The authenticity of you : know yourself and others

In ground breaking research by George (The Author of: Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value), Sims, McLean and Mayer (2007) what we thought we knew about leadership was challenged. The notion of authenticity was introduced as a key determinant of leader ship success.

Authentic leaders (they wrote in a HBR artcicle in 2007) are ones that demonstrate demonstrate passion, are consistent especially with their values and their interactions and are not afraid to wear their heart on their sleeve.

Importantly they "establish long-term, meaningful relationships and have the self-discipline to get results. They know who they are." (George et al, 2007).

Some of the key points of this 2007 article were:

leadership emerged from the individuals life stories often reframed so they understood who they were at their core. In doing so, they learned that being authentic made them more effective.
What the authors point out is that "critically many leaders reported that their motivation came from a difficult experience in their lives and rather than seeing themselves as victims, though, authentic leaders used these formative experiences to give meaning to their lives. They reframed these events to rise above their challenges and to discover their passion to lead" (George et al, 2007).

But this awareness and discovery can not take place without and individual having the courage and honesty to open up and examine their experiences. As they do so, it is suggested that leaders become more humane and willing to be vulnerable.

It is only by doing this type of self analysis to become self aware that leaders can develop and express the authenticity that is required to truly lead. Connection with people : really connecting with people is key as is understanding how in any given situation another person may be feeling. To that end George et al, write that these authentic leaders are constantly aware of the importance of staying grounded. They spend time with their families and close friends. They participate in physical activity and refesh and replenish their bodies and encourage others to do so. And further they create environments where a culture of acceptance, or flexibility of telling hard truths, of honesty and support are all accepted norms. All of this is essential to their effectiveness as leaders, enabling them to sustain their authenticity.

So what's your story? How self aware are you? How much have you examined your values? Over and above all of this how connected are you to the people that you lead.....do they see you as authentic?

So if you've read this far....thank you. I wanted to share with you part of my story. The story that, as a child, already influenced the construction of my personal identity and in time was to shape who I was and am now as an individual (Macionis & Plummer 2012, p. 215). What happened was a traumatic event in my childhood that involved sexual abuse.

Thirty-five years later, I am: a husband, a father, a driven and competitive individual,motivated by; making a difference in my career and social life, but also by; a fear of failure and a constant drive for being the best I can be. That drive has delivered a comfortable existence, a residence in the leafy east towards the Yarra Valley, and an office, in the financial hub of Melbourne. My career has provided the financial freedom to embark on further education, adding to an university degree and postgraduate qualifications in financial services. As I reflect now, it seems that I have defied, through design, research that points to lower incomes for male survivors of CSA and a career choice of a ‘female’ occupation (Robst & VanGilder, 2011, p. 350) and fought to join Weber’s concept of ‘party’ to effect power over my social outcomes, seeking class and status to reach my goals (Back et al, 2012, p. 51).

Similar to studies of relationships for male CSA survivors, I found myself, as a child, with very few dependable connections with adults (Kia-Keating et al 2010, p. 679). My relationships ran a course where they were with someone who offered emotional availability and care or where they themselves needed my help. I was drawn to women who were available or had experienced trauma.


Herbert Mead argued that people take on identities that we base on our participation in networks of social relationships and related roles (Merolla et al, 2012, p. 149). How we determine our sense of self is based therefore on social experience. The personalities I encountered allow me today to appreciate another persons point of view. Their problems (that I often sought out), from eating disorders, mental health issues, CSA and rape survivors, provided me with a sense of understanding of what real challenges and adversity are. Perspective was a gift that these people gave to me.

It is that appreciation of the experience of others that has allowed me to enjoy my work role as it is today. Fundamentally my career has been built around understanding peoples motivations and drivers and why they make the decisions that they do. My role involves me coaching and mentoring a sales team in financial services and I am called upon to deliver presentations about positive customer experiences and how to create them.

Financial services, however, in my experience, remains a male dominated industry and presents a boys club environment where the way to get ahead (sometimes) is by managing upwards. But rather than become part of this culture I have steadfastly resisted, seeking out the few female leaders in the industry and working with them. When I found myself in a male dominated organisation I refused to play the political games that were required for career enhancement instead striving for the recognition of personal endeavour. That rebellion against the social stability of those workplaces was in reality a protest against authority figures, particularly male ones. Weber’s assessment of authority and power is incredibly relevant.


In the workplace I do not automatically accept the traditional authority of a hierarchy of managers. Weber’s rational-legal authority and the political life of the society of a workplace (Macionis &Plummer 2010, p. 538) may be the backbone of organisations, but for me they represented the potential for the abuse of power. My association with experiencing CSA from a patriarchal figure saw me in later life avoid engaging in the politics of workplaces. Rather I was drawn to leaders who exhibited outstanding qualities that Weber described as charismatic authority,less attributed to social organisation and more associated with an individuals personality (Macionis & Plummer 2010, p. 538). Throughout my working life I have found those qualities more often in women and tried to lead others in that manner, setting an example of work ethic and relying less on the authority of a position and more on the genuineness of my actions.

