Being an emotional leader is great - but only when it is authentic
I was able to recently be part of a work meeting and hear a fantastic public speaker give a speech about vision for businesses and what in their opinion great leadership is all about. We all have those leadership role models that we look up to and that inspire us to. Leadership for me is all about values, what leaders stand for as well as how we and others can hold them accountable for their actions. Next to the hardcore performance of the business , it is however also of value when leaders manage to show their human side - to show emotions and to be approachable. The one key here is however to do so in an authentic way rather than act .
No leader should act out emotions as it costs them authenticity and others believing in them and looking up to them. Emotions can be great in leadership as it shows empathy and really lets us connect to a d buy into our leadership teams. However, the minute emotions and personal feelings are used to get somewhere or to strengthen a message we want to bring across, we leave the path of authenticity.
As an example, as some of you know, I was hit hard by destiny a few years ago. Now that is a very personal story. If I were to use this in a conversation just to show my human side that would be very authentic and people would see me as a human being rather than my life being always perfect. However, if in a large conference, where I would be talking to a large crowd of people I would use this story to convey a message, almost like a marketing tag, it would not seem authentic and that personal anymore. Especially, when some of the people in the room had seen me use this story before to get somewhere.
This is a classic example where something meant to show the emotional side of leadership can go wrong, just because people more and more have the impression of the lack of authenticity.
Being authentic is therefore key - even more important than being an emotional leader that shows a human side . Only do this if it is really you if not , fine then it is not your leadership style - but don’t try to act and be someone you are not .
Being emotional and showing people your human side as a leader is great and important to be approachable and get buy in. However, authenticity always comes first. Remember that whenever you act as a leader. Acting can do more harm than good and you are just fine the way you are - so work with the leadership gifts and style you have.
