Reframing Authenticity
| posted by Rochelle MuchaAuthenticity is a popular topic amongst leadership pundits. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue has been misleading, absent the critical conversation on role and characterization appropriateness. To be authentic, is not just to be who you are, flaws and all, flaunting ‘self’ regardless of circumstance. Rather, it is about clarity of intention, and drawing on oneself to deliver on that intention.
Think of the wide range of interactions and relationships you have each day: peer, manager, leader, member. Amongst these roles, you will be asked to facilitate, report, influence, respond. Striving for authenticity forces you to reflect on how you need to be experienced, heard, seen, and paves the way for you to act with intention to deliver appropriately for each situation. To be authentic builds on being present, identifying intentions, and assuming the role required to achieve the objective at stake at that time, at that place, with that audience.
Leaders have much to learn from artists on how to achieve authenticity. One actor plays many different characters. One musician participates in a range of symphonies. A dancer moves to a variety of choreography. And for each role, the individual must bring himself or herself authentically and deliver the performance authentically for their audience, using their vast reservoir of personal experiences and then morphing his or her skill sets appropriately. Artists begin their process by deeply understanding what they bring to a given piece of work, and the influence that will bear on their performance. They seek to get inside the character, the meaning behind the script, score, or movement. They draw on their experiences. They guard against over stating, or compromising the author’s intent.To be in an organization is to always be interacting, implicitly and explicitly. Authentic performance integrates the highest levels of knowing and feeling, scripting and improvisation, in order to bring meaning, message, and connection to our roles and our work relationships. Authenticity is a moment of choice, and you must be believable. Are you clear about your various roles and their characterizations? Are you believable?
