One of my colleagues - someone I’ve known for 20 years and respect greatly - recently posed a question about whether authenticity is truly a virtue of good leadership, or is really a cop-out that weak leaders use to rationalize their poor interpersonal skills. His post was very thought-provoking, as he often is. I agree with him about many things, including that a good leader sometimes has to filter himself in order to be sensitive to others. And I’m sure that some (poor) leaders do use authenticity as a cop-out. But I thought I’d share a different perspective on the idea that authenticity and leadership are potentially incompatible.
