How Authentic Leadership Leads to Greater Success
Posted on November 25, 2015 by Jason Hoover, One of Thousands of Entrepreneurship Coaches on Noomii.
The world is full of managers and has a great portion of leaders. What it's lacking in needing are authentic leaders. Are you one of them?
Back in my early twenties when I was trying to figure out life (still am today), I took a swing at selling cars for a large dealership. This was my very first sales job and I was clueless. However, that didn’t stop me from eventually becoming the top sales representative one month just a few months into this new job.
I still remember my very first day there. I was standing by a nice pearl white Lexus LS400 and thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?!” As my anxiety started to build, my first customer pulled onto the lot.
TRUST LEADS TO SALES
Now, I didn’t make the sale on my first try but I did learn that it was not as hard as I made it out to be. Don’t get me wrong. Being in sales is not an easy career. But I learned that it was something I could do by simply being me. By being authentic.
Unfortunately car sales representatives have gotten a bad rep of being dishonest. Though not all are, this stigma helped me sell more cars. Why? Because I was honest and my customers knew they could trust me.
AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
This works much in the same way as with building and leading teams. For people to buy into your vision, they first need to trust your leadership. They have to know you are being honest and real with them. For people to follow you on a journey, you must be an authentic leader.
WHAT IS AN AUTHENTIC LEADER?
Always be Honest – Nothing will stop a follower from following quicker than finding out their leader is not trustworthy. Be honest with them. Even when it’s hard.
Care for Your Team – John C. Maxwell says it best, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Have Full Self-Awareness – Know who you are and who you are not. When you are secure in your abilities, you will have confidence in your steps. And people follow those that are confident of their journey.
Be Completely Committed – The vision is not just for your benefit. You and your team are committed to reaching the same goal. Be committed to the journey and to your team.
AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP LEADS TO SUCCESS
I was not the best car salesman at the dealership. I only reached the top spot twice for that whole year. However, because I was authentic with my customers, I constantly made the top 5 every month my first year. For me at that time in life, it was a major success.
Being authentic will lead you to greater success in life. No matter if you are in sales or leading a team. When people have trust in you and believe in you, they will begin to work and journey with you.
