Page 201 - HBR Leader's Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level

190 HBR Leader’s Handbook

authentic leaders—demonstrate a consistent passion for their purpose,
build long-standing personal relationships, and know who they are and
what makes them unique. We similarly believe that no leader benefits by
presenting an artificial and unnatural persona to their organization. Doing
so hampers trust and saps motivation of others to collaborate and follow.
At the same time, leadership always requires sensitivity to context;
over time, the best leaders also evolve and grow into larger responsibilities,
as they take on bigger and more complex challenges. As Herminia Ibarra
wrote in an HBR article “The Authenticity Paradox,” if as a leader, you are
too rigid in allegiance to authenticity, it can stifle the personal growth
you’ll need to achieve even more significant impact in your career. Leaders
must find a middle ground, staying true to who they are, but also be will-
ing to go “beyond one’s comfort zone to keep learning and adapting to . . .
complex and new situations.”
Indeed, many leaders we’ve talked to endorse authenticity but also
stress that they have adapted their own style and habits as conditions re-
quired. Stanley McChrystal, in building the empowered network of Special
Operations units to fight terrorists in Iraq, “had to unlearn the habit of
demanding approvals before all lethal actions, because our strategy de-
pended on giving more authority to our front line.” Jeanne Crain, CEO of
Bremer Financial Corporation, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota,
recalls how artificial she felt when, earlier in her career, she was trying to
fit into a male-dominated banking culture by wearing mannish suits and
accessories such as a pink knit tie, but “also realized being authentic is not
about sharing everything you feel inside or showing all aspects of your
individuality. It does mean acting in ways that are true to who you are. I
had to learn to find those aspects of my own style that would best shape the
culture of performance I was trying to build at the bank.”

Your knowledge and skills
What are the concrete things you need to know to do your job today? And
to do the job you’d like to have after that? What skills will help you take
that knowledge and convert it into action? How will they change in the
future? Where do you excel and where do you have gaps?