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Being authentic: How can you be who you really are?

Written by: John Gloster-Smith

Article Overview: Finding who you really are, your true identity as a person, is a key need that people are searching for now, particularly leaders in organisations. Today, if leaders are to bring people with them they need to create resonance, and this is achieved through authenticity. The process of discovery is an individual one and is best gained through self-enquiry, self-awareness and interactions with others, often with skilled help.

Being authentic: How can you be who you really are?

Why are so many people asking this?

Have you noticed how leaders who make a real, observable impact and bring people with them, are often those who are authentically passionate, they are themselves? We believe them because they are genuine. It has the ring of conviction and it connects with us inside, with our own selves, our own authenticity. And of course we expect them to be genuine – authentic. We need to be able to trust them. And currently trust in public leaders is low, so people take some persuading.

How does a leader do that – be authentic?

He or she is self-aware. To be authentic presupposes a level of awareness. One would need to know one’s own authenticity, who one really is, and to be able to trust it. See for example the value of emotional intelligence, where an emotionally intelligent person is one who is aware of her or his own emotions and is able to manage them effectively. To do this they need self-awareness.

And awareness is a present moment experience. It is only achieved in the moment, when one becomes intensely aware of what is happening to oneself.

The self-aware person is able to come into the present moment, to become aware, to take responsibility for that awareness and to choose and to act on it. It inspires them and it impels them to choose a direction, to articulate values and a sense of purpose. He/she also has social radar, the ability to be attuned to others, to know where they are coming from, and to adjust and respond accordingly.

This authenticity is not easily found. Most of us don’t know we’ve got it or not, as the case may be. You can’t be aware of what you don’t know. To be able to change or move on, for example, you need to be aware of what, in you, needs to change or shift.

We find people often say they are self-aware: “Oh, yes. I reckon I’m pretty self-aware”. Our alarm bells ring. We don’t believe it. Because it’s not authentic.

To find authenticity, who you really are, is a process of self-discovery, of self-enquiry, and is often achieved through the help of a skilled guide, mentor or coach. Each of us does it in our own way. It’s our own process. And that must be respected.

The outcome of this process of personal growth can sometimes be a seemingly new person, with a new dynamism, although we would say it was there all along; one only had to find it.

And you don’t have to be a leader to do this. It is just worth studying others to see what’s possible. They are in a sense leading us to do it ourselves. We find many people who do personal growth often start partly by studying others. And there are those who say that, in some way we are all leaders.

To see an illustration of this and on learning about how to become more authentic, read our companion article, “Self Enquiry and Authenticity”.

© The Empowering Partnership Ltd. 2006.

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Article Tags: alarm bells, authenticity, aware person, conviction, emotional intelligence, emotions, intelligent person, level of awareness, present moment, public leaders, radar, self awareness, self discovery, self enquiry, sense of purpose



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