Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2014 - (Page 55)

BEHAVIOR ∆ CHANGE B E CO M I N G A N A u then t ic L E A D E R - ANNE DRANITSARIS, PH.D. AND HEATHER DRANITSARIS-HILLIARD Authentic leadership has become increasingly valued in the workplace as leaders struggle to deal with a business environment that is constantly changing at lightning speed. Fast-paced growth and change means that cognitively, leaders need to be forward-thinking, strategic and able to anticipate what might happen. Emotionally, they need to be resilient, adaptable and confident enough to stay ahead in the marketplace. As a result, leaders must be aware of how they are feeling and how their behavior changes. Authentic leadership is the capacity for a leader to behave congruent to their values, ethics and guiding principals with empathy, selfawareness and emotional self-management. These leaders have the ability to separate out their needs with the needs of the business and are able to put those of the business ahead of their own. Without self-awareness, leaders unintentionally get in the way of the pace their business needs to function at to grow. Emotional self-management prevents them from being reactive or self-protective which often has negative consequences to the business and employees. AUTHENTIC LEADERS' CHARACTERISTICS * Self-awareness: They manage their emotional states by openly sharing their fears and concerns with others so they may work them through. They are not afraid of what others are going to think or how they might be judged for doing so. * Confidence: They don't look for approval from their employees or peers as they believe in themselves. They make mistakes and admit them without blaming others. They are decisive and rely on their intuition and inner guidance when making tough decisions. * Caring: They build a strong bond with their people by demonstrating empathy, care and concern. They go out of their way to be inclusive. Before deciding, they gather information from their people, and once decided, letting them know what the decision was and why. * Purposefulness: They lead others with purpose, meaning and values and do not compromise, even during challenging situations. People want to follow them because they are worthy of trust. * Vulnerability: They openly share themselves with others and allow themselves to be vulnerable in their relationships. They have the rare ability to be both honest and vulnerable, which enhances their power as leaders. * Sage: They have a combination of experience, insight and knowledge and an inner capacity for discernment that keeps them on their desired course. They love to share this with others and take the time to coach and mentor. BECOMING AN AUTHENTIC LEADER This is a process, not a destination. The process of becoming authentic is about peeling off layers of ego and self-deception and changing self-protective behaviors, to emerge honestly and with integrity. It means: * learning to reflect on feelings and subjective experiences and be comfortable discussing them with others. T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - SUMMER201 4 I WWW.TRAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE * becoming honest about how they behave in relationships and how they guard themselves from being vulnerable. * recognizing the dysfunctions they have created in their organization by not leading in alignment to their values. * confronting the way they avoid interpersonal conflict and emotional discomfort and make excuses or rationalize their behavior. * developing empathy and caring about what employees experience emotionally and factoring feelings into their decision. * learning that a successful bottom line doesn't mean the people they lead are thriving or they are happy. BECOMING AN AUTHENTIC LEADER IS A PROCESS, NOT A DESTINATION. Leading at the speed of change means getting rid of any misalignments, incongruent leadership behavior or dysfunctional team behavior. Authentic leadership in organizations creates the type of resilience, power and efficiency needed to thrive in the current marketplace and is richly satisfying to both leaders and employees. Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D., & Heather DranitsarisHilliard are leading experts in personality and behavioral change. They are the creators of the Striving Styles® Personality System, and authors of "Who Are You Meant To Be?" Email Anne and Heather. 55 http://www.trainingindustry.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2014

From Where I Sit
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Developing Emerging Talent Pipelines
The Inherent Inertia of Training
Stop Harping on Generational Differences
Learning to Live the Brand
Leading through a Merger and Acquisition
Organizational Change through Applied Learning
Influencing without Line Authority: A Key Skill for Virtual Project Managers
The Currency of Trust: The Difference between Flourishing and Floundering
Building Buy-in for Learning Investments
Sales Winners Sell Differently: How Selling Is and Isn't Changing
From Mind-Full to Mindful: The Intention/Instruction Intersection
The Implications of Organizational Forgetting
Casebook: ADP: Improving Sales Process Effectiveness
Sustaining Training's Impact
Managing at the Speed of Business
Becoming an Authentic Leader
What's Online
Company News

Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2014