knowing which direction he wanted to take Apple Computer. After he resigned in August 2011 due to his illness, he showed his authenticity said Jeffrey Sugerman, CEO of Minneapolis-based corporate training material provider Inscape Publishing. Steve Jobs took the time to explain his situation directly to the public. “Those characteristics,” Sugerman said, “are of a humble leader.” Steve Jobs demonstrated real humility when the situation called for it, Sugerman said. Remain grounded. Always remain close to those you serve: customers, employees and the community at large. It’s also important, more so I believe, to stay grounded and close to your family and friends, as well. Remember, all things in life are sequential, inside out, not outside in and our lives are about trust and relationships and the choices we make. Listen to your staff & friends. A true benchmark of humility is the realization and acceptance that you don’t know it all. In any task, your employees, staff and yes, your friends and family want to have their opinions and suggestions heard and respected. Leaders, parents and friends, in any leadership role must learn to listen and use the feedback that’s received. “In a leadership role, you’re not often rewarded for checking your ego at the door,” said Sugerman. “But at some point, you have to realize it’s bigger than just you.” Encourage other views. Discipline yourself to be the last person in the room to offer ideas. Even better, let other people provide the suggestions. Many of the truly effective leaders I knew (and know) and respect held meetings with a different set of employees every other week or so to listen to their ideas on what’s going well and what needed to be improved and why. They got out from behind the comfort and protection their desk and met with the employees on their turf, not in their office. They spent the majority of the time as a listener. The only time they talked is when they followed-up a question with another question and had something meaningful and relevant to contribute. Then they made certain they followed-up and addressed the issues that were raised. The truly great leaders I knew wanted to make themselves ‘smaller’ and as humble and authentic as possible. From my remembrances, their strategy worked. Be open and transparent. In other words, be upfront with your authenticity. Tell…the…truth. Don’t tap dance around a subject because you may be afraid of the consequences. Don’t ever make promises you can’t keep. Most people, I believe, deep down in their heart-of- hearts want and respect honesty; some even demand it. Be upbeat and tell your staff you believe in them and know they’ll work to continue to improve the organization. In order to do that effectively you must LBWA-O –Lead By Walking Around-Outside. Think strategic, over the horizon and the distant, unseen horizons and think of your leadership tenure as your legacy that will remain with you forever. Right now, what do you think your leadership legacy would be? What do you want it to be? Be comfortable in your own skin. You’ve heard this cliché often and I have as well. I thought I knew what it meant, and given my life’s experiences and paradigms at the time, I did. Then in 1970, I had a “Significant Emotional Event” a “Wake-Up Call” in my life. I was critically burned and injured in a military plane crash. My life as I knew it was turned upside-down. Little did I know it then, but as a burn survivor, “to be comfortable in your own skin” would mean I’d have to "see" myself in a totally different way. To survive, I’d have to completely change old personal and professional paradigms. When old skin is burned and removed, new skin must grow; it’s unbelievably painful and leaves scars for months, even years. The physical scars are both a physical and emotional challenge. Over time the physical challenges, burning and itching, subside but the emotional challenges (doubt, fear) of being burned and scarred remain. That’s when a burn survivor can begin to learn how to be comfortable in their (new) skin. It takes time and is a process but it’s worth the effort! Your skin is the only skin that will grow on your body. That’s how unique and special we are as humans. That’s our DNA authenticity. New (grafted) skin was a rebirth to me and my life. Off with the old (me); on with the new (me). Be responsible. When employees and friends know that can depend on you to provide steady and consistent leadership they’ll trust you. That in turn, can make them more comfortable about the way you respond to them. “People seek consistency,” Sugerman said. “If every day they’re walking into a new place where the mission has changed, it gets to crazy making.” Authentic leaders never ask or expect their employees to do something they wouldn’t do or haven’t done themselves. They aren’t enablers in the workplace or at home. They have the courage of their convictions. Win the trust. Be open and honest about the organization’s values, mission and goals. Communicate them at every opportunity and re-enforce them consistently up, down and across the organization. The top performers are treated just like the rest of the employees. If an organization’s culture (atmosphere) permits its best employees to disrespect other employees, trust, respect and authenticity evaporates almost instantly. Values, mission and goals are only as effective as they are consistently communicated and enforced. As an authentic leader, you say what you mean and mean what you say and you expect your employees to act the same way. Therefore, be honest and dependable; take responsibility. Own it.
Captain George
Burk, USAF (Ret)
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