Checking for Authentic Motives

Before you step out to lead, it is vital to get in touch with your deepest motivations. With ruthless honesty, ask yourself:

• "Why do I want to lead this endeavor?" 

• “What do I really want to get out of this?”

• And most importantly, “Which of my deepest core values will be served?”

If the honest answers to these questions clearly identify the values you seek to manifest in the world, and they reinforce your motivation, you are ready to put forth your vision and lead.

Leading from Authenticity Creates a Supportable Vision

Successful leaders in Momentum know it is vital to get the vision right at the outset. When your motivation to lead is aligned with your deepest values, you can conceive and articulate ​​your vision. 

You can strengthen the clarity and articulation of your vision by trying it out on men you trust to give you clear, honest feedback. To the extent the vision is unclear, the men will ask pointed questions, trying to understand what you want to accomplish. If your vision is still too unformed or not yet congruent with your core values, you will falter in attempting to answer the men’s questions. The men listening will sense this and their motivation to support you will likewise falter. 

Use the feedback to highlight the aspects of your vision you are still hazy about. Once the vision and the way you express it are clear, the men you approach will “get it” and want to follow you.

Authenticity Is Focusing and Magnetic

Authenticity leads to focus because it drives authentic action rather than tasks.Tasks are important, but they are not the fuel. Your passion is the fuel that accomplishes something  meaningful. Passion is generated when your entire being is energized as you bring your deeply held values into the real world. When your vision is aligned with your deepest values, it is less likely you will be distracted by extraneous ideas or projects.

The clarity of an authentic vision will inspire men to support you and make it easier to enroll them for the tasks needed to move your vision into reality. They will join you because they want to contribute to your vision. The right people to tackle specific tasks will probably be obvious. The whole endeavor becomes fun, rather than being tasks driven by obligation. And most important, those who follow will want you to win, because they believe in your vision, and your win is their win too.

Authenticity Generates Growth Through Setbacks and Mistakes

Leading from authenticity, you will have inner strength—the emotional ballast—to persevere through all the ups and downs that befall any endeavor. You will not be diminished by setbacks because your focus is not on looking good. You are centered on your underlying core values and the difference it will make when you are successful and complete the endeavor. That centeredness buoys your spirit when you face setbacks, and keeps your head from swelling too much when things are going your way.

With that inner strength undergirding you, you can more confidently break out of your comfort zone and explore new ideas, take risks and, yes, make mistakes. Because whether you are stepping into leadership for the first time or have years of experience, you will make mistakes. By keeping your focus on the prize—bringing about your vision and its fulfillment of your core values—your mistakes do not diminish you. Rather, you use your mistakes to learn and adapt, become a more effective leader and closer to the man you aspire to be.

As a leader, you will be under constant observation: by your team, by other leaders, and even bystanders in your community. They will see your triumphs and your setbacks. The experienced leaders around you will keenly notice the mistakes you make. But just as your authenticity attracts followers to join in your endeavor, it motivates those experienced leaders to turn your mistakes into teaching opportunities. You will find them delighted to offer you advice and insights that can further guide your development as a leader.

What the Absence of Authenticity Looks Like

Less authentic reasons to lead include:

• You want to look good

• You seek approval from others

• You’re afraid of disappointing others

• You want to avoid conflict

• You have trouble saying “no” to a request, even if you’d rather not take it on.

Common among these scenarios is that your motivation to lead comes from how it is perceived by others, rather than how it aligns with your own values. If the endeavor you lead does not align with your values, it is not really an expression of you; it is thus inauthentic. Leading from an inauthentic place is not inherently bad, but it is fraught with vulnerabilities and pitfalls.

For example, if your motivation is seeking the approval of others, your decisions and actions will be constrained to those others will approve of. How willing would you be to take a risk—an action that could be a wrong move or “mistake”—and get disapproval from those you’re trying to please? The fear of making mistakes could easily turn into paralysis.

Or, say you take on leadership because you have trouble saying “no.” There is no shortage of requesters who are willing to ask for things, all the more so from people who can’t say “no.” You might find yourself saddled with numerous projects for others that not only compete with each other but also for your own finite resources. Can you really juggle competing demands and maintain your own energy level and enthusiasm when what you are doing is all for others and not nourishing your own core values?

When your own motivation is not clearly authentic, you will find that enrolling motivated men is far more difficult. Men can detect when someone is trying to lead for inauthentic reasons, and the passionate ones you most want will probably decline. You will likely have to settle for the ones who can’t say “no” and struggle to get them to make progress. You might well become one of those men who gets burned out and complains about how hard leadership is.

Authenticity Is the Way to Fulfilling Results

If you are considering leading for a reason other than to bring about a meaningful outcome that fulfills core values, you can expect heavy sledding. Only when you embark on an endeavor that fulfills your core values, where you can envision and clearly articulate the outcome, can you tap into the immense power of leading from authenticity.

Key Take-aways:

• Authentic leadership demands ruthless self-inquiry to identify core values and a commitment to bring those values into practical reality.

• An aspiring leader can use the critical feedback from trusted, ruthlessly honest advisors to clarify his vision and tighten its articulation.

• Authentic leadership attracts motivated followers who will support the leader to win, so they can too.

• Leading inauthentically is possible, but much harder, and less likely to deliver great outcomes.