Week 5: Authentic Leaders Drive Innovation

Welcome to Week 5 of the Authenticity@Work Series. My intention for this series is to share a quick tool each week to help you lead with more authenticity, adaptability and inspiration so we can together create workplaces where we bring the best of ourselves and inspire others.

In last week’s post we discussed how authentic connections are good for our well-being and the importance of leaders who create trust. Did you practice creating more authentic connections?

Innovation is the lifeblood of all teams. What if all employees came to work thinking about how they could innovate, contribute, and bring their best to the workplace that day? What if people had the freedom to fail in pursuit of a bigger vision that was important to them?

Authenticity allows us to engage with each other in powerful dreams that make the impossible possible. We are called on to persevere despite failure and pursue a purpose beyond the paycheck. This is at the core of innovation. It requires aligning the dreams of each individual to the broader dream of the organization.

Authentic leaders bring out the best in people in the most challenging environments. By being “real” themselves, they encourage others to do the same, creating cultures of trust and openness. They slow down to connect with people. They are curious about the talents of each individual and what energizes them, and where they can make the best contributions. In tough situations, they are able to have authentic conversations with people and give direct feedback with both power and grace.

Imagine a workplace where amid all the changes and turmoil:

• We can have open, transparent conversations with colleagues to make tough decisions in a trusting environment
• We are able to work through tough dilemmas to align our personal values with what must be done for the greater good
• We can create workplaces where each person brings his or her best thinking, creativity, engagement, and contributions despite the uncertainty of corporate restructuring and jobs
• Authenticity practices become a performance enabler. My dream is that we can create this together.

This Week’s Tool:

Questions to ask yourself:

• When I’m grounded, centered, and operating from my core, what does it feel like inside?
• What is my impact on others when I am being my authentic self?
• Where are there opportunities for me to bring more of my inspired, authentic self to the workplace?

Now practice taking your authentic self to more of your workplace interactions. Notice your impact on others.

Get the latest resources for Authenticity@Work (this tab will get updated with all kinds of cool resources). Curious to know more about the book? Read the reviews about Wired for Authenticity here.

This article was written by Henna Inam, C-level executive coach, global speaker, and author of the book Wired for Disruption. She helps leaders grow their agility to be a force for good and thrive in times of change. They create organizations that drive breakthroughs in innovation, growth, and engagement. In roles including Head E-Innovation and Chief Innovation and Marketing Officer, Henna drove transformation throughout her 20-year corporate career as an executive with Fortune 500 companies. Join the thousands who follow her blog here. Connect on Linkedin.