"I AM TOEING THE LINE WITH COMPLETE AUTHENTICITY"

Press Release: October 2007

Authentic leadership is a buzz phrase in management theory and politics. It accounts for a significant percentage of the £¾ billion UK spend on management training and development. [1]

But what are authentic leaders? What do they do? How easy is it to be an authentic leader – and can you pretend to be one? Above all what has this got to do with the business of business.

Dr Ken Ideus has unique views on this issue built on his experience working with senior commercial and governmental executives. deepened by his work on social breakdown caused by economic turbulence, political disturbance, civil war and substance abuse.

Are authentic leaders important to business?

Yes! Management faces a crisis:

• UK managers are less well-prepared and inspire less confidence than their international equivalents [2]
• 2/3 of leaders in the Western world will fail [3]
• PriceWaterhouseCoopers 2005 survey of corporate fraud showed that 43% of companies surveyed (3600 in 50 countries) had suffered from fraudulent acts with an average company loss of $2 million. 25% of these frauds were committed by senior managers.
• Senior managers derail because of the stress they’re under; the pressure to achieve given targets and meet the needs of owners, the market and shareholders. [4]
• 1800 managers at the BBC are being trained in integrity after phone competition scams.

What do authentic leaders do?

Authentic managers serve their community, admit their weaknesses, act with integrity, are situational and tender-tough. They lead organisations increasingly committed to business ethics. They build connections and relationships, make decisions and communicate their vision – through hard facts, stories and personal testimony and their own presence.

Dr Ideus believes that the concept of authentic leadership has huge value. Leaders are much like authentic performers which is why he runs programmes such as the one at Abbey Road studios partnering with a professional music producer who specialises in bringing writer/performer music artists back to their authentic space.

Absolutely. Holding your own moral and ethical ground and staying authentic to self, is challenging when you’re driven by results, rapid delivery, vicious competition and internal and external compliance issues. Toeing the line and being authentic at the same time is a paradox faced by many and mastered only by the most accomplished leaders.

Can you pretend to be an authentic leader?

Ken argues that while many presentation courses and programmes do focus on true authenticity, simple, techniques-based presentation courses enable managers to convincingly give opinions they don’t, themselves, believe. Too many managers are conditioned to “promote the company line” so that it becomes an automatic (internally learned) process. Leaders are paid to promote the company line; but selling the authentic self is NOT part of the transaction.

It matters what leaders say: that they find their own voice and their own beliefs. Without this, authentic management is pie in the sky: the leader is a mouthpiece, about as inauthentic as you can get. How can I be authentic is I communicate something I have not authored, nor believe in myself?

According to Ken, true leaders don’t only read the script, they write it as well.

Key talking points

• Why do leaders fail?
• What do we mean by authenticity in leadership?
• What is the leader’s real voice?
• What is the relationship between authenticity and presence?
• How can leaders communicate most effectively?
• What is the best organisational form that suits a new leadership paradigm?

Background briefing

Dr Ken Ideus

A seasoned executive leadership coach, Ken Ideus has spent a lifetime dedicated to the personal growth and development of others. His 30 years of experience have included extensive work in government and international corporate environments working with managers and staff in more than 30 countries. He is currently involved in the Southern Sudan, leading projects on capacity building for a new government. The core of this work has always been in helping individual leaders and groups understand where they are, then use their current circumstances to grow and elevate their development and potential. Ken’s last corporate role was that of joint head of individual and leadership development for BP Group. He received his Doctorate in Education from Boston University. He is a founding partner of Delta Partnership, a member of the Royal Commonwealth Society and Chatham House – Royal Institute for International Affairs.

Delta Partnership

Delta is a network of consultants, informed by our fundamental thinking and principles. Delta was always intended to be a network of independent consultants rather than a centralised organisation. This structure reflects Delta’s beliefs about the best form for organisations which need to self regulate and act flexibly to meet new challenges. Delta Partnership was formed by Dr Ken Ideus and Marion Pigeon in 1996.

The Leader’s Voice.

The Leader’s Voice is a development experience that works with small groups of successful, committed individuals focused on generating something powerful and meaningful for themselves and their organisations. The process is both intense and reflective. It pushes the envelope of awareness, helping leaders incorporate that new awareness and move to heightened levels of development and impact and authenticity.

-ENDS-

[1] British Psychological Society: What Works at Work; 2005

[2] CIPD: UK Global Comparisons: Leadership Forecast 2005-2006

[3] Robert Hogan in Dotlich & Cairo: Why CEOs Fail; Jossey Bass, 2005

[4] Dotlich and Cairo : Why CEOS Fail: Jossey Bass. 2005-2006