Posts Tagged ‘authentic’

Inauthentic

Monday, January 11th, 2016

Great businesses are composed of ordinary people who decide to come together to be GREAT. This happens best if we take a moment to define things that keep us from being our higher selves. And one of the biggest is inauthenticity—living and acting contrary to our own stated values and the team values we’ve agreed to.

You see it in many forms. Jim goes home each day and complains about his boss, but never goes to his boss and asks in a professional way for what he needs.

Jennifer doesn’t tell the boss she stopped doing some monthly report because she didn’t think he’d notice.

Tom comes late to work each Tuesday because he knows his boss is out on Tuesdays and probably won’t find out.

Inauthenticity is made up of those slips of integrity that people rationalize because “everybody does it.” Soon it permeates the workplace and kills the souls of the people who do it, not to mention those who are around it.

When someone in a workplace decides to begin living and working authentically, no matter what, it becomes contagious. It can be the beginning of a genuine transformation that sweeps through the culture of a company. I’ve seen it happen, over and over and over.

Make the choice today to become the great contributor you know you can be by putting inauthentic behaviors behind you once and for all.

The Authentic Commitment

Monday, November 30th, 2015

Did you ever make a commitment, only to get that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach because you know you can’t quite see this one through?

Sure you have. We all have. The question is what to do next.

Too many people let the clock tick away until the deadline arrives, and THEN announce that they won’t be able to deliver after all. When you express your frustration at the lack of delivery, they often look surprised—“Hey, I said I was sorry!”

That dog just don’t hunt. It’s inauthentic, and it damages trust.

If this describes you, here’s the new plan: When you get that sinking feeling, listen to it. Step up immediately and say, “You know what, I might have answered too quickly. I have six other deadlines for today and this may not be realistic. Is tomorrow morning at 10:00 acceptable? If not, I’ll need to renegotiate some of my other commitments so I don’t let others down.”

When you make an authentic commitment, there’s an expansive, open feeling, because you know you can deliver on the promise you’ve made. Paying attention to the feeling that comes with every commitment you make is the key to building trust. And trust is the key to success.

Authentic communication

Monday, June 2nd, 2014

If you’re like me, you’ve known some people who you’d trust with your very life. And if you’re like me, you know others who you wouldn’t trust to put the non-dairy creamer in your coffee. There are probably a million reasons a person goes one direction or another. But the reasons matter less than the outcomes.

All you can do is watch for clues about who’s who, and do everything in your power to be the trusted one for other people by using nothing but authentic communication.

In his bestselling book The Speed of Trust, Stephen Covey calls trust “the new currency in the new global economy.” Nothing builds trust more than authentic communication, and nothing breaks trust quicker than inauthentic communication—especially with your boss.

Sweet-talking to someone’s face and badmouthing behind their backs—that’s inauthentic. Lying, spinning, posturing, manipulating. Hidden agendas. Saying one thing and meaning another. These are behaviors that erode trust.

Every time you talk around your boss or don’t do what you said you’d do, that trust is eroded further until there’s nothing left to build a relationship on.

Instead, own your intention to communicate authentically. Be transparent. Say what you mean. Follow through on your commitments. And when you do, you’ll find that others are more likely to communicate authentically with you. Everybody wins.