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b'I once saw a reporter stop a man on the street and ask him what he thought about apathy and indifference. He responded with, \\u201cI don\\u2019t know and I don\\u2019t care!"\\n\\nA friend once told me, humorously, that I should be sincere whether or not I meant it. Funny, but not funny. I know people who might have this as an internal script. They tell me one thing and proceed to do another one. It\\u2019s almost like they give me an answer to \\u201cplease\\u201d me and do what they were planning to do before.\\n\\nIn my list of Transformational Leadership traits, the transformational leader:\\n\\nClearly Articulates Vision And Goals\\nDefines Things Others Can Do\\nBuilds Leaders Within Teams\\nEffectively Delegates\\nEncourages Boldness\\nGives Information And Support\\nAffirms And Celebrates Competence\\nRespects The Individual\\nAvoids Micromanaging\\nModels What They Preach\\nAttribute #10, even though last, is crucial. The leader is\\xa0primarily the influencer. It\\u2019s critical that the leader model behaviors and\\xa0functions that will\\xa0influence others in the system. Leadership is a system and the leader sets the standard.\\n\\nNot only is it critical the the leader model integrity and ethics, it\\u2019s critical to be authentic.\\xa0All too often, leaders behave in ways not consistent with their inner values and not in line with their personality. Authenticity inspires authenticity.\\n\\nWhen planning to go public with Dollar General, Cal Turner, Jr., went to his leadership team and asked\\xa0them to step in in areas that were not in his skill set. He claimed the vision and asked the team to provide the skills needed to achieve that vision. He was authentic in sharing that he had inherited his job as President and Board Chairman, and didn\\u2019t get it because of a unique skill set. His transparency allowed others to fill in the gaps and work together in achieving the vision that Cal had\\xa0articulated.\\n\\nAfter sharing that story with me, Cal told me that he viewed leadership as defining personal gaps and allowing others to fill those gaps. His authentic approach to leadership opened up opportunities for others to engage.\\n\\nSome leaders would rather pretend that they knew all the answers and could dictate all the actions when, in fact, they don\\u2019t and can\'t. The response might prove to the leader that he or she is wrong. This is not only a waste of time, it\\u2019s damaging to the relationships within the team.\\n\\nHere\\u2019s my short list defining authenticity in leaders. Authentic leaders:\\n\\nFocus on the Vision and Not on Themselves\\xa0- Allowing the team to focus on outcomes and not on pleasing the leader builds team synergy and\\xa0collaboration.\\nShare Honestly\\xa0- Telling the truth and telling the truth always, no matter how bad, builds trust. Leadership is\\xa0founded in\\xa0relationship.\\nCommunicate\\xa0- Sharing the vision and specific objectives in writing and\\xa0checking for understanding creates two-way dialogue. The culture of high performance creates an organizational chart that consists of overlapping\\xa0circles and not lines with\\xa0hierarchy.\\nValue People\\xa0- Considering the individual means knowing them and understanding how they\\xa0think, and knowing their passions for the common work. Treating people as expendable does not build trust. Leading with trust and care for the individual trumps leading by fear any day and most\\xa0especially in the long-term.\\nGet Out of the Way\\xa0-\\xa0Authenticity is delegating and getting out of\\xa0the way.\\xa0This is way different from assigning tasks and forgetting about the tasks until the due date.\\xa0Delegation is not managed by micromanaging. Delegation is\\xa0working out the action items collaboratively and then mentoring the person and the\\xa0process, building\\xa0relationship and trust.\\nThe authentic leader is the respected leader.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'