Autumn Colours and Authentic Leadership.

🍂🍁 October -- The autumn foliage in Luxembourg City as seen in late afternoon light. It inspires me to follow nature's example and show my true colours. 😮

Authenticity is a concept which gets a lot of attention nowadays but we don't see many displays of it in politics, on social media or at the workplace.

In 2022 Garnett Inc., a global research and advisory company, did a survey of 3,500 employees and found that 52% of them were more likely to trust leaders who demonstrate authenticity.

The concept included behaviors such as

🔸 transparency,

🔸 ethical decision-making and

🔸 alignment between values and actions.

Oh the benefits but the challenge of being oneself...unfiltered.

A bit like the impromptu Iphone selfie taken just a 5-minute walk from my office.

No reason to airbrush any of the wrinkles off my face!

Call them lines of "experience".

I've made a lot of detours on my life's journey but there's one thing I'm particularly proud of: my career pivot in my fifties! The biggest step out of my comfort zone took courage and support and the transition DID take a few years,

but I've never had a greater sense of purpose than now.

I have taught myself to follow nature's example and show my true colours.

Yang energy 阳 in the spring, representing growth and activity and

Yin energy 阴 in the autumn displaying the need for rest and conservation.

I have always loved colour.

In Western culture, men don't normally dress in bright colours.

I pay attention to my appearance but I don't wear uniforms.

Colour is energy and as a systemic coach, I am sensitive to its impact.

When to Play the Vulnerability Card.

I DON'T wear my heart on my sleeve

but I AM accessible, open to other people's feelings and needs,

sensitive to my and their emotions.

Speaking of sensitivity, it has taken me more than half of life to figure something out.

What society says is a "weakness" turns out to be a strength for a leadership coach.

My vulnerability gives others permission to explore and express their own.

Vulnerability? At the workplace? Seriously?!!

Seriously. I don't live in an ivory tower.

I work regularly with expats in environments which are unfamiliar and in corporations where one person can turn a psychologically safe space into something toxic.

Measured vulnerability.

Learning when and how to say

"I feel....", "I need...."

This is NOT the end of your authority.

In fact, it's a sign of leadership strength. Giving oneself and others the permission to express the statements above.

I champion the ideas of Brené Brown, the researcher, academic and professor of management who often speaks of authenticity, vulnerability and integrity.

I close with a quote from her work, "The Gift of Imperfection".

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”