S7 E25-28. (Engaging Your People for Success) Build Your Leadership Capabilities through Authenticity with LIsa Askwith

S7 E25-28. (Engaging Your People for Success) Build Your Leadership Capabilities through Authenticity


Lisa Askwith- Engaging Your People for Success
IBGR.Network...The World of Business at Your Fingertips


Build Your Leadership Capabilities Through Authenticity- 4 Part series

INTRODUCTION- Part 1, Ep25- Key Traits of Authenticity- Why and How Authenticity helps you leads

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To allow your business to be the best that it can be, you need to focus on developing your, and your leadership team’s authenticity. The new modern workforce demands so much more than command and control, they are value based, wanting to receive value and give it back to the workplace. They derive their value from what you do in the business, and this understanding is key to your success.

To help you meet these core needs, authenticity becomes key for you and your leadership teams. Focusing on authentic leadership and how key areas such as, coaching, mentoring, empathy and servant leadership can help you establish that for yourself and your business. Exceptional leadership is a key success tool in any business, and it takes effort, time, and experience to achieve. It’s not an overnight thing, or something that you can decide to have, or do. However, getting it right can improve your culture, leading to growth and innovation as well as retaining your talent, Engaging your People to achieve this will deliver you maximum success across your company. 

5 key traits that characterizes authentic leadership, offered by Harvard Business School Professor Nancy Koehn, who teaches a course about legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton.

5 CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTHENTIC LEADERS

1. They’re Committed to Bettering Themselves

2. They Cultivate Self-Awareness

According to Koehn, cultivating this foundational component of emotional intelligence involves asking yourself questions, such as:

·       What am I experiencing?
·       What are my strengths?
·       How am I showing up in the world?
 

3. They’re Disciplined

4. They’re Mission-Driven

5. They Inspire Faith


Part1- Key traits of Authenticity- Why and How Authenticity helps you lead

If you enjoy this the following 3 parts of the series are;

Part 2- Step by step to Becoming an Authentic Leader
Part 3- Authentic Leadership by developing your Coaching Skills in 4 key steps
Part 4- Authenticity and Servant Leadership- How to develop both successfully.

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Most businesses and leaders need help to really see this key area with ‘fresh eyes’. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.


Part 2 (EP 26)- Step by Step to becoming an Authentic Leader

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‘Authentic leaders create an environment where their values are known and they are willing to be held accountable to them; they are transparent. Ultimately, an authentic leader inspires trust, loyalty, and confidence within their workforce which drives optimal results, mission success, and personal growth. This obvious leads to very beneficial financial results in any business as well. In fact According to the Harvard Business Review, 75% of employees want to experience more authenticity at work. In order to inspire your employees, they need to know you, they need to respect you and they need to be aware that you are living in line with your own values. When authentic leaders create a trusting environment, they allow employees to be themselves, which boosts productivity by as much as 30%.’

Think of the impact that will have on your bottom line?

The first few key steps;

1-    Your people want to know who you are
2-    They want to be able to respect you
3-    They want to see you are living in line with your values- that you are trustworthy!!!

Manage the Paradox of Authentic Leadership- Managing Authenticity: The Paradox of Great Leadership

by   Rob Goffee and     Gareth Jones     


1-   Prepare in advance
2-   Focus on Knowing Yourself and Others
3-   Keep those close to you who give honest feedback
4-   Use Where You Come From
5-   Conform—But Only Just Enough


Great leaders understand that their reputation for authenticity needs to be painstakingly earned and carefully managed……this is not a set and forget task. Many great leaders have personal stories they share regularly that engage their people creating their authenticity, so reviewing yours and making sure they match your environment is critical for your success in this area.

There is a lot more than just being open and talking with direct honesty needed for being a trust based authentic leader…..in fact it’s much harder than most people ever grasp, but if you can focus on this, and get it right you are on your way to being a great leader who can fully engage your people for success!


This is the piece of the puzzle that most businesses and leaders need help with. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.


Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people


Part 3 (EP27) Coach yourself to Authentic Leadership in 3 key steps

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Authentic Leadership can ultimately make or break a business, if it is done well, you can uncover the keys to truly engaging your staff, and reaping the benefits such as innovation, positive culture and staff retention, all of which lead to improved business growth. Ensuring your business has authentic leaders who generate trust is a critical part of your overall business success. To achieve this you need to make authentic leadership a positive, living part of your business culture. To establish this you need to focus on 3 key areas;

1- Coaching
2- Mentoring
3- Empathy

These 3 points need to be part of your leadership and people engagement tool kit. In fact great leaders should have strong coaching and mentoring skills and be able to display empathy. Make this a focus for your teams and yourself, and you will develop authentic leaders, as this focus develops trust and respect.

