4 key points that make true leaders
What is authentic leadership? Authentic – “in accordance with the facts and therefore worthy of trust, confidence or belief”
To become an authentic leader, you must become increasingly aware of the four leadership qualities that we are going to describe and manipulate these qualities to create a personal style that works for you.
Always ask yourself the question: “Why should someone be guided by you?”
In the little time we have to discuss this, I believe there are 4 essential key points to becoming a truly authentic leader.
1 – Leaders selectively show their weaknesses: by exposing some vulnerability, they reveal accessibility and humanity.
For example, Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin, is a brilliant businessman and hero in the UK. It is also particularly effective in communicating your vulnerability. You feel uncomfortable and constantly grope when interviewed in public. That could be considered a weakness; however, that’s Richard Branson, warts and all.
2 – They rely heavily on intuition to assess the right time and course of their actions.
Not surprisingly, the most impressive business leaders are highly refined sensors. Ray van Schaik, president of Heineken in the early 1990s, is a good example. His genius lay in his ability to read the signals of his colleagues and Freddie Heineken, the third generation family member. Some senior managers took time to question the major shareholder, van Schaik, who developed the ability to “just know” what Heineken wanted. In addition to spending many years on the Heineken board, van Schaik could read Heineken even though they had very different personalities and rarely worked directly together.
3 – They handle others with strong empathy.
Those most apt to use it are people who really care about something. When people really care about something, they are more likely to show their true selves.
Tough empathy also has the benefit of prompting leaders to take risks. There are many companies across the UK that have faced difficulties due to the recession. By openly and directly explaining the situation to staff of necessary changes, sometimes an increase in expenses, staff are committed to the process. Once this is done, restructuring could take place, resulting in job losses, but long-term success for the company. This long-term success is attributed to strong empathy with employees. As one CEO said “Once you have the people with you, you can make the tough decisions that need to be made”
4 – Dare to be different.
Inspirational leaders will capitalize on their differences. Using these differences effectively is the most important quality of the four that we have mentioned. A distinctly different style of dress or physical appearance are ways to show a difference. However, an effective leader will be distinguished by qualities such as imagination, loyalty, experience, and even body language.
An example of this could be a Senior Manager who manages to walk but by doing so is constantly overtaking people because of the speed at which they walk, this is different from the norm, however, it is a way of communicating urgency.
Looking at these four key points, the challenge now is to find a personal style that suits you.