Authentic and Purposeful Leadership

by Carol Giannantonio

The principles of authenticity and purpose are key elements in personal growth and leadership development.

According to Kevin Cashman, author of the "Awakening the Leader Within" leadership is a sacred calling to make a life-enriching difference. In his book Awakening the Leader Within, he tells the story of a CEO named Bensen Quinn (a character based on hundreds of real-life CEOs), who faces a deluge of personal, professional, and ethical crises.

As Quinn confronts these defining moments, we learn lessons about authentic and purposeful leadership.Like many people today, Quinn is shocked to find he can't answer some of life's biggest questions: Does my life have meaning? Am I making a difference? Is this the life I want to live? Sound familiar?

Growing as a person, he grows as a leader, becoming more authentic, more purposeful, more determined to add value to his company and community and to create a meaningful legacy. Leadership Coaching can help you reach this goal!

His story illustrates the great potential that "ordinary" men and women have, to go beyond what is, beyond "this is how we always do things," to create entirely new possibilities.

READY TO GET STARTED?

My Six Steps for Growth Coaching Program- provides an interactive coaching process that centers on six basic principles - six steps to grow and lead as a whole person:

Step 1: Authenticity. From the coaching I have done, authenticity appears to be, more than anything, an alignment, a congruence of the inner and outer person. More often than not, the authentic person's beliefs, values, principles and behavior tend to line up. Commonly referred to as "walking your talk," it is also "being your talk" at a very deep level. You will learn and embrace the life-long process of unfolding your strengths and acknowledging your vulnerabilities as a leader.

Step 2: Purpose. Purpose is the voice of authentic leadership. When a leader's voice lacks its intended power and impact, it's often a symptom of disconnection from personal purpose. When a leader's voice is strong, it often represents a personal connection to the leader's unique life experience and can be tangibly felt by all. For our voice to be strong, the music in our heart must be clearly heard. You will identify your purpose- know what you stand for as a leader, remind yourself of what is important to you, based on the lessons your life experiences have taught you.

Step 3: Essence. Essence is the soul of leadership; it is spirit expressing itself through the leader. Essence is the transformational force in our lives, whereas ego is the coping force. Because essence is within us, we can attune our lives to its silent power and gain its support for all that we do. Ego, on the other hand, is the sense of limited individuality. It is the coping mechanism that seeks security and tries to grab what it can of life's fleeting pleasures and treasures. We all operate from both ego and essence. At times we are overdeveloped in our identification with ego and under- developed in our identification with essence - our connection to the whole of life. You will learn to recognize which mode you are in at any point in time, and to shift to essence more. Notice when ego and the qualities of essence are being manifest in your life and leadership.

Step 4: Relationship. Connection is the glue of leadership, bonding parts and revealing wholeness. Too often, when we think of the word connection, we think of being connected with something - outside of ourselves. Outer connection rests on inner connection. Relationships begin with our self and extend outward to others. It rests upon the inner self-relationship work that we do in achieving essence, purpose, and authenticity. All leadership is in relationship; learn to leverage the power of connection and enhance your value creation.

Step 5: Value Creation. This step is reached through enlightened, sustainable leadership. Value creation goes beyond getting financial results. Financial results are not enough; they are not what the magic of leadership is all about. Financial results are the fuel of organizations. Learn how to be sustainable. Learn how to make your financial results serve shareholders, employees, customers, and environmental needs.

New leaders need to create more balanced measures to achieve financial results while serving the needs of self, others, and the whole. Finding creative, life-enriching ways to serve these constituencies is the challenge for authentic leaders today Good leaders get results; great leaders get sustainable results by serving the interests of multiple constituencies.

Step 6: Coaching. Helping to foster the growth of those around us gives sustainability to our leadership and perpetuates ongoing value creation. Coaching is the art of drawing forth potential onto the canvas of high performance. It's the gentle yet firm hand of leadership guiding the way like a caring friend, helping the person set a more positive course. The coach's task is not to pontificate, not to take a stand, not even to teach. Coaching helps you open up to your own gifts, and your own inner guidance, so you can determine the best possible direction, bring forth their greatest abilities, and make their best contribution.


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