An effective leader-as-coach demonstrated some key traits, they;

• asks questions instead of providing answers,
  
• supports employees instead of judging them,
  
• facilitates their development instead of dictating what has to be done. This is the real difference, 
  

This potential will not only save you money when it is engaged, it will also create new ideas and recognise problems that are not seen from the c suite. Your people see everything is your business and often they are the ones, if you listen to them, who can actually identify business shifts, customer issues, or new ways of working well before the leadership team does. So don’t miss this key money making part of your business. Spend the time to help your leaders take the difficult step to being coaches, that way you have a much higher chance of accessing your full potential through engaging your people.


 
Your people really have all of the answers, but have you asked them the right questions? Are you able to use your coaching skills to develop your authenticity and engage your people in the outcomes? If not, you will fail.


Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people


If you would like more information on any of these key topics I can be reached at lisa@apexbrs.com, where you can book a free discovery call.



Part 4 (EP28)  Authenticity and Servant Leadership- How to develop both successfully

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Consistently as we restructure companies and help them achieve success by engaging their people, we see a common theme established as to what an authentic leader looks like. 
My top 10 traits- both for, and your leadership team are;
1. Self-awareness and constant self improvement
 
An authentic leader reflects upon all of their actions and decisions and examines their own strengths and weaknesses without any bias. They look for continuous learning
2. Lead with heart    
An authentic leader is all heart. They are not afraid to dig deep, and they lead their team with courage and empathy that only comes from listening to the heart.
3. Focus on long-term results
 
Authentic leaders don’t waste precious time unnecessarily worrying over temporary setbacks, or less than stellar results in the previous quarter. Their focus is always long-term. They know that patience and hard work do take time, but yield rich results.
4. Integrity
 
Strength of character is essential for an authentic leader. They don’t say things which they don’t mean, and they earn respect because of this quality. People trust them because they keep their word, no matter what it takes.
5. Lead with vision
 
Authentic leaders lead with purpose and vision. They always add value to people they interact with and help them realize higher professional goals which lead to better personal lives as well. 
6. Listening skills
An authentic leader is always a good listener, even when someone else contradicts their views. They are even willing to consider those ideas with an open mind and change their opinion if the arguments make sense.
7. Transparency
 
Authentic leaders believe in open communication and combine their directness with empathy, which more often than not brings success. 
8. Consistency
Their behaviour is consistent, and they are not easily swayed by superficialities, prompting trust and belief.
9. Share success with the team
 
They not only build a good team but also give credit where it is due and share success and achievements with the entire team.
10. Drawing on experience
 
They share their experiences good and bad, humbly through storytelling.
 
Servant Leadership- by Greenleaf

In 1970 Greenleaf said, and it is still relevant today:

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.
 
“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?“



The ten principles of servant leadership according to Greenleaf

1. Listening.
2. Empathy.  
3. Healing.  
4. Awareness. 
5. Persuasion.  
6. Conceptualization. 
7. Foresight.  
8. Stewardship.  
9. Commitment to the Growth of People.  
10. Building Community. 

Tip- Exceptional leadership is the glue that will hold all of this together- without it you will not achieve the levels you desire.


Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people


This is the piece of the puzzle that most businesses and leaders need help with. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.
 
Shows
●      Previous: Episodes 25- 29  Season 7- Build you Leadership Capabilities through Authenticity- Engaging your People for Success
●      Next: Episodes 29- 32  Season 7- Training is the answer to your People Problems- Engaging your People for Success
 
Written by Lisa Askwith

Director of ApexBRS | ApexBRS, Regional Director of See Global Media, Chair of  EGN Singapore, and Associate Professor Cambridge Corporate University | At the Age of Change, providing the HR component of the Global Executive MBA and BBA. Lisa has worked for some of the largest companies in the world and successfully led restructures and change management programs in order to improve the bottom line through engaging the people for success, while developing exceptional leaders who can make a positive impact on Culture and long term business sustainability.

You can connect with Lisa on any of her platforms

LinkedIn Lisa Askwith - Director - Apex BRS
https://www.apexbrs.com/
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