There are many generational issues that have to be resolved between the Baby Boomer generation of existing leaders and the Next Generation workforce that is coming onto the scene. The old positional power model of simply telling everyone what to do and they automatically follow with no desire for involvement in the process is gone.
Potentially the single greatest leadership quality new leaders are looking for from those in positions of responsibility is authenticity. They place a high value on working with people that are real and genuine compared to others who like to play mind games.
A leader must know who they are personally and what they believe are the core values for themselves and the organizations they lead. Then when the hard decisions must be made and there are many of them today, everyone on the team will trust their motives instead of questioning them.
Jack Welch placed a very high value on authenticity for his top leadership team. In his book Winning he wrote, “Leaders can’t have an iota of fakeness. They have to know themselves-so that they can be straight with the world, energize followers, and lead with the authority born of authenticity.”
There is nothing better at the end of a long day than to look back and know that all your actions were consistent with your character. No more playing games just keeping it real.
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