Hi everyone! I'm back with another Power Pod - a term coined by my friend and mentor, Tam Braun. Thank you Tam, I love it!! So today, we're discussing authenticity and how that translates into creativity and entrepreneurship.
I always love seeing what google thinks about these big, and sometimes vague terms we often use so loosely:
Being authentic means coming from a real place within. It is when our actions and words are in line with our beliefs and values. It is being ourselves, not an imitation of what we think we should be or have been told we should be. There is no "should" in authentic. But wait a minute. So authentic doesn't translate to good, morally right and all the happy shiny people??
The short answer is no. Authentic just means you are being true to yourself. So that could mean you are showing up - flaws & all; anxieties in tow and all your vulnerability gaping at the sides... So basically, it sounds like being authentic can be revealing but also very very freeing at the same time. An here's the real reason I'm talking to you about authenticity at all: it can also be extremely valuable for your business.
Most leading companies globally are focusing on developing "authentic leaders" within their ranks. Executive courses at Harvard Business School in authentic leadership development are oversubscribed and expanding every year. As the Harvard Business Review declared in January 2015 already, "Authenticity has emerged as the gold standard for leadership."
The essence of authentic leadership is emotional intelligence, or EQ. People with high IQs and low EQs can hardly be called authentic leaders. In contrast to IQ, which basically does not change in one's adult lifetime, EQ can be developed. The first and most important step on this journey is gaining self-awareness.
Authentic people are said to be deep thinkers who generate thought power from within, and transpose it outward to add value to the lives of others. So if I just very quickly and basically summarise this, here we see it starts with: intention (the reason why you're doing it) > deep thought (putting it through some filters and processes) > mindful action (how it will affect others) = (inward thought, outward focus)
So keeping all of this is mind, If we start with HOW to be authentic, we'll have to explore what authenticity means for small businesses and the people behind the brands:
•It means showing up for your business in a consistent way
•Showing the messy; behind the scenes; real bits of your business and your life mixed in here and there - this makes you or your brand relatable
•Being responsive to your audience or community, answering their questions and always striving to add value
•Being real and honest, as in being able to apologise when things go wrong or make things right when mistakes creep in
So here, authenticity for a business would mean staying true to the brand and it's values to benefit the brand and business as a whole, but always ending in good and honest service to the customer.
Now, let's take a look at WHY being authentic is important for you or your brand:
(I'm going to list them slowly, so feel free to pause if you want to write something down):
1- It elevates your business above the competition
2- It builds your identity and image into something influential
3- It gives substance to your business, services and products
4- It enables people to relate to your business (as mentioned before)
5- It helps people understand how what you offer is of benefit to them
6- It tells people that what you offer is of high quality
7- It marks you out as a reliable, t...
