Authentic Leadership: The Six Characteristics of an Authentic Leader
Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, was once asked to describe the most important characteristics a leader needed in his company. He said, “I can summarize it in a single word: authenticity.” Authenticity is essential, and yet it is an aspect of leadership that is often overlooked. Authentic leadership goes beyond what we tend to think of as the skills and knowledge required for leadership. Every leader must know how to influence, motivate, organize, manage, communicate effectively, and so on. These traits, for the most part, can be acquired through a typical MBA program as well as on-the-job training. They have been described endlessly in the literature and are the focus of most leadership development programs. Authentic leaders take these traits to another level. They are able to influence, motivate, and so on, but do not exercise these abilities as strategies or techniques. Authentic leaders don’t operate out of an acquired leadership personality. The...