Your Authentic Self

The HBR article of February 2007, "Discovering your Leadership" is a worthy read for my clients or those who are interested in learning how to be more effective and more wise. The writers state, "When the 75 members of Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Advisory Council were asked to recommend the most important capability for leaders to develop, their answer was nearly unanimous: self-awareness."

The studies we have conducted mirror their claim. By far, the leaders who are the most effective, the most respected, the most trusted and who achieve sustainable results are those who have taken themselves on as a project; actively and deliberately. This means choosing not to be satisfied with the status quo or "trusting a self-view" and it requires a willingness to do some surgery on those blind spots. This is accomplished through seeking out feedback, suspending judgement by looking for where the feedback "just might be accurate" versus "inaccurate and therefore not relevant" and maintaining a practice of continual reflection and heightened awareness.

This is not easy work. Denial is our greatest enemy disguised as friend - so primal that many times, we don't even know when we are in denial! Self-deception comes so naturally to human beings that we often ignore the ease with which we unwittingly claim our choices, behavior, and stimuli. We simply choose not to see ourselves fully, unable to embrace our true selves.

Terry Warner, founder of The Arbinger Group, states,

"Because we deceive ourselves so systematically, we actually have little comprehension of what we are. But we can come out of self-deception. We can learn the truth about ourselves. And what we learn is both surprising and inspiring."

May I suggest a few things that will begin to enhance self-awareness:

• Actively broaden your circle to bring in diverse perspectives and invite challenge to your perspectives
• Don't miss the opportunity to take a well done 360 degree feedback assessment
• Make it safe for people to tell you the unfiltered truth
• Become very aware of "your stories" and actively test them with a coach or someone you trust to help broaden your view and possibility.

Link to HBR article referenced above: http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2007/02/discovering-your-authentic-leadership/ar/1