One of the buzzwords around leadership at the moment is this thought about being authentic. I have never really thought about it too much until today. I attended a Network of Executive Marketers breakfast and was privileged to hear Shelley Campbell (CEO of The Sir Peter Blake Trust) speak. It was – as my friend Simone said – an inspirational start to a Wednesday.
For me, one of the things Shelley summed up brilliantly was this thought about being an authentic leader – “You gotta be yourself, because everyone else is taken”. The brilliance in this thinking is that it totally makes you back yourself. Try this out for your own benefit by saying the quote out loud now. When you say it – it makes you have confidence in your own abilities as a unique individual. In fact it makes it a no brainer for you to think – “of course, I’m the the right person for this, I’m me!”
Plus it makes me happy to have met another kiwi chick that inspires me and is taking it to the world!
If only people would believe that this is the only and indeed best option. Comparison to others is wasteful and for the large part senseless. Great blog and thank you for sharing this!
I agree. Getting some thinking or feeling from the primary source is the place to start. Adaptations can follow as and when needed as interactions reshape the conversations.