In his best-selling book, H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle, author Brad Lomenick says, “People would rather follow a leader who is always real versus a leader who is always right. Don’t try to be a perfect leader; just work on being an authentic one.” Authenticity is an influence builder.

Stop Killing Your Influences – Being Real Versus Being Right (johnmaxwell.com)

Steps to Becoming More Authentic

The first step in becoming more real is to understand your strengths and weaknesses. The more aware you are of where you are strong and where you are not, the more authentic you will come across to others.  Another characteristic of authentic people is they share openly about their struggles, challenges, and setbacks. They are vulnerable around the people on their team. This vulnerability displays courage and promotes an empathetic communication style that pulls people toward you, not pushing them away.

Living Your Values

Authentic people are clear on their personal values and live them out every day. Your values drive your behavior. If you value honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, etc., you are more likely to put forth the real you, not the perfect you.