The Five Practices of Authentic Leaders: Part 2 of 5

What does authenticity have to do with leadership? If your role involves influencing others or bringing out the best in people, your own authenticity can have a major impact on what you are likely to produce. Authenticity is about credibility and trust. When you are fully in touch with who you are, you are able to bring the full range of your capacity to a situation:  you are more powerful and engaging, more present. People trust you when you are genuine and authentic, not a replica of someone else. 

You can become more authentic through making five practices habit. Each practice will be explored in separate writings.  Delved into so far:  1. Know Who You Are. 

Now:

2.    Reframe Your Life Experiences

 Many leaders draw their motivation from a deep learning resulting from a difficult experience in their lives: the loss of a job, personal illness, the untimely death of a close friend or relative, and feelings of being excluded, discriminated against, and rejected by peers. Rather than seeing themselves as victims, though, authentic leaders use these formative experiences to give meaning to their lives.

 Regardless of how high one regards his policies, it is inarguable to say that Barack Obama  surmounted poverty, racism and an absent father to become the leader of the United States.  More poignantly, he learned to value all that he went through and to champion less fortunate people who seem to less able to overcome difficulties on their own.

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