Authentic Leadership in practice is just about like it sounds. Leaders build trust through being authentic and honest. They lead in openness and are usually positive or optimistic. According to Psychology Today, authentic leaders can be identified by four major attributes:
Self-Awareness (Know Thyself) - This is the foundation of Authentic Leadership. Authentic leaders are able to do accurate self-assessments on their strengths, weaknesses, values and limitations. Accurate self-assessments help establish authenticity and trust. If we can accurately assess ourselves, we have a better chance of assessing others.
Relational Transparency (Be Genuine) - Authentic leaders are honest and straight forward with people they work with and lead. They don't play games or manipulate things behind the scenes. Being blunt but respectful can help leaders be genuine with people they lead. No one has to guess where they stand or wait for yearly reviews to know how they are doing when working with an authentic leader.
Balanced Processing (Be Fair-Minded) - Authentic leaders communicate needs and requirements and then listen to and try to understand all perspectives. They select the best option, no matter who suggested it or how it was developed.
Internalized Moral Perspective (Do the Right Thing) - Authentic leaders live by an internal moral code. They hold themselves to these ethical standards even if others do not know they exist or hold them accountable. Authentic leaders treat people fairly, though not necessarily ethically.
These four attributes are simple in theory and description but can be challenging to live by when working on fast moving and dynamic projects. They can be practiced by the most senior management on the job down to the most green engineer. At the end of the day, most anyone will respect you if you know your limitations and strengths, are genuine and straight forward, are fair and do the right thing in all situations. This is true for young but motivated construction pros, as well as, experienced and wise project leaders. Nobody's perfect but it's hard not to want to work with an authentic leader (or general construction pro). Be authentic and build a better world.
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