Don’t Fake It to Make It: Authenticity is the Real Key to Success

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From navigating new methods of closing deals, to landing get that next promotion, to understanding new norms of leadership, authenticity is the key to success.

Today’s guest post is by Dr. Sharon Lamm-Hartman, author of The Authenticity Code: The Art and Science of Success and Why You Can’t Fake It to Make It (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

I was once approached by an executive assistant by the name of Viola (real name withheld for anonymity) who was in attendance at one of our 5-day Authenticity Code™ programs. She confided in me, and with tears in her eyes, that she didn’t know why she was not being promoted. She stated that she had watched many peers get jobs that she would have loved to get, but she never got selected when she did land an interview. When I heard about her struggle, my heart sank. Viola was a black woman in her thirties, and she felt stuck at her current level. I asked her what her dream job would be, and she passionately said that she wanted to be a VP of this Fortune 50 company, which at the time, only had 300 VP’s out of about 160,000 employees.

Viola started on the path to finding her authentic self, which can be done by cracking open the Authenticity Code – which is your presence + your audience + your presentation = your success. Viola defined her authentic brand statement, looked at what authentic presence qualities she needed to grow in – including confidence. She got at the core of what was blocking her which was she didn’t believe in herself. In the program, she put together an exceptional presentation that she used to influence critical senior leaders in the company. Her idea ended up saving the company millions of dollars. And I am ecstatic to say that today just seven years after she took our program, Viola has mastered the art and science of success because she achieved her authentic brand and is a VP in that same Fortune 50 company. She was promoted up five levels, from executive assistant to VP in seven years which is faster than anyone else I know in that company.

Authenticity is the key to getting your dream job, closing a big sale, feeling more fulfilled, and getting to yes in any presentation or communication. Authenticity is your most powerful way of adding value by expressing your unique gifts and talents to your chosen audience. Think about it- do you buy from or want to work with someone who is inauthentic and has no leadership presence?

According to the Center for Talent Innovation, leadership presence counts for at least 26% of whether you get selected for a job or promotion. This is also true for whether you make a big sale or another positive business impact. That percentage can be substantial in terms of professional and personal growth, something I have seen firsthand.

COVID-19 has had an immeasurable impact on the business world. Company hiring practices have changed, as have workplace culture and leadership norms. Companies face hiring shortages. With companies forced to reevaluate how they approach their day-to-day business, individuals have also been forced to adapt. From navigating new methods of closing deals to determining how to get that next promotion to understanding new methods of leadership, many have found the need to acclimate to the changing world. This has been called the Great Reassessment.

The question is, how do individuals and businesses make a change once they have reassessed? What is the secret to realizing your true potential and achieving your goals in the post-pandemic world? From my experience, authenticity is the key to professional and personal success. So how does one become more authentic, and what is necessary to improve those skills?

There are three key elements on which to focus. First, your presence, such as warmth, sincerity, confidence, integrity, trustworthiness, and even your body language will help you better communicate your message. Connecting with your own authentic brand statement is critical in improving your authentic presence. This is a statement that expresses what you want out of your career and what is your greatest professional/leadership gift to give no matter what job you hold.

Second, understanding your audience and tailoring your message to that audience will greatly improve your presentation skills. Before you go into a big meeting or start writing a big presentation, ask yourself 4 simple questions: 1) What is most important to my audience? 2) What details do they need? 3) What hooks them to listen? and 4) What are they willing to compromise (e.g., cost, schedule, quality). It is an authentic choice to be in front of an audience, so you want to do everything you can to help give your audience what they need.

Third, is your presentation itself. There is a simple formula for presentation success: 1) Attention Getting Opening, 2) Executive Summary, 3) Agenda with Clear Body Message, and 4) Finish Strong.

Over my more than two-decade-long career, I have seen thousands of clients like Viola who work on their authentic presence and presentation skills, get promoted, land their dream job, and feel considerably more fulfilled. Crack the authenticity code by developing ‘Your Presence + Your Audience + Your Presentation = Your Success’. Focusing on these factors is the secret to improving your professional and leadership development.

the authenticity codeDr. Sharon Lamm-Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Inside Out Learning, Inc. (IOL), an award‐winning global leadership, team and organization development consulting business. In addition to running IOL, with a doctorate in Leadership Development from Columbia University, and a Masters from Cornell University, Dr. Sharon is a global executive and presentation skills coach, leadership and organization development consultant, speaker, writer, educator, wife and mom. Dr. Sharon has worked with tens of thousands of CEOs, executives, educators, professionals, and entrepreneurs worldwide. She has been an Adjunct Faculty Member at Columbia University and the Center for Creative Leadership. Her new book, The Authenticity Code™: The Art and Science of Success and Why You Can’t Fake It to Make It is available for preorder at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and was named a top business book to read this fall by Texas CEO Magazine. 

