People find themselves in leadership roles by either working their way up a corporate ladder through hard work, achievements and tenure, and others find themselves a bit bewildered in a leadership role by luck or default.
However you land up in the role, you need to pay attention to your leadership style.
Leadership comes naturally to some, especially those who display business maturity. The young upcoming leader’s often research and draft checklists of attributes that successful leaders appear to have embraced.
I am not sure this process is entirely effective, sure to learn from the best has value, but to be an authentic leader is more sustainable.
In his book, “Becoming an authentic leader”, author, and former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, Bill George explains that authentic leadership is about “being yourself, being the person you were created to be.”
Authentic leadership is about knowing yourself, finding your true north and acting accordingly. This is quite different from trying to emulate or embrace the list of desirable leadership characteristics and attributes which leadership gurus often cite as prerequisites for leadership success.
Some will achieve by building, empowering and mentoring a successful team of loyal and committed employees, these are the true leaders. Unfortunately some won’t gain the desirable following for various reasons, but it all comes down to a lack of authentic leadership skills.
I suggest if you can’t naturally be an authentic leader, step down to a role you better suited to succeed in.
