Authenticity Vs Inauthenticity

In 2010 Domino’s Pizza made a decision to come out and tell the truth about their Pizzas. They agreed that they tasted like cardboard.


In 1991 during a speech to the Institute of Directors, Gerald Ratner, the CEO of Ratner’s Jewellers said ‘People ask, “How can you sell this (earrings) for such a low price?” I say, “because it’s total crap.”’

In both instances the business world was shocked at the honesty. I would assume the shareholders had a ‘moment’ too. Wow! If some leaders could just fake authenticity they would be happy but, there IS no faking it. With Domino’s it’s a consumable but it was only a recipe issue, the quality is not in question, nobody was poisoned, nobody had their health compromised.

With Ratners it WAS purely a quality issue, the goods were not worth the money. Domino’s merely agreed with/confirmed what people had been saying. Ratner admitted something nobody knew for certain. Domino’s continues…Ratners went down the tube.

Authenticity is not an easy subject to tackle and wrestle to the ground. One needs to step outside of conventional thought on authenticity. It takes a lot of courage to discuss authenticity/inauthenticity as it lifts the lid on things we may keep hidden, knowingly or unknowingly. Taking part in this chat will certainly broaden our awareness of ourselves, as a Leader and as a person.

A superficial description of authentic is being real, genuine, the “real deal”, honest. Would you be as honest as Ratners or Domino’s? If your business made a monumental mistake, it’s all very well admitting this to your people but would you admit it to the world, your clients or SKYNEWS? How far does authenticity go before we have to make a stand and be, to all intents and purposes, Inauthentic because the outcome may determine that we cannot be authentic in that instance?

The definition I use of Authenticity is: Being and acting consistent with who you hold yourself out to be for others, and who you hold yourself out to be for yourself.

The central definition is ‘who you hold yourself out to be’. It is NOT your personality, not your thoughts, not your feelings and not social protocols…it is more a DECLARATION that you make, a stand you take on yourself, a commitment to a set of values.

Bill George, Harvard Business School Professor of Leadership and author said:
“After years of studying leaders and their traits, I believe that Leadership begins and ends with authenticity.”

The cold hard truth is that because of certain situations, with certain people, in some ways and at certain times we can all be Inauthentic. Because we avoid at all costs confronting our inauthenticity’s, we are consistently inauthentic about being inauthentic. Is it possible for a person to determine when they are being genuine?

Above all else, Authenticity is CENTRAL to leadership and to being a leader.
Are you authentic all the time? Even when NO ONE is watching?

 

Attitudes Are Contagious, Is Yours Worth Catching?

What do you see written here?...

Do you see ‘Opportunity is Nowhere’?
Good. If you like that sort of thinking…..But, do you know what is better? What you SHOULD be reading?

‘Opportunity Is Now Here!’

It’s your choice, you decide, your conscious and unconscious minds conspire to read whatever it thinks you want to read. If you are wired to see ‘nowhere’ then your attitude is going to stop you from seeing Opportunity all around you.

How important is attitude to a Leader? How important is attitude, period? Underlying EVERYTHING we do is attitude….How we do what we do, how we engage with people, how we see and plan the future (our own and our company) and what we takeaway from any situation.
Bad attitudes are infectious. One person in a company with a bad attitude can infect the entire team until one day everyone is sitting on the steps outside with their office in a cardboard box asking ‘what happened?’ Have you ever gone to a meeting, or a party, and thought, ‘this is going to be a total waste of time’? It was wasn’t it? You made it so. You pre-conditioned your mind.

Somewhere between starting school and getting our first set of business cards printed we lost the importance of attitude. We focus on learning, skills and ability. But great attitude is infectious too. It breeds other great attitudes.

Try this….My New Years gift to you?

I am going to take you away from your job for six months and let you stay all expenses paid on my private island. All meals, drinks, entertainment, expenses: all covered. How cool is that? Not just for you but for ALL your family. What a deal? Am I a great guy or what?

I am also going to pay you your salary…as long as you do ONE thing….

Place an advert in the newspaper for your replacement. They have to be good. They have to be BRILLIANT at being you for six months. If they mess up, share prices drop, staff go on strike or they are just hopeless in the role….it will be your fault and I am bringing you back to reality in 12 hours…1^st flight home (economy).

You have TEN words in this advert to describe what you do. Ten words that define what you do as a leader. Ten words that sum up the attributes that person must have to take over from you while you sunbathe and walk on that white beach and swim in that blue ocean.

Does your list look like a little like this one?

1. Conscientious
2. People person
3. Punctual
4. Good with numbers
5. Smart
6. Confident
7. Good listener
8. Decisive
9. Positive
10. Can train staff

That’s a list a group of insurance salespeople wrote on a whiteboard last month and it is almost identical to the list I always get.

Notice anything?

For one thing, the 80/20 principle.

8 out of the 10 attributes are clearly ATTITUDE!

The other two have a foot in both the attitude and the skill camps.

We teach SKILLS…we assume people bring great attitudes with them.

As a leader our attitude is the most important facet of our being. It is the Mindset of a great leader. It is a magnet for success.

MOVE!

Flow, like water...Be flexible...whoever has flexibility in a situation controls the situation....

but remember that as Leaders we must move forward, and keep moving...

and never, EVER, stop moving...

Is That A Pack of Dogs in my Boardroom/ Office/ Timeline?

If you are a Leader and you want to be followed blindly, without question, with obedience, servitude and adoration...get a DOG!

Friends are great.  Of course they are. And people who agree with you are good too, as long as they really mean it.... adoring sycophantic acolytes are to be avoided at all costs.

