Recently, I amended the brief description that sits under the heading “about me” at the top of my blog to read:
This statement reflects my growing understanding of my niche – those clients with whom I most enjoy working, those clients with whom I do my best work.
Perhaps there’s a paradox that sits underneath this statement. On the one hand, I have been involved over the years in a great deal of research into what makes for the most outstanding leaders. This research, which had been reflected by Goleman in his books The New Leaders and Working with Emotional Intelligence suggests that there is a common recipe for all leaders and, within organisations, a variation on this recipe which is distinct for a particular organisation. A common criticism made of this work is that this suggests the “cookie cutter” leader – and we can all see that leaders vary enormously in their personal style and effectiveness.
On the other hand, it’s my view that the path to personal effectiveness – mastery – as a leader is a highly personal path which varies enormously from person to person. It involves understanding and accepting oneself as well as making adjustments to improve effectiveness. The changes we make don’t stick unless they are congruent and aligned to who we are and to what we want. This is why I enjoy my work so much – because I take great pleasure in supporting the path of the individual towards his or her personal recipe for success.
There is another paradox here. Oftentimes, when organisations are involved in discussing the competencies they most yearn to see in their leaders there is one that comes up again and again, labelled as “integrity” or “honesty”. At the same time, many people walk through their careers in the belief that they need to “play the part” in order to succeed. At best, this reflects insight into what does and doesn’t work in a particular organisation and an informed choice to work in ways that are effective. At worst it is the stuff of deep personal stress as we worry that we will not be fully accepted in the workplace unless we play our part well.
And the bottom line is this: no matter how hard we try, we don’t get to hide. Our true self creeps out around the edges. If we have a level of self mastery this can be a great gift to self and others because we all have skills, competencies and other attributes that are of great value in the world of work if only we can find and claim our rightful place. On the other hand, as long as we are trying to be someone we are not we may struggle to succeed, for the effort of maintaining the facade is great and ultimately ineffective. It’s just as well that the journey to authenticity and self mastery, whilst challenging and at times painful on the one hand, is also liberating for ourselves and for those we lead on the other – a “win, win” all round.
I wonder, to what extent would you describe yourself as bringing your best self to work? As authentic? As knowing what works? A “mark out of ten” will give you a crude measure of your own authenticity in the workplace.
PS Just to let you know, as a member of Amazon Associates UK, I shall receive a referral fee for any books you buy using the links in this posting.