We often read about how important it is for leaders to be authentic. Authenticity should, however, not be an excuse for leaders' unwillingness to further develop and change. That is the opinion of Herminia Ibarra, a world's leading expert on leadership from the INSEAD international business school, who is just releasing her new book entitled Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader.
"You don’t really know what you need to do to lead if you haven’t done it," Ibarra explained on Fastcompany.com. She is convinced that people are often too fixed on their ideal selves instead of trying to find out who they really are and what they can do. If you want your leadership style to evolve naturally so that you can really discover your authentic self, she recommends the following steps.
Don't try to define who you are
This effort is ultimately a waste of time, because it only leads to excuses to only concentrate on what you are very good at and stop evolving. You will continue to work in the same way every single time. Authenticity should be seen as an opportunity to stand out from your personal comfort zone. Psychologists confirm that nobody has only one self during a lifetime. We play various roles and can choose a lot of possible ways to act. Authenticity is a way to let yourself grow, further develop personally, and achieve your true aspirations.
Beware of excessive introspection
Some form of self-examination is important. Constantly analyzing your thoughts and emotions however is a bad thing. Over analyzing often happens when we achieve a new position or an unfamiliar role. We convince ourselves that we are good at something and bad at something else. As a result, we make excuses to avoid chances to challenge our convictions in practice. So be open to opportunities to try to do things differently.
Change from the outside in
Herminia Ibarra claims that what we learn about ourselves from the outside is more important than what we learn or think about ourselves from within. The best leaders evolve with the help of perspectives gained from others via direct experience. You should therefore enter new territories, meet different types of people and try out different approaches to fulfill your tasks. This will help you overcome your ingrained habits that are limiting your possibilities. You can develop further via relationships with others.
Book
Ibarra, Herminia: Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2015. 200 p.
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