Stuart Haden (Excerpt from Can you be coached to authentic greatness?)

As we increasingly place greater emphasis on personal values many people choose to develop as authentic leaders. An authentic leader is aware of their identity and skilfully exhibits these values in the workplace…

If you want to develop authenticity with the support and challenge of a coach then consider the following Seven Secrets of Authenticity:

• IDENTITY – aligning yourself. In order to be authentic we have to raise our self-awareness and understand who we really are. We need to be mindful that the external environment is important, but ensure we also focus on our inner world.

• INNER – skillfully expressing yourself. It is one thing recognising our inner value and the external influences, but a greater appreciation of authenticity comes when we skillfully apply these values.

• INSIGHT – taking a stand. Reflecting on the values that are important to you is the foundation of authentic practice. Remembering when you first recognised these values begs us to ask the question– are you taking a stand for these values now?

• INSPIRATION – mapping passion and outcomes. If we are authentic then often we love what we do. To make sure we are precise in the choices we make I’d encourage you to describe your passions and assign outcomes to these.

• IMPORTANCE – doing & not doing. Simply put, authentic people know what makes them tick. They recognize the ‘positive’ (what to do) and the ‘negative’ (what not to do). This makes them clear about what they want to be free to do and free from doing.

• IMAGINE – questioning direction and resistance. Ask yourself questions that move away from facts and cliché. If you need direction in your life ask yourself: Who am I being? If you face resistance ask yourself: How do I know (what I know)?

• IMPACT – hacking authenticity. Integrate authentic practice into your everyday life. Create rituals and habits that might take minutes, occur daily or assigned over the course of a week.

If we are coachable and working towards authentic principles then we begin to see what is possible. We give ourselves permission to align with our values. We engage with questions and observations that shift our perception so that we can skilfully act on our true nature. By entering into dialogue with our coach and planning for action we perform time and time again with authentic impact.

Stuart Haden is a facilitator, coach, consultant, author and speaker specializing in Authentic Leadership and founder of Storm Beach. @StormBeach

For further reading on ‘coachability’ see: www.stormbeach.co.uk.

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