How Authenticity Is a Powerful Skill in Successful Leadership

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Welcome to the seventeenth article in the series “Be the Leader You Aspire to Be” here on The Price of Business Show, where I will focus on the trends which lie ahead of us and how they will affect humans and businesses. The articles are based on my book Energetic Leadership, which talks about 9 trends leaders must navigate to cater for employees increasing demand for more spiritual leadership and sustainable business models aligned with their life purposes. These articles are about business leadership in the new era. I hope you will find inspiration for your own leadership and the leader you aspire to be.

The first article outlined 9 trends for business leadership and focused on authentic curiosity as a key competency for leaders to master. The second and third explained the concept of energy frequencies as the source of our true potential, followed by the alignment of the company’s purpose with the life purposes of employees and customers.

The fourth covered the 6-5 different generations currently working, the fifth focused on self-care and the ability to be present and the sixth was about uncertainty and how to navigate in it. The seventh article talked about the importance of intuition in decision-making and the eighth, nineth and tenth articles were about what a healthy economy and society are and how we all can improve democracy. In the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth articles we looked at customer journeys built on healthy energy and how intuition and resilience can improve productivity. The fourteenth and the last articles were about the world as a mirror of how we are doing and the multidimensional human taking over and what we do with true AI.

In the seventeenth article I look at what authenticity is in leadership. The reason I bring it up is the change we are seeing in the geopolitical arena led by the new US administration. Change is not bad, and is a vital part of development for humans, organizations and societies.

Authenticity is that someone or something is genuine, not fake i.e.: a signed document is authentic but not if it is only a piece of paper with no signature. A plastic orange is fake from a real juicy orange. It is easier for us to determine the originality when it is about things.

The challenge starts when we talk about authenticity in relation to humans and leadership. Is a person yelling and showing outraged over another person authentic? Is a person who changes opinion and direction all the time authentic?

Some people say that we are authentic when we do what we do, whether we do it nicely or not.

For me authenticity is a level deeper than just our immediate behavior – though that is a mirror of who we truly are. For me authenticity is when we are self-aware and act with integrity – meaning that we know are values, beliefs and principles and stay true to them. When we do that, we create trust, transparency and predictability whether it is in the leadership of ourselves, our families or as professionals in organizations and societies.

True authenticity goes all the way into our nervous system and calms our energy system which makes us relax, giving us the ability to thrive and be creative. True authenticity is born from trust and respect – ultimately love. That we dare trust ourselves and others. That we dare to be curious and have the courage to be vulnerable because we live in a society or in an environment which is a safe space.

A safe society is a country where you are free, can speak freely, where law & justice works, and the electoral systems work too. And at its best with proportional representation then we are talking about a full democracy not a flawed one.

Leaders on the geopolitical arena leading its people with respect, trust and transparency will empower the people by these values, beliefs and principles and not creating divide.

The prerequisite for that is that the individual political leader is self-aware and knows his/her values, beliefs and principles. The issue with the world and leadership today is that some do not have that self-awareness.

Profound change that comes from within will create faster, smarter and better results. Or said differently in a time where we talk a lot about war; Peace within creates Peace without.

I call it Energetic Leadership, that we lead our energy, people and businesses in a healthy way from our sustainable hearts not our greedy egos.

Gitte Madelaire is an intuitive and visionary pioneer in leadership development. People, customers, business development, and futurism have always interested and motivated her. With a background in corporate business at companies such as Fona/HMW, Codan Insurance, Volvo Trucks and Ensure, she now inspires to new leadership through her book,” Energetic Leadership”, keynotes, facilitation and mentoring for leaders in her company Bronte ApS. Gitte holds a BSc in Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School and an MBA semester from the University of Victoria. She also has traditional leadership courses and certifications in intuitive and feminine future leadership, inner sustainability, and energy-based leadership. Gitte has lived in London, Sydney, and Kuala Lumpur and currently resides in Denmark.

Learn more at www.energeticleadership.eu.