Mindful and Authentic Leadership

“To act with integrity you must first know who you are, what you stand for, what you believe and what you care most about.” – Bill George

There are five dimensions that make up an authentic leader:

1. Pursuing purpose with passion.
   Without a real sense of purpose, leaders are at the mercy of their egos and narcissistic vulnerabilities.

2. Practicing solid values.
   Leaders are defined by their values, and values are personal – they cannot be determined by anyone else.

3. Leading with heart.
   Authentic leaders lead with their hearts as well as their heads.

4. Establishing enduring relationships.
   The ability to develop enduring relationships is an essential mark of authentic leaders.

5. Demonstrating self-discipline.
   Authentic leaders know competing successfully takes a consistently high level of self-discipline in order to produce results.

There are two key steps to becoming an authentic leader. First, you have to understand yourself, because the person you will always find hardest to lead is yourself.

Second, you must take responsibility for your own development. You must devote yourself to a lifetime of development in order to become a great leader.

Reference: NEELI Advanced Leadership Program (2016). Module 1: Mindful and Authentic Leadership. https://asam.matrixlms.com/student_lesson/show/45911?lesson=4&thesection=4