Role vs. Authenticity
To Be a Leader, You Must Play the Role
A surface-level search of the interwebs will show you at first glance that there’s a lot of positivity behind the word “authentic”. But a deep dive reveals a more nuanced look at the word and how it’s come to be perceived in our society today. Generally, people want others to be “authentic” by staying “true to themselves” or “speaking their mind”, but in the workplace? This isn’t always the best strategy to boost your career, build long-lasting relationships, or successfully lead your team.
Let’s be clear up front: This article will not encourage healthcare leaders to be fake or untruthful, but to examine the cost of what our society calls “authenticity” as it appears in the workplace and to propose that occupying the role of leader is much more valuable than being guided purely by one’s own authenticity.
Because honestly, “Being Authentic” can easily turn into an excuse for bad behavior in professional spaces. “I’m just being true to me,” doesn’t always work out well for the team when you callously express your displeasure with a teammate’s performance, “speak your mind” in front of a client who’s less than friendly, or “speak your truth” at an inopportune moment. While being in touch with your authentic self is an excellent skill to cultivate in your personal life, always saying exactly what you think at work can be a huge roadblock when looking to achieve career goals or advance in the workplace.
Leaders must be level headed, not full of hot air and prone to unpredictable outbursts of “authenticity”. Instead, look to what role you are called to play in work situations to best serve yourself, your team and your organization. This requires acting intentionally instead of reacting emotionally, and is a skill in and of itself. As a leader, your actions must reflect both your and your organization’s core values as well as the goals set forth for the current season.
While promoting his book Leadership BS, Jeffrey Pfeffer states this opinion quite well in an interview, saying, “The conventional wisdom that people should be 'authentic' is extremely career-limiting, because it says to people, 'be yourself'. But people need to be what the situation, and those they are with and responsible for, need them to be, not what they feel like being at the moment. People who express their 'authentic' feelings to their bosses, in particular, may soon find themselves out of a job.” A professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Pfeffer expands upon the idea of playing a role in the workplace in Stanford’s Business Publication. “Leaders need to be true to what the situation demands and what the people around them want and need,” he says. “Each of us plays a number of different roles in our lives, and people behave and think differently in each of those roles, so demanding authenticity doesn’t make sense.”
Think like an Actor
Historically speaking, the idea of role connects seamlessly with classical training for actors. Konstantin Stanislavski, a well-respected Russian theater practitioner, excellent character actor and prolific director in the 19th and 20th centuries, taught three questions his acting students should ask when creating a new role.
Who am I?
What just happened?
What do I want?
Let’s create a hypothetical scenario for an organizational leader using these three questions.
Who am I? The leader of this team.
What just happened? Team member A got frustrated in a meeting, said some unkind things to Team Member B then stormed out of the conference room.
What do I want? A functioning and high-achieving workplace with engaged employees who have well-balanced lives.
While I as a person may authentically want to call Team Member A a jerk and burn off negative energy with my teammates followed by a long lunch and a beer, that is not conducive to the role I’m currently playing as leader and manager. That action would be in direct opposition to the leader’s goal, “a functioning and high achieving workplace with engaged employees who lead well-balanced lives”. Instead, the leader’s next actions should be in pursuit of their goal, NOT following the rabbit trail of their own authentic feelings about the situation.
But if this system sounds antiquated, let’s look to a source much more recent than Stanislavski. Anthony Bourdain has often expressed his disdain for the term authentic. “The word authentic has become a completely ridiculous, snobbish term,” Bourdain told Time. People are authentically greedy, selfish, and absurdly unkind to each other on a daily basis both in corporate culture and in personal relationships. What makes a workplace effective is the sacrifice of that authenticity to the role you play in the group as a whole. Great things are accomplished when we put ourselves aside in service to a greater whole. While the word may have its place in your therapy session and in your closest relationships, but it’s quickly losing traction in the workplace and among professionals.
When a leader works towards building a workplace utilizing a multi-dimensional vision, (read more about the Visionary Leadership Ladder here!) they must be in touch with their own core values and the values of their organization. These values will influence every element of a leader’s work life -- their role, their responsibilities and their relationships. Speaking particularly about role in this post, the leader must be willing to play their role even in tough situations, while staying aligned with those core values and not succumbing to petty situational squabbles. A person’s role as leader keeps them in touch with both their core (above) and the daily tactical goals their team needs to achieve (below).
If you’re worried about properly playing the role of leader or worried you won’t know what to do when situations arise, the old adage applies: fake it til you make it. Acting like a leader, assuming the role, putting on the mantle -- this is all part and parcel of becoming a true leader. To clarify, this does not mean a leader should act with unearned bravado or wreckless self-assuredness by making rash decisions without consulting experts or thoroughly researching. A leader who leads humbly can be extremely effective in the long run.
Let’s get practical.
Look at Stanislavski's three questions as a way to define your role as a leader each day in new situations while staying in touch with your core values and organizational goals. If you’ve yet to establish those in your position as healthcare leader, you may want to take a moment to unpack our Visionary Leadership Ladder and begin to make plans to climb higher and engage your team.
Once your organization has solidified its core values, they will help guide you in defining and playing the role you inhabit as a leader. Stanislavski’s question “What do you want?” will reveal the direction your next steps should take, always working towards what you want as a leader of your healthcare organization. This will allow you to stay in touch with core values and be true to your role as leader without acting rashly, quickly, or “authentically” in each moment.
Remember that playing a role doesn’t mean you’re immune to mistakes or general humanity. You’re still allowed to get it wrong, try again, admit your faults and take another swing. Being a leader doesn’t mean being perfect, but it does mean acting in the interest of the whole team instead of impulsively acting on whatever you feel in any given moment.
have you joined harjot’s mailing list yet?
Stay in the know! Sign up for Harjot's newsletter to receive updates.