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Is Trauma Slowly Destroying Your Company? Look for These Signs

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cracked floor

Organizational trauma comes in many forms but impacts organizations in predictable, destructive ways. Here’s how to tell if trauma is harming your workplace.

Today’s guest post is by Dr. Diana Hendel, author of Trauma to Triumph: A Roadmap for Leading Through Disruption and Thriving on the Other Side (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

My understanding of organizational trauma was born of firsthand experience. In 2009, a horrific workplace shooting occurred at the hospital where I served as CEO. Three people died at the hands of a disgruntled employee. Even after the initial terror wore off, repercussions from the event sowed long-lasting uncertainty, fear, distrust, and division throughout the organization. From feelings of shame to diagnoses of PTSD to employee departures, the collective damage went deep.

Why am I telling you this? Because there’s a good chance that, at some point, your organization may experience trauma. It’s true that (thankfully) most won’t experience this type of extremely violent “shock and awe” crisis. But there are many types of disruptive events and systemic issues that can sow distrust, erode morale, and severely impact an organization’s ability to function.

I’m not talking about routine workplace stress which, even when intense, is temporary and manageable. Trauma is different. It takes away our feeling of control, warps our worldview, leaves us feeling helpless and vulnerable, and sends us tumbling into survival mode. Obviously, trauma leaves its mark on individuals. But it’s also deeply destructive to organizations.

Mass layoffs, sexual harassment, natural disasters, the death of a coworker, workplace accidents, a leader’s embezzlement, racism, and discrimination are all examples of organizational trauma I’ve encountered. And, of course, there’s the collective trauma we’ve all experienced over the past year and half, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whatever the source of the trauma, it’s all destructive. And if unaddressed, it will cause your organization’s structures, systems, values, and people to suffer. That’s why it’s vital to know what causes trauma and recognize how it manifests. Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect to see if your organization is traumatized.

First, people create their own narratives. Humans naturally want to make sense of upsetting and unexpected events, and I’ve found that there can be nearly as many points of view, personal experiences, and relationship dynamics as there are employees.

As all of these narratives are shared, rumor and speculation can cause secondary blame to spread. People want to know why the traumatic event happened. Could it have been foreseen or prevented? Why weren’t leaders prepared? You may find that victims are blamed, or that leaders are vilified for not preventing “witch hunts.” Strong and sometimes conflicting opinions abound.

Employees who are closer to a traumatic event than others (perhaps they witnessed it or worked closely with the perpetrator) are especially likely to struggle with feelings of guilt. They may blame themselves for not recognizing warning signs or feel that they should have prevented the event from occurring. Some might feel guilty that they survived or remained employed, while others did not.

It’s no surprise that in such an emotionally charged and uncertain environment, communication can be haphazard and inadequate. Traumatized leaders might struggle to be transparent while maintaining confidentiality, which chips away at equally traumatized employees’ trust and confidence. And until a “new normal” is established, it may not even be clear who is making decisions or how they will be reached.

Before long, polarization occurs. You may quickly see people dividing into two or more opposing groups. We’ve all seen what happens in well-publicized sexual harassment cases: one faction might support the victim while another might believe that the alleged perpetrator was falsely accused. The same thing can happen inside a traumatized organization.

As time passes, people begin to worry that they or their organization will be defined by the event, scandal, or circumstance that caused the trauma. This is especially true when there’s media coverage or widespread knowledge of the incident. Rising feelings of shame that “such a thing could happen here” can eclipse former pride in working for the organization and shake employees’ confidence that the organization is trustworthy.

I’ve found that when trauma isn’t addressed, it eventually becomes almost taboo. It can feel painful and even unsafe to speak frankly about what happened. But just because people aren’t talking about trauma doesn’t mean they aren’t still struggling. The shame, blame, division, guilt, and misunderstandings I’ve already mentioned are often festering just beneath the surface, where they silently corrode trust, morale, culture, and more.

Without intervention, trauma can cripple or even destroy a company. But organizational trauma doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your business. Over and over, I’ve seen how transformative it can be to seek help. (And the sooner leaders take action to break the chain of repercussions set in motion by trauma, the better.)

Here’s the good news: While the field of organizational trauma is fairly new, it’s becoming more widely understood every day. And resources—including Trauma to Triumph, a book I coauthored with Mark Goulston, MD—are increasingly easier to access.

You can establish processes to help both individuals and the organization as a whole successfully weather trauma. Even better, you can get prepared before a traumatic event strikes. When leaders learn how to destigmatize trauma, communicate effectively, and make decisions thoughtfully, it’s possible to successfully reunify and recover. In fact, a stronger culture, greater transparency, higher performance, and the ability to more effectively handle future disruption are often achieved on the other side of organizational trauma.

trauma to triumphAbout the Author: Diana Hendel, PharmD

Dr. Diana Hendel is the coauthor along with Mark Goulston, MD, FAPA of Trauma to Triumph: A Roadmap for Leading Through Disruption and Thriving on the Other Side (HarperCollins Leadership, March 2021) and Why Cope When You Can Heal?: How Healthcare Heroes of COVID-19 Can Recover from PTSD (Harper Horizon, December 2020). She is an executive coach and leadership consultant, former hospital CEO, and the author of Responsible: A Memoir, a riveting and deeply personal account of leading during and through the aftermath of a deadly workplace trauma.  

