There is nothing more inspiring in today’s corporate world than authentic leadership.

This might sound lofty, but the path to success is littered with leaders who failed to behave with authenticity and integrity. 

The result? Teams without trust in their leadership, cooking up a toxic stew of reduced engagement, increased attrition, and missed opportunities.

“Trust” is the key word here – it’s everything.

“If we can learn to trust one another more, we can have unprecedented human progress.”

Frances Frei, Professor of technology and operations management at the Harvard Business School 

When trust is abundant, everyone in an organization commits their superpowers, passion, and energy to a common purpose.

But trust can only be achieved when leaders bring their authentic selves to the table.

So, let’s talk about how to infuse your organization with authenticity at every level.

What Is Authentic Leadership?

Authentic leadership isn’t about giving orders and maintaining control; it’s about empowering others. 

By nurturing a genuinely trusting, compassionate, and open management style – driven by your own ethical values and beliefs – you can inspire your team to achieve both individual success and the goals of your organization.

But the only way to do that is through authenticity.

Authenticity is one of three crucial components of Frances Frei’s ‘Trust Triangle’.

“People tend to trust you when they believe they are interacting with the real you (authenticity), when they have faith in your judgment and competence (logic), and when they feel that you care about them (empathy).”

Frances Frei

For leaders to build trust, they need to embrace all three elements of the triangle. If any element is at risk of collapsing, so is trust!

Leaders often threaten to break trust unintentionally, by muting themselves and burying their unique attributes – their authenticity.

But authentic leaders – those who possess strong personal brands and let their work quirks shine – encourage trust, boost productivity, and power up their teams!

Four Authentic Leadership Characteristics to Nurture to Create Trust

Now that we know what authentic leadership is, let’s delve a little deeper into the characteristics authentic leaders possess. 

You can help star performers supercharge trust – and their careers – with a leadership development strategy to amplify these characteristics.

1. Self-Awareness: The Ability to Work Your Quirks

Authentic leaders have a profound sense of self-awareness. A recent Fast Company article by Mark C. Crowley highlighted the importance of self-awareness:

“Nearly 20 years ago, the 75 members of the Stanford University business school’s advisory council were asked to recommend the single most important capability leaders should develop. And their answer was nearly unanimous: “self-awareness.”

Self-aware leaders know exactly what they bring to the table. They have the confidence and self-assurance to embrace what makes them stand out – the superpowers that no one else possesses.

Above all, they know how people perceive them, and they’re proud of it. They actively work to build a personal brand, while inspiring others to do the same.

“Like a reputation, a personal brand is something you already have – whether you like it or not. Your personal brand is based on authenticity. It’s real; it’s genuine; it’s what makes you unique. It includes your values, passions, ‘superpowers’ and even quirks.”

Stand Out: Boost Your Personal Brand, Ora Shtull

• What are your core values – the non-negotiable guiding principles that rule your world?
• What superpowers can you lay claim to and embrace as your own?
• What makes you leap out of bed in the morning? What excites you and ignites your passion?
• Why do you do what you do? What’s your underlying motivation?
• What sets you apart from everyone else who does what you do?

By reflecting on these questions, authentic leaders develop their own unique worldview and philosophy and have the opportunity to infuse both into everything they do. 

This gives them a unique perspective that their people value, and allows them to create a foundation of trust, confidence, and connection.

As a result, self-aware, authentic leaders develop devoted followers who in turn increase their personal brand visibility and credibility. 

At the same time, while demonstrating the depth of their values in their work, authentic leaders encourage their people to maximize their strengths.

This produces significant organizational benefits:

• Turbocharged productivity
• Greater engagement 
• Stronger work ethic
• Less staff turnover
• An energized, creative, and confident workforce

2. Emotional Intelligence: Vulnerability, Compassion, and Transparency

There’s no doubt that leaders are intellectually savvy, but how many CEOs are in sync with their feelings?

Fewer than you think.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your emotional state and use it in positive ways to improve communication, empathize with team members, overcome hurdles and defuse conflict.

It’s an essential skill that allows authentic leaders to be open to new ideas and challenge their own thoughts.

It’s comprised of three qualities:

• Being vulnerable – This means being open to feedback and criticism, and admitting when you’ve made an error. When you own your mistakes, you demonstrate to your team that you’re not above apologizing or humility. 
• Being compassionate – By caring about another person’s experiences, you can see things from different perspectives. Compassionate leaders go out of their way to help people build confidence, develop their own leadership skills and design their own career-boosting paths.
• Being transparent – By being clear and transparent about how you’re feeling, authentic leaders demonstrate their vulnerability. This allows you to show appreciation to your team above mere professional courtesies. And when people feel valued, they’re inspired to up their game.

When a leader makes relationship-building a priority, they establish authentic connections. They create open, trusted lines of communication and help people feel supported and valued.

As a result, team members respond more openly, and show more respect and a willingness to reciprocate the care, faith, and interest their leader has demonstrated.

3. Passion: Positivity, Confidence, and Optimism

Authentic leaders set the tone for their team and often the entire organization with their passion, positivity, confidence, and optimism.

These qualities are contagious.

No one wants to emulate negativity or indifference. And no one ever followed a leader who wasn’t passionate. But when everyone is working towards a common objective with a passionate attitude, amazing things happen.

Positivity is a driving force toward success. Confidence puts the backbone in a team and optimism allows them to quickly overcome any challenges along the way.

Authentic leaders show that they care deeply about the work they’re doing and the outcomes they are striving for.

They share their passion and positivity by expressing genuine enthusiasm for the organization and its mission, and the difference it makes in people’s lives.

Authentic leaders with a passion for their work inspire people to go the extra mile and believe in their ability to deliver results. 

Without passion, people would find it almost impossible to sustain the enthusiasm, belief, and focus necessary to help the organization succeed.

4. Resilience: Big-Picture Focus

Authentic leaders stay focused on the big picture. They keep long-term goals in mind and possess an intense resilience to bounce back from challenges and mistakes along the way.

They have a clear vision for where they want to take the business and never fail to convey this vision in a way that motivates others to buy into it.

They’re not afraid to make tough decisions and take risks, even when they may be unpopular – and they understand that making short-term sacrifices can pay off in the long run.

Every decision and sacrifice is made with the best interests of the organization and its people in mind.

When an authentic leader displays a profound and consistent dedication to achieving a mission, they build a dedicated following.

At the same time, clear communication and a well-defined path with specific milestones are critical.

And, when things go awry as they surely will, an authentic leader’s resilience will come into play. How they adjust the plan and get their team back on track while continuing to provide calm, clear-headedness, and plenty of encouragement along the way will become incredibly important.

People want to know the person leading them will remain cool, composed, and confident when facing challenges and pushback. 

By having an end goal in sight and the composure and resilience to achieve it, an authentic leader can keep everyone focused and propel the business forward.

Are You Ready to Encourage Authenticity in Your Organization?

It’s not easy to be authentic – it takes courage to be yourself in a world that often rewards conformity. 

But the payoff can catapult individual careers and skyrocket the overall success of a business.

And while authenticity can’t be learned, the characteristics of authenticity can be revealed and enhanced. And that requires a commitment to becoming self-aware – the first step to uncovering your personal brand and building valuable leadership skills.

If you’d like to nurture your self-awareness and other leadership qualities, start with BrandBoost, an A.I.-enhanced digital coach that guides you through your personal brand discovery.

BrandBoost is an effective way to unearth the six drivers of your personal brand and elevate those qualities to leadership status.