Striking the right balance with authentic leadership

How can leaders get the balance right when building trust with their team? When does sharing who you are become inappropriate and destabilising vulnerability? These are incredibly valid questions, and ones that don’t necessarily have a one-size-fits-all answer.

In her talks, Ruth draws on her experiences of working with leaders who didn’t want to ‘bring their whole selves to work’.

For some leaders, particularly those who have worked in organisations where they’re unable to be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity, their privacy is important to them. Who they are at work is different to who they are at home.

Colleagues, however, want to know something about their leaders. They want to know what drives them, their values, and their motivations. There is a risk in being entirely guarded at work – and for those uncomfortable with sharing, this creates a very real dilemma.

On the other hand, however, too much sharing can create risk too. The idea that you should ‘bring your whole self to work’ isn’t particularly helpful. Inappropriate vulnerability can destabilise a team and shape a culture that undermines organisational effectiveness. 

In her talks, Ruth explores the idea of the Goldilocks approach to authenticity. Too little sharing causes problems, too much creates risk – the key is to get the balance right, but this also varies with situation and context. How and what a leader discloses matters but also when they disclose, and to who, matters too.

To find out about booking Ruth Hunt as a speaker on authentic leadership at an upcoming event, please get in touch.