Your power as a leader stems from your authenticity in every message you give.

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This is difficult for new leaders, because you may be less than confident about the direction that you’re supposed to be setting. Fine.

But this is something you grow into as you mature.

Usually your personal authenticity is a bit different than the tasks that your team does. It’s less about WHAT you’re doing, than HOW you’re doing it. Here are some examples:

  • We always to be fair and honest in our dealings, even if it’s not comfortable.
  • We are setting new paths, which entails a bit of risks, so we have to be OK with that.
  • We are always accountable for our actions. No blaming other people for our results.

Notice that all these address “we”, the team. But it comes back to who I am as a leader. I always strive to be honest and fair. I have to be OK with people taking risks. I take accountability to a fault.

Now I have become the embodiment of the team as a whole.

This is authenticity.