MSLD 511 Module - Inner Work for Authentic Leadership

I enjoyed hearing what Bill George had to say about authentic leadership and some of the developmental processes that can help us become more authentic. Bill George starts with “inner work involves having real-world experience”, for myself I have found that the real world experiences that have raised the most self awareness and self learning have been those that I have been challenged (George, 2012). Real life situations where I do not feel completely comfortable, the more discomfort I experience the more I am aware of my own thought process and current methods I implement to overcome something. I would go as far as saying that real world experiences consist of not only time, or years as a leader, but really experiences and how many instances you challenged yourself.

The next point made by Bill George was to “process that experience through some type of reflection”, for me this reflection is done through confiding in family members, my father for example has years and years of experience that I tap into fairly frequently. This method of sharing my experiences and processing them with my dad is often effective because while he listens he also lends me a different perspective from someone with far more experience then myself. As our text states, authentic leadership is not a trait, it is something that can be worked towards over time, so being able to rely on my father, being someone who has worked on being an authentic leader over time is something that is extremely beneficial (Northouse, 2016).

The last point by Bill George was to seek honest feedback from others (George, 2012). Feedback can be sought out at an individual and grassroots level, like simply asking peers, though this could be skewed because honest feedback is difficult to elicit.  Another way to gain honest feedback is through your organization’s developmental processes.  For example, I am currently in an early career leadership development program, being a part of this program I am provided extra developmental attention because I gain feedback from my normal management, as well as the program coordinators and executive leadership.  I gain this feedback through bi-weekly meetings with my manager, monthly meetings with my program coordinator, as well as monthly meetings with vice president. These meetings provide me with honest feedback with the main goal of delivering feedback that I can take and work off of to try to enhance my performance. These practices have most certainly affected my leadership style and the type of business professional I am, and much of these priorities made by Bill George are actually emphasized in the current leadership development programs I am in with my organization.

Reference

George, B. (2012, November 01). Retrieved February 24, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=41&v=SmPu2LQ84ts

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice 7th ed. Los Angeles, CA:
     Sage Publishing