Spending days in a hospital’s intensive care unit after a surprise heart operation was not how I expected to spend Christmas 2013! It was certainly uncomfortable being hooked up to numerous devices and monitors which recorded every aspect of my progress at what is now considered a paperless hospital. Yet I was consoled in that the many nurses, doctors and specialists studying my digital readouts had the knowledge and experience to know that everything was fine or if anything needed extra attention.
What struck me even more was the tight working relationships between these practitioners as they frequently updated each other both during and at the change of their shifts. Clearly the numbers explain a large part of the story, but capturing and recording my reactions to procedures and medications required their close, personal attention. This is what I would call truly “authentic” behavior as it is based on honest, open relationships, an understanding of the value of their respective input, and an ethical premise of “doing the right thing” above all else.
The concept of “authentic leadership” has been included in modern management science, particularly since publication of Bill George’s 2003 book “Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the secrets to creating lasting value” and his 2007 sequel “True North”. However, most of the discussion about authenticity in business has focused on the attributes required of our organizational leaders. It is assumed that, by displaying trust and openness, leaders will generate enthusiastic support from their subordinates and thereby improve individual and team performance.
This hopefully can be the case – provided the attributes of authenticity are clearly explained, accepted and adopted by all employees. To do this we must all work towards greater self-awareness of our strengths and limitations. We also need to be able to show some emotion and passion for our organization’s mission and goals – and we must be prepared to pursue measurable results ahead of our self-interest and ego.
Unfortunately the recent focus by both corporate and public sector organizations on cost reduction has done little to encourage an “authentic” business environment. There are very few examples where cost reduction and business efficiency plans are discussed in a sufficiently open and honest manner that allows employees at all levels to offer (potentially crucial) input to decisions regarding headcount/capability needs and project priorities.
In addition, the reliance on “scorecards” and sets of disconnected metrics prevalent in most organizations continues to encourage management behaviours that defend an individual unit’s performance rather than seeking more supportive actions that would be better for the health of the entire organization. What is needed is a manageable and cohesive set of metrics that can be demonstrated to collectively drive value for the organization.
Healthy organizational performance requires a combination of both “hard” (e.g. financial) metrics and “soft” (e.g. behavioural / cultural) metrics. Only when the dedicated collection and analysis of these metrics is underpinned by open and honest communication at all levels of the organization can we hope to emulate truly authentic behaviours. I am thankful these attributes of authenticity were the norm for the practitioners at my hospital. My hope is to encourage authenticity in all of our business dealings.
Let me know how well you think your organization is going with authenticity.
