Authentic Leader

8 reasons why authentic leadership is essential at work

October 22, 2023 by Michelle Ray

If you have ever been part of a relationship dynamic at work that felt transactional or inauthentic, you are not alone. Even though years may have passed, and you have since moved on, it’s likely that you can still recall the impact of the experience and level of discomfort. We remember leaders who are real, as well as those who have little or no interest in getting to know us.

Authenticity has always been a highly desirable leadership trait, although the importance of honing this critical characteristic in today’s dynamic and interconnected work environment cannot be overstated. Relationships that are built on a foundation of authenticity contribute to high trust, increased engagement, higher retention, and greater productivity…ultimately benefiting your organization’s culture.

Authentic leadership is essential for the following reasons: [Read more…] about 8 reasons why authentic leadership is essential at work

Authentic Leadership and the difference between Hearing and Listening

October 30, 2019 by Michelle Ray

How often have you found yourself in a conversation with a leader or manager where you are not being heard? There’s probably nothing more unattractive, in my view, than a leader who lacks the capacity to listen. And listening and hearing are two very different things.

An authentic leader is always paying attention, doing a lot less talking and a lot more listening. Interestingly, the capacity to listen also means that someone may share a viewpoint that is very different to yours. In these situations, great listeners to not react. They recognize and acknowledge, either verbally or through positive non-verbal cues, that they have heard the other person. When you possess the ability to listen to that viewpoint, even if it is different, it can be advantageous in your relationship dynamic to let that person know that you want to hear more about an opinion that’s different to yours. For example, you may ask: “tell me more about your perspective”, or “I would like to understand more about your point of view”, even if you disagree. You can expand on these types of questions by feeding back what was said, keeping in mind that your intention is to show genuine interest, rather than react to the other person’s opinion.

Perhaps we don’t give daily consideration to these examples of authentic listening. However, when you do find yourself in a situation where there’s a roomful of people who do have different opinions to you, the concepts of listening to understand, rather than refute, as well as the difference between hearing and listening may serve you well in the future. An individual’s capacity to genuinely listen is an attractive character trait. In addition, it is worthwhile keeping in mind that the same letters that are in the word listen are also in the word silent.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lfpDIL0PfM&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

Michelle Ray (Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

The Three C’s that demonstrate Authentic Leadership

October 23, 2019 by Michelle Ray

Compassion, curiosity and courage. Three great traits of authentic leaders.

Having compassion for your workforce, having compassion for your team is all about recognizing when they are going through their own hardships, their own struggles, their own difficulties just as you indeed have gone through yours. Being curious, being interested, genuinely interested in what is going on in the lives of each member of your team and having the courage of your convictions to speak your truth, to speak your mind, to be bold, to take risks, this is something that a great leader is always conscious of. Having the courage to connect, having the courage to be true to yourself and stand up for what you believe, what you know is good for you and good for your team and good for your business. Be the courageous leader, be the authentic leader.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfb4td7gh_Y&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

Transformational Leadership and Leading with Vision

October 9, 2019 by Michelle Ray

Many people talk about transformational leadership, but what does it actually mean? For me it’s all about vision.

It’s all about being a person who is constantly looking to raise the bar, and who is thinking long term, and is very cognizant of the big picture. And this is something that if you possess this ability to lead with vision, it’s much easier to bring other people along with you.

They can be as excited as you are about the future, and they can see that you’re not going through the motions to just achieve something, you’re very purposeful, very intentional, about achieving those results, and doing so with the support of your team, and you know that it’s a team effort. And you’re looking to create something extraordinary. And I think that’s what differentiates a leader who is exciting to work with, and is genuinely excited for everyone else to experience the same feeling.

So leading with vision is another great trait of the authentic leader.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeLYm1kCrTY&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

Personal Transparency and Successful Leadership

September 25, 2019 by Michelle Ray

In so many situations where I’ve found myself meeting leaders, working with leaders, I would say that probably one of the biggest struggles that they encounter is this question of how transparent should I be? How much should I reveal about myself?

I believe that transparency doesn’t mean that we reveal every single detail about our lives but it’s about consistency and being that person at work that is the same as that person at home and when you’re transparent, you’re very comfortable within your own skin. You’re willing to practice humility, you’re okay with admitting when you’ve made a mistake and that persona is something that is very genuine and again it’s another trait of authentic leadership because people can feel that you’re open to talk about anything.

And you’re open to be candid about times where things might not have gone so well for you, whatever time that might have been in your career and again, it’s just revealing that part of yourself that humanizes the relationship and please remember, that’s what people are craving from you. They wanna be able to feel that they can talk to you and connect with you and you will achieve that when you remember the importance of being transparent as a leader.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qiY64IHgGg&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

Why leaders need to stay Focused on Long Term Results

August 21, 2019 by Michelle Ray

Are you a leader who cares about long-term results? And when I say long-term results, I’m not just talking about the bottom line and having a healthy bottom line. I’m talking about being a leader who really takes the time and recognizes that effort and hard work that goes into achieving great results, that it’s okay to have setbacks.

It’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s okay to not just be checking all the boxes to see whether or not you’re covering what needs to be done but also that you have your eye on the future, that you’re conscious of being that visionary and that it’s okay if, perhaps, you don’t necessarily have the results you want in the short term but that all those setbacks will ultimately lead to an extraordinary long-term payoff, and it may not necessarily only be profitability.

It can be the way that your team responds to you, that they feel a part of the culture, and this is all because long-term results are also associated with building trust. We can’t automatically get our team to trust us. It takes time for them to really genuinely believe you as a leader. So all of that will pay huge dividends as long as you are focused on being the absolute best that you can be, the best genuine, caring, authentic leader that you can be.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSPCIwiKX2g&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

Genuine Consistency and Authentic Leadership

August 7, 2019 by Michelle Ray

There is nothing worse than going into work and not knowing what to expect from a manager, a person in a position of leadership.

I don’t know if you’ve had that experience, but it’s something that I have had happen in my career, and it doesn’t make us feel very comfortable because we don’t know what to expect. What kind of mood is that person gonna be in? How do they operate, are they operating consistently?

Now, when we use the word consistency, I’m thinking of that in a positive way. So everything they do, there is a level on consistency. Not necessarily predictability, but a leader, a manager is demonstrating that they are dependable; that, again, they can be trusted; that their words match their actions, and you do know what to expect from that person.

You do know that you’re gonna be supported, you know that you’re gonna be trusted to do what you need to do. So, remember as a leader that when you can genuinely display consistency in everything you do, it goes hand in hand with being an authentic leader.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZES_AZo-Aw&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

Integrity is the key to Authentic Leadership

July 31, 2019 by Michelle Ray

Integrity is definitely one of my favorite words.

If you possess this quality, you are an authentic leader because people can see that you are true to your word. You shoot from the hip. You say it the way it is. You are a person who means what you say and people get that feeling from you. You’re not giving platitudes for the sake of giving platitudes. You are trustworthy. You really are a person who is a person of your word and I don’t know how many leaders I have had in my life who have possessed this quality but, when they do, it’s really easy to work for a person who possesses a high level of integrity because it’s very attractive.

It’s something that I felt very comfortable with and I know that for you as a leader, your team are gonna feel more and more comfortable with you when they can see that you are genuine and that you are consistently practicing integrity in all of your interactions. Be the authentic leader who practices integrity.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dzhH0pOwY0&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

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