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Are you for real? A leader’s guide to being authentic

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ESSENTIALS FOR LEADERS AND THOSE THEY LEAD

Brought to you by Liz Hilton Segel, chief client officer and managing partner, global industry practices, & Homayoun Hatami, managing partner, global client capabilities

Many of today’s leaders will at some point need to consider the growing demands for authenticity in the workplace. In particular, younger employees expect authenticity in the brands they buy, the people with whom they interact, and the organizations for which they work, our research shows. But authenticity can be a tricky concept to define. Psychologists view it as matching one’s actions with one’s true self, but in practice, the concept varies across different contexts: the attributes of authenticity in a company’s brand may not be the same as those in a work of art, for example. And for business leaders, bringing their authentic selves to work may not always be a good idea. Here are some dos and don’ts when it comes to authenticity.

AN IDEA

Give them the truth

For younger consumers, “the main spur to consumption is the search for truth, in both a personal and a communal form,” according to McKinsey chief marketing officer and senior partner Tracy Francis and partner Fernanda Hoefel. “A company’s actions must match its ideals, and those ideals must permeate the entire stakeholder system.” Leaders face great pressure to be authentic in their messaging to customers and in the products and services they deliver while also demonstrating authenticity to their employees by building a collaborative and transparent culture that highly values trust. The pandemic brought home the importance of showing vulnerability and empathy in leading through a crisis, and it is critical for leaders to continue building on those qualities: “Authenticity is paramount, lest the organization pick up on the dissonance between leaders’ words and their feelings and tune out,” note McKinsey senior partner Gemma D’Auria and colleagues.

A BIG NUMBER

That’s the number of tips that researchers at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management offer for becoming an authentic leader. An important one is to not focus on shareholder value alone, says management professor Brooke Vuckovic. “Is recognition important? Is having a fun-loving culture important? The clearer you are about what motivates you and those around you, the more authentic and effective you will be as a leader.” But Vokovic also stresses the importance of not sharing too much: “Being an authentic leader doesn’t mean revealing inappropriate personal details, talking about yourself incessantly, or telling people how you feel all the time.”

A SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

Photo of Harvard Business School professor and former Medtronic CEO Bill George

“I’m pleased to see corporations around the world are shifting to authentic leaders and moving away from the power-based command-and-control-type leaders,” says Harvard Business School professor and former Medtronic CEO Bill George in this discussion with McKinsey senior partner Carolyn Dewar . In the revised edition of his classic book, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, which focuses on emerging leaders, George describes leadership styles appropriate for younger generations, such as adopting a coaching rather than a director model, organizing around a “sweet spot” that comprises a group of strengths, and aligning on purpose and values. “You may also have to change yourself,” he advises. “Many people want everyone else to change, but they also have to adapt. With all the crises we have, one of the keys to being an authentic leader is being adaptable to constant change.”

A QUOTE

‘‘I certainly had no idea that being your authentic self could get you as rich as I have become. If I’d known that, I’d have tried it a lot earlier.’’

Media personality Oprah Winfrey is said to have made that remark in jest, but “for most people, ‘be yourself’ is actually terrible advice,” says psychologist and author Adam Grant. “Nobody wants to see your true self. We all have thoughts and feelings that we believe are fundamental to our lives but that are better left unspoken.” Excessive candor isn’t necessarily a desirable trait ; research shows that a full-disclosure, nonconformist style of management can cost leaders credibility and trust. Rather, focus on developing sincerity, suggests Grant, channeling the literary critic Lionel Trilling. “Pay attention to how we present ourselves to others,” says Grant, “and then strive to be the people we claim to be.”

FAKING IT

Should you berate your employees because you’re short-tempered by nature? Should you scoff at a client’s presentation because you think it’s asinine? If being authentic means insulting colleagues or clients, perhaps it’s best not to be , argues author Michael Schrage in this Harvard Business Review article. And there are times when authenticity can be downright harmful—for example, if executives reveal confidential company information. As the authors of this McKinsey article put it, “Smart leaders need to know when to share and when to keep things back.”

Lead authentically.

— Edited by Rama Ramaswami, senior editor, New York

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by "McKinsey Leading Off" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 03:22 - 17 Apr 2023

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