APPENDIX B

Maximizing Authenticity
and Skill

AN ABIDING THEME OF THIS BOOK is that effective leadership is about both authenticity and skill. We have observed some aspiring leaders who never quite manage this combination. Consider the simple matrix in figure B-1; think about where you are now, where you want to get to, and what you need to work on to be there.

In box B, skill and authenticity combine to produce leadership.

In box A, individuals have a strong sense of who they are, what made them, and what they stand for. But they lack the skills to deploy their attributes. They may fail to read contexts, to communicate well, and to see the world through the eyes of potential followers.

FIGURE B-1

Balancing authenticity and skill

In box C, we find individuals with considerable interpersonal skills but whose lack of groundedness means that followers often feel that they are being worked—manipulated and sometimes exploited. They never display enough humanity to become really effective leaders.

In box D, low levels of both self-awareness and skill combine to produce a David Brent character so effectively satirized in the TV series The Office—and sadly prevalent in some organizations.

In the most abstract terms, movement along the skills axis is rather easier than increasing authenticity. Much standard business-school fare is concerned with the former; the latter takes longer and requires deeper interventions.