Leadership is based on authenticity.  

Authenticity is a developable skill and not a virtue. Its intentional development stems from the belief that you have an irreplaceable uniqueness in the world. However, this authenticity is only truly expressed when you commit to being honest with yourself for the entirety of your life. 

This is hard for most of us. Being honest with ourselves. 

In my career of helping large enterprises’ group chairman – I have worked with a variety of personalities, from the most sought-after and flamboyant to the soft-spoken ones. And in all cases, a successful result of my work does not come until the leaders and chairman make a deal with themself to be honest. 

This changes everything. 

To be honest with yourself, reflection is the approach, meta-cognition is the method and mindfulness is the tool but the pledge that makes all this work to express your unique irreplaceable value is to be honest with yourself. 

Until we are honest, we don’t even realise the need for our values. We all know that it is one thing to know your values and it is completely another to live them out consciously. 

The difference between two individuals, as leaders, having the exact same values and mission even, comes at their decision consistency of values. This consistency, inconsistency or never using the values – all comes with the quality of pledge that the individuals take to remain honest with themselves, as number one operating principle. 

Do you have your pledge to be honest with self? 

Do you believe that it offers a significant transformation path for all you ever care to be, do and have? 

Funny that I am calling this transformation, when it is simply just being true to yourself. And, yet it is transformative in its feel and results. 

That means, if we are to accept ourselves deeply, own ourselves like we love our own children then chances are bright for us to hold desire & courage to be ourselves true and honest. 

This when happens – a leader emerges from within. We all are leaders. It is not subject to literacy or education or any such societal conclusions for who is leader if so & so is done. 

We are all leaders. Usually, mothers know this, intuitively. Usually, for great part of their lives when she prepares her children – she would ask, demand, scold, remind, encourage, and pursue even to never lie and be honest. 

She isn’t telling him or her to do so for societal interactions. She is saying so from her powerful intuition sourced from fear, worry or desire even, as a message to pass on to her child. Sometimes she succeeds but at large she gives up or lose her trial. 

When a leader decides to live out of the pledge of being honest to himself – profoundness instantly begins unfolding. He will show care to what matters most almost like a newer version of him. 

He realises that the first and foremost way to guarantee he is creating a life he will be proud of begins instantly from that decision to be honest within. 

I have worked with young chairman aged 40 even, and during the chairman transformation programs they meet this realisation that it is not what they acquire as new skills, attitude, knowledge, competence, capability or anything similar that holds potential to create a future they will be proud of as much as the decision to remain true to themself. I have helped them make that decision and almost all, as a result grow in their happiness, relationships, and wealth effortlessly. 

It is undermining if I say effortlessly because to make that decision and to live out of it under any & every circumstance is not effortless. But, yes, all results, benefits and effects have certainly appeared as effortless. 

Are you willing to create remarkable results in shortest duration? If yes, then make every effort to decide what will you be when you see the mirror or eyes of your daughter. 

It is this simple. Don’t waste time in acquiring new knowledge and hoping for those results. 

They won’t come until you have this dialogue with yourself one day when you ask – Let me have word with myself. Have that word and carve out the pledge to be honest with yourself and you are well on the path of the ultimate success your leadership can deliver. 

Over to you.