Why would you, a real leader, surround yourself with people who just blindly agree and nod their head at everything you say and do?  A group of people who, to all intents and purposes, are JUST LIKE YOU!

Why would you want a team or group of people who do nothing but blow sunshine up your ass?

Do you REALLY think that you will make ANY progress in life or business by having a support group around you who do nothing but tell you 'You're right!' or 'I agree!' or 'Fantastic idea!' and never EVER question you about ANYTHING?

How long before you start to think 'I wonder what they say when I am not around?'...'I wonder what they DO when I am not around?'  It won't be long before you start thinking that as soon as you shut that door or put the phone down, they all throw their heads back and laugh like maniacs.

It's not paranoia, it's human nature.  Surely there comes a time when all that ass kissing makes you think, 'Is this for real?'

I have always subscribed to the belief that if two people in your organization say the same things, do the same things, have the same opinions, think the same things, believe the same things...sack one of them....they are walking overhead!

What you need to do as a leader is mentor, drive, empower and teach your team how to fly. I am a believer in teaching people how to 'think different'.  In doing all of that, you are going to learn a lot from them as well as them learning from you. 

What the hell are you going to learn from a group of people who can't think for themselves and rely on you to give them an idea or a thought that they can agree with?

If you go through life surrounded by people blowing sunshine up your keister then you are going nowhere.  And it will not be long before you start to believe your own hype. 

Again, I quote Monty Pythons Life of Brian:
Brian: You are all individuals...
Lone Voice in Crowd: I'm not!

You need a group or a team of people with their own minds, own ideas, own brains, who interact, question, agree with you only when they really do agree with you, and are there to learn and to teach others (including you).

If nobody disagrees with you, questions your motives and ideas, or tells you 'thats a really bad idea' you are going to start believing that you can do no wrong and, guess what?  YOU CAN DO A LOT OF WRONG!!

There are a lot of tribes, clubs, cliques, communities, groups and teams who empower, enrich, push, mentor, drive and coach each other to do more, do better, and go further.  It is all down to the Leader encouraging that.

If you are part of a 'my way or the highway' collective....its a highway to nowhere....you deserve better!

Authentic Authenticity

AUTHENTICITY

Some people say that Authenticity is a big thing. I think it is bigger than we think.  In many cases it's the ONLY thing some people have.

An Authentic Leader is seen to be a beacon of hope, a strong example, an ethical person who does the right thing.  They are seen to be someone others aspire to be.  They are magnetic forces because others want to align with them for one or both of two reasons.

1. Trust

2. Hoping that some of the magic rubs off on them.

Having the strength to confront your inauthenticities is hard.  Some may say it's the hardest thing you can do because you are looking at yourself in a new way.  When you admit, to yourself and others, your inauthenticities then you are being AUTHENTIC about them.  Denying they exist is further compounding them.

"If you cannot find the courage to be authentic about your inauthenticities, you can forget about being a leader...The actionable access to authenticity is being authentic about your inauthenticities..."

At some point we are Inauthentic as well as being Authentic at other times.  Certainly, situations can determine who we are or what we say and do.  To be authentic we must discover and confront our inauthenticities.  We must also be honest, and tell the truth, to ourselves and others about when we are not being genuine (authentic).  But, how far do we go with that?

In 2010 Domino’s Pizza made a decision to come out and tell the truth about their Pizzas. They agreed that they tasted like cardboard.

In 1991 during a speech to the Institute of Directors, Gerald Ratner, the CEO of Ratner’s Jewellers said ‘People ask, "How can you sell these (earrings) for such a low price?” I say, "because it's total crap."’

In both instances the business world was shocked at the honesty. I would assume the shareholders had a ‘moment’ too. Wow! If some leaders could just fake authenticity they would be happy but, there IS no faking it. With Domino’s it’s a consumable but it was only a recipe issue, the quality is not in question, nobody was poisoned, nobody had their health compromised. With Ratners it WAS purely a quality issue, the goods were not worth the money . Domino’s continues…Ratners went down the tube.

Authenticity is not an easy subject to tackle and wrestle to the ground. One needs to step outside of conventional thought on authenticity. It takes a lot of courage to discuss authenticity/inauthenticity as it lifts the lid on things we may keep hidden, knowingly or unknowingly. Taking part in this chat will certainly broaden our awareness of ourselves, as a Leader and as a person.

A superficial description of authentic is being real, genuine, the “real deal”, honest. Would you be as honest as Ratners or Domino’s? If your business made a monumental mistake, it’s all very well admitting this to your people but would you admit it to the world, your clients or SKYNEWS? How far does authenticity go before we have to make a stand and be, to all intents and purposes, Inauthentic because the outcome may determine that we cannot be authentic in that instance? 

The definition I use of Authenticity is: Being and acting consistent with who you hold yourself out to be for others, and who you hold yourself out to be for yourself.

The central definition is ‘who you hold yourself out to be’. It is NOT your personality, not your thoughts, not your feelings and not social protocols…it is more a DECLARATION that you make, a stand you take on yourself, a commitment to a set of values.

Bill George, Harvard Business School Professor of Leadership and author said:
“After years of studying leaders and their traits, I believe that Leadership begins and ends with authenticity.”

The cold hard truth is that because of certain situations, with certain people, in some ways and at certain times we can all be Inauthentic. Because we avoid at all costs confronting our inauthenticity’s, we are consistently inauthentic about being inauthentic. What if you find yourself discussing ‘How does a person determine when they are being genuine?’

Above all else, Authenticity is CENTRAL to leadership and to being a leader.

Are you authentic all the time? Even when NO ONE is watching? 

If you are Authentic, or if you are aware that you are Inauthentic sometimes, then you have a very great chance of being an exceptional leader.