Have you ever met someone who you would describe as “fake” or “insincere”? Maybe you know someone who claims they are “happy to help anytime!” - and yet they vanish mysteriously in a crisis or moment of need.
We often struggle to trust those who are not authentic, and we are often attracted to those who we sense are real. This is part of what makes High-Performing Teams so powerful; each team member knows where the others stand. And that trust creates a straight and even highway on which the team can drive towards results.
What is authenticity?
Personal authenticity is about being real. Being genuine. Typically someone is being authentic when they are coming from their heart and living by their core values. Authentic people courageously face opposition in order to say and do what is right. They take the road less traveled, not to be different, but because it is aligned with what they believe to be right. As a result, their actions are consistently aligned with their words.
Sometimes people mistakenly believe that being authentic means being the same person to everyone. However, that is not true. Relating authentically means:
finding a common point between the other person and ourselves
and then interacting to foster that commonality,
ultimately building trust in a manner that is genuine.
In other words, authentic people are not trying to make themselves look good for you. In fact, you can sense that they are so authentic, they have made themselves vulnerable. No need to put on a mask or to perform for the other person. Authenticity involves no marketing, posturing, or deception whatsoever.
Because of this, when someone is being authentic, it rings true inside of you, or a big smile will come over your face as you hear them speak. You feel like you have been given an anchor. You know where they stand. You know what they are about.
In Part 2, we’ll look at why we struggle with inauthenticity. Until then, what parts of authenticity do you most want to develop?