For years I struggled with the emotional journey of healing. In Chris Gardner’s book, ‘Start Where You Are’, Chris, a victim himself of childhood abuse, passes the reader some advice:

“…to anyone in real crisis …find a place of calmness and stillness …where you can gain some perspective. Only with a reasoned outlook can you find the solutions and empowerment that are already there” (Gardner 2010, p. 58).

When I reflect on the experiences that make me who I am, I think of Foucault who argued that we are the product of discourses without which there is prior no essential self (Back et al, 2012, p. 95). The social experiences of my life, have developed the characteristics of what makes me, me (Macionis & Plummer 2012, p. 208). I am grateful for where I am in life, for the people I have met and the experiences I have had. It seems incredulous that I could ever look at my CSA experience that way. But finally I can say “Peace! Be Still” (Gardner 2010, p. 61)and understand in that moment the rich perspective my life experience has given me.

The story of your life makes you who you are. If you aspire to lead with authenticity, explore your story, decide what you can share, articulate your values and learn about others. Only then can you lead.

References

Back, Les; Bennett, Andy; Edles, Laura Desfor; Gibson, Margaret; Inglis, David; Jacobs, Ron; Woodward, Ian 2012, Cultural Sociology : An Introduction, e-book, accessed 15 November 2013, .


Gardner, Chris 2010, Start Where You Are ; Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to WhereYou Want to Be, Amistad, New York.

George, Bill, Sims, Peter, McLean, Andrew N and Mayer, D 2007, Discovering Your Authentic Leadership, HBR, Feb 2007 Edition,


Kia-Keating, Maryam, Sorsoli, Lynn and Grossman, Frances, K. 2010, ‘Relational Challenges and Recovery Processes in Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 666-683.


Macionis, John, J. and Plummer, Ken 2012, Sociology: A Global Introduction, 5th ed., Pearson, Prentice Hall, New York.

Merolla, David, M., Serpe, Richard, T., Stryker, Sheldon and Schultz, P. Wesley 2012, ‘Structural Precursors to Identity Processes: The Role of Proximate Social Structures’, Social Psychology Quarterly, vol. 75, no. 2, pp. 149-172.


Robst, John and VanGilder, Jennifer 2011, ‘The role of childhood sexual victimisation in the occupational choice of adults’, Applied Economics, vol. 43, pp. 341-354.

Is your team culture blocking or boosting your progress?

According to Jim Clemmer "Research consistently shows that 70% of efforts to improve customer service, quality, safety, productivity, innovation, employee engagement, restructure, or introduce new technologies fail. Leadership and organization culture are THE critical X factors. "Soft" leadership and culture boosts or BLOCKS strategy, structure, and change initiatives."

So where do you fit in that spectrum? Is the "how we do things here" culture in your business healthy? How do you know?

You can't measure your culture by the results that are achieved.

High performing teams don't necessarily have a culture that produces a happy workplace.

Experience of PCE members has been in boiler room cultures, sales at all costs and unsustainable work practices and environments : work hard play hard the doctrine that may deliver numerical success but at what cost?

Auditing your team culture can be confronting. Resistance to behavioural change or even simply questioning behaviour can be difficult to start but if the focus for longevity and sustaining peak performance and simultaneously delivering quality consistent WOW customers experiences, financial rewards and success and a happy, engaged, motivated workplace : then a culture audit and culture change is a necessity.

The steps involved:

1) analyse how the team communicates : is it effective, is everyone on the same page, included,

2) what expectations are set for team members : written and unspoken : what behaviours are valued and rewarded

3) what political structures have evolved in the team : where is the power base

4) what practices and processes are the most successful in the team for delivering results : if you documented that process would you be proud of it

5) are the behaviours exhibited in the team ones you want to replicate, model, change

6) do team members have balance in all areas of their lives : are they living their lives or paying a price

7) is team think dominated by a few players : do we have a process that delivers parallel thinking after considering all the issues at hand

This can be a confronting and rewarding process. It requires team members to be led by high EQ leaders.

Developing EQ is possible but requires committment and a desire to assess and progress.

The Power Of Great Stories #afaau AFA 2012

The AFA conference of 2012 wrapped up last night with all the glitter of a diamond encrusted satellite and the suspense and thrills of a car chase reminiscent of Diamonds Are Forever and Quantam of Solace as the James Bond theme added to the 10th anniversary of a celebration of quality advice and community.

The conference was at its core a celebration of an industry that often maligned by the media has as its essence the best interests of Australians always at the forefront of its mind.

There was not a session where the benefits for the client was not considered. There was not a session where peers did not share ideas, where stories were told.

It was in fact a celebration of great client stories.

This was embodied by the stories of the 6 finalists. Olivia Maragna, Jenny Brown, Michelle Tate-Lovery, David Clark, Mark Rando, Dennis Jones....take another collective bow.

