Want to be a great leader? Focus on authenticity.

When we think of leadership, we usually talk about competency, skill sets, or personality traits.

But did you know that in over 1,000 studies conducted by leadership researchers over the past 50 years, none of them could define the ideal leadership style, characteristics, or traits that makes a great leader ¹?

In other words, no one can become a great leader by simply trying to be like someone else. 

Instead, researchers concluded that great leadership ⎯⎯ the capacity to inspire and empower others ⎯⎯ is about authenticity.

According to former CEO and Harvard Business School professor Bill Georges in True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, authentic leaders are “genuine people who are true to themselves and to what they believe in. They engender trust and develop genuine connections with others. Because people trust them, they are able to motivate others to high levels of performance. Rather than letting the expectations of other people guide them, they are prepared to be their own person and go their own way…they are more concerned about serving others than…their own success or recognition.”

In other words, authentic leaders are not just passionate for their purpose, but also practice their values consistently. They lead with their hearts, not just their heads. By bringing people together around a shared purpose and empowering them to be authentic as well, value is created for all stakeholders. They know who they are.

So often, we are so worried about showing our competency that we forget the key of leadership is to connect with others, and to show the warmth and human side of who we are. A Hong Kong client I coached, an executive at a Fortune 500 company, described it this way: “I cannot be too casual. I have to show others I’m confident, competent, and experienced. I’m not sure I can trust others, so I have to be careful.”

As a young woman working in America, I relentlessly drove myself to climb the corporate ladder; by 45, I was bank president. On the outside, it looked like I had everything going for me: the perfect house, the gorgeous family, the six-figure income, the country club membership.

But truth was, I felt exhausted, empty, and disconnected. I drove my team as hard as I drove myself, putting in 80-hour work weeks that drained my energy with sleepless nights. I chased after success the way I thought great leaders were supposed to do, but it was not sustainable – I finally ran out of gas and I knew something had to change. I did not see it then, but I was a micro-manager with a top-down approach that led my team to feel resentful and disengaged.

Apparently, this is a common problem in organizations: studies show that only 1/3 of employees are engaged in their work; most employees develop a deep distrust of leaders and are indifferent to the performance and values of the organization they work.

I decided to turn to coaching, trying a range of strategies that focused on external skills. It took a while before I found the right coach that got me to realize that in order to be an effective leader, I must learn to understand my own mind through awareness of my body.

By tuning in to how the body feels, I learned to be “calm-on-demand” to reflect on how my thoughts and feelings influence my actions, which impact others. I stopped worrying about living up to other people’s expectations and let myself be vulnerable-and authentic. I really began to connect with others, considering their interests and strengths instead of a results-driven attitude.

When I learned to let go and cultivate authentic dialogue, showing warmth and compassion, the results were miraculous. I created a coaching culture where I developed employees’ competencies and fostered an environment where they felt valued and confident, giving them the free rein to be innovative and strategic in their work. The result was a company that rose from obscurity to national prominence, and a coaching culture that still flourishes today. You know you are leaving a legacy when the people who worked for you were able to take what you did, and take it to another level!

If I had to sum up my journey to authentic leadership and my approach to coaching, it is this: If leaders cannot find time to slow down and develop themselves, no amount of external skills training or coaching can result in sustainably engaged employees who consistently perform highly.