Authentic leadership in a changing world

Authenticity is the uncomfortable truth to confront yourself with what actually does not belong to you but also what is not perfect about you.⠀

We try to fit in, we make excuses, we avoid, we bottle up feelings and red flags, we pretend and we fake it. This is not always happening consciously and so we do not have access to our inauthenticity but we often feel something is not right, especially when we observe it in others like the Jekyll and Hyde behavior of a boss, or the hesitant behavior of a parent.⠀

Authenticity has become the fashion word in the business world, in politics, in personal branding and in blogs. Though the people who preach its virtue often don’t understand exactly what the word means. And it is understandable because we all have our inauthentic moments when we are not present. Also to become fully authentic requires a huge deal of self-reflection which can be inconvenient. ⠀

The definition auf authenticity according to Merriam Webster is :⠀

“True to one’s own personality, spirit, or character”.⠀

So how to achieve that?⠀

1. We need to understand our desires and values to be able to act accordingly⠀
2. We need to understand ourselves – for that we must be able to connect with our true (!) self⠀
3. We need to accept our vulnerability on that path of self discovery⠀
4. We live an authentic life to the best we can ⠀

Very often in childhood we have been told by others that our desires and dreams are not really the right ones.  For example some of my artist friends have been told that it is more appropriate or convenient (?) to do an academic job. New founders very often hear from their ex-corporate colleagues that it is a tough venture.

Sometimes we tell ourselves we need to play a certain role without listening to our heart and gut feeling to avoid the inconvenient truth.⠀

This comes with huge consequences and expenses of our life energy and our level of fulfillment.⠀

Do you feel you are running too much of an inauthentic program or your environment forces you to do so?

Over the past 10 years I have collected strategies and tools to get you closer to your authentic self. ⠀

It is so liberating and lively to start the journey of living an authentic life. 

Are you curious to explore it?

Contact me for a 1:1 session.