Authentic Leadership: A Challenge and a Process

✍ Scribed by Mary Ann Masarech

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 57 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0745-7790
• DOI: 10.1002/ert.1028

✦ Synopsis

he newly appointed vice president of HR approached her first staff meeting with trepidation. Her team needed to deliver on key initiatives as the organization shifted business strategies. She knew that at least two team members felt that they should have gotten her job. She heard that the director of elearning was lobbying the CEO to move his group into information technology. She was also aware that everyone else was concerned about their job security, their turf issues, and their pet projects.

She did not want to appear tentative in her new role and was eager to move forward. Her plan was to use her superior credentials to justify that she was the right choice for the job and confidently walk through a detailed plan for reorganizing HR-with answers anticipated for all the tough questions likely to arise. But a close mentor-a leader everyone seemed to want to work foradvised her not to go that route.

The mentor advised, "You need to begin to establish your trustworthiness as a leader-not just competence-because you need your team to fully support and execute the vision you are setting. That involves stepping into undiscussable issues like turf wars and being understanding and candid about others' feelingstheir questions, mistrust, fear, or anger. It also means expressing your own concerns, because it is not the credentials leading the team-it is you. Leaders are not followed because they have all the answers but because they experienced the same doubts as others but have envisioned workable solutions and built commitment around them."

This VP was lucky to have such a wise mentor, because in my company's experience working with executives, we have found that her initial inclination is typical of leaders at all levels. Characteristics reflecting "competence," such as business aptitude, clar-