Olivia : an inspiring leader, pro-bono work, support of orphanages and active with her peers

Jenny: an education junkie, a communicator and educator herself, a mentor and connector

Michelle: an educator and implementer and passionate advocate for the industry

David: the IT genius with the creation of a client engagement process, active in community and charity work

Mark: a mentor, advocate, presenter and fund raiser

Dennis: a process driven client engagement guru, demystifying the financial planning process

What enables these leading advisers to engage a clients whole person planning is that these advisers are themselves examples of whole person development. Self aware, charismatic, empathetic and highly emotionally intelligent these advisers embody the characteristics of leaders : true leaders who are leaders not because they have had created that mantle for themselves but they are leaders because people want to follow them.

Further they have at their disposal and they tell with candour, honesty, belief and conviction their own stories.

As a client, as a staff member, as industry peers as businesses you can't help but reciprocate.

May we look to these leaders and develop our stories and tell them with the passion that these individuals embody. If we do that, then this industry has a bright future and what comes with that is a better Australia : one of rich community ideals and values and where people take an active role in living well and looking after their families through the guidance offered by the value of financial advice.

Creative Sales Engagement Through Disciplined Process

Is it possible to have a disciplined sales methodology and process and at the same time provide an environment of innovation and creativity.

At PCE we think the two go hand in hand.

By providing the boundaries and automation of process staff are empowered by understanding how the core of their required KPI's can be built into daily, weekly and monthly process - some of which can be automated, the balance of which becomes habit.

From there staff, you and your sales professionals, have the freedom, flexibility, well defined boundaries, empowerment and most importantly the time to be innovative.

So how do you create a process that leads to freedom and flexibility?

At PCE we believe it's all about communication and transparency and leadership by example.

A mechanism to communicate with clarity and transparency is a good old fashioned communication board.

Now let's get this straight - having worked in the boiler room environments of high performance and cut throat sales - we are not talking about a leader board that is fear driven.

Rather we are talking about a pulse board. A snapshot of the mood of your office, of the development plans for individuals. Yes it's also about results and activity that people have achieved and have committed to. This is an important component but it is also about what you as a leader of your sales team have delivered in removing hurdles for outperformance and what incremental improvements have been made in the previous week for example.

It's a mechanism for communicating success and for looking at what conversations and techniques the team will try in the next period (say for example over the next fortnight) in their sales conversations.

So very quickly this type of communication becomes not only a performance tracker but a performance monitor and a guide and mechanism to share ideas.

Most importantly having leaped over hurdles it allows for time out for ideas development. By allocating 20% of sales team time for them to innovate - after of course this type of board has been in operation for a period that you are comfortable that the right behaviours have been adopted - you give through a process the right and autonomy to be creative.

Creativity through disciplined process.

Leading the client relationship stakes

Watching Luke Nolan ease Black Caviar up and almost get pipped at the post got us thinking at PCE whether no matter how hard you've gone early is it right to ease up before the line in the interests of taking care of the workhorse(s) under you?

We think yes, a thousand times YES.

To become a business of choice that your clients seek out relies on your ability to develop your capabilities to transform the lives and perhaps the businesses of your clients.

To do that you need to have an unwaivering focus on relationships and continuous improvement schedules for yourself and the people in your team.

The differentiatior in business success is relationships.

Your ability to attract, engage and retain the right relationships is the ticket to the races where you compete to practically apply your product knowledge and strategy skills in a meaningful way articulating how these skills relate to a clients world NOT how they show relate to yours.

This way to play allows your business to be incredibly co-herent and in so doing positions you and your people for success. You are clear in your message about how you add value to your clients and your staff understand exactly how your business does that.

Whatever you decide your way to play is then requires you to develop the capabilities that deliver those promises.

The skills you build are paramount but nothing beats attitude, energy and follow up.

To foster an environment that thrives with the passion of this approach you need to foster story telling and sharing at every possibility with your team. These stories become part of your culture and become the "WHY" we do the things we do.

Further looking to develop your teams and individuals within the team so they can be subject matter experts creates the daily positive momentum that drives them towards that finish line in the relationship stakes.

But you can do none of this without process:

- a system for balancing and harnessing the energy of your team and for replenishment
- accountability for activity
- transparency in team actions including the leader
- a daily assessment of team dynamics
- visual reminders of the promises made by all team members
- the fostering of a high EI culture where mood assessment is an individual and team doctrine
- and a focus on the 1 percenters - all the simple things that you'd like to do for clients but never get the time........these are the differences between winning and losing so build a process and automate these small wins and watch the dramatically positive effect on staff moral and client WOW factor

So is is right to ease up before the finish line in one race to make sure that your team and you can sustain repeated excellence over time.

The way to do this is via individual development and the accentuation of positive re-inforcement and extrinsic motivation.

Critically it's about working within peoples daily and weekly rythyms and their lifestyle outside of work.

It is no surprise that the 5 BRW best places to work offered flexibilty and autonomy BUT matched with clear goals, clear reward systems and intermittent random acknowledgement to drive the positive emotions of staff towards the work itself and the clear defined goal oriented outcomes.