About the Book:

Trauma to Triumph: A Roadmap for Leading Through Disruption and Thriving on the Other Side (HarperCollins Leadership, March 2021, ISBN: 978-1-4002-2837-9, $17.99) is available from major online booksellers.

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How to Become an A+ Manager Today

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Learn how to improve your managerial skills by studying the eight attributes of the employee-centric manager.

Today’s guest post is by Dr. Jack Wiley, author of The Employee-Centric Manager (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Over the past two decades, the practice of gathering employee feedback on the performance of their managers has grown. And why not? Subordinates have the most knowledge about their manager’s performance, and they are the ones most affected by their behavior. Leading organizational scientists argue that the ratings of managers provided by employees are the most valid. Indeed, research shows that subordinate ratings of a manager’s performance correlate with ratings provided by the manager’s own boss.

So, as a manager, what does it take to achieve great performance reviews from your employees? I asked a representative and systematically selected sample of 10,000 workers in the United States to rate the overall performance of their manager. I also asked these employees to rate their managers on the eight attributes of the employee-centric manager (or ECM), which are: (1) show support and understanding; (2) provide recognition; (3) treat employees with dignity and respect; (4) communicate clear performance expectations; (5) reward performance contributions with fair compensation and development opportunities; (6) demonstrate skill in decision-making and problem-solving; (7) be fair and just; and (8) be honest and trustworthy.

I learned that 67% of a manager’s overall performance rating is explained by their ratings on the attributes that define the employee-centric manager. This means that how employees rate their manager on these eight attributes determines two-thirds of their overall effectiveness rating. There is still another 33% of a manager’s rating that is accounted for by other factors, but the implication is clear: if you rate highly on the ECM attributes, you will also rate highly on overall performance. The reverse is also true – if you rate poorly on the ECM attributes, you will also rate poorly on overall performance.

Let’s dig a little deeper. Which of the eight attributes are most impactful? Statistical regression analysis reveals that these three attributes most influence employees’ views of their manager’s overall performance:

LISTEN: As in, “My manager is an effective listener.”

MAKE GOOD DECISIONS: As in, “My manager displays competence in making day-to-day work decisions.”

RECOGNIZE: As in, “My manager provides me with praise or recognition for doing good work.”

So, what do employees really want when it comes to listening (a subset of the support and understanding attribute)? They want their manager to be available and accessible. They want them to listen to their concerns with the energy and attention needed to genuinely identify with where they are coming from. They want their manager to follow through on concerns brought to their attention and seek employee input on important decisions affecting their work or how to solve a work-related problem. And they want their manager to get to know them – sufficiently well so that they understand their current capabilities, training and development needs, and goals, including their career goals.

This example of effective listening comes from an employee in the healthcare industry.

“I brought a problem to my manager’s attention, and she let me explain what I think would work best moving forward. She understood that I was the one out there doing the job, and I would have the best understanding of the situation. She got back to me quickly and trusted me to make the decision.”

When it comes to making good decisions, what do employees really want? They want their manager to make decisions in a timely way and not drag their feet. They want their manager to make decisions based on a rational, data-based approach. They want their manager to involve them in decision-making and problem-solving. They also want their manager to think through the implications of their decisions so that the team doesn’t end up dealing with blow-back. And finally, they want their manager to be flexible and learn from experience.

Here is an example of a manager being skilled in problem-solving and decision-making from the experience of a financial services employee.

“My manager had to clean up a project that a former employee had messed up before leaving the company, and it was very stressful; she needed our help. She was very helpful in trying to get us all to understand what the project was and what it needed to look like in the end. She didn’t rush or get us overwhelmed. This made me see she is a great leader and that I can count on her to help me remain calm in stressful situations.”

Finally, when it comes to recognition, what do employees really want from their manager? They want an honest and sincere “thank you” for working hard, staying late, busting through obstacles, or going the extra mile to get the job done. They want real-time recognition when their performance is worthy of praise – employees want to receive it in the here-and-now. They also want recognition that fits them, their style, and their personality. And they want recognition that is specific to the behavior or performance under consideration; this helps employees understand how the boss defines good performance.

An employee in the retail sales industry provides this example of a boss effective at providing recognition.

“My manager hired me at the seasonal time, and not everyone hired then gets to stay on and become a regular employee. But she watched me, gave me pointers, and did my reviews. She’s so great and has helped me in all kinds of situations; she saw the determination in me to strive to just keep going. She nominated me as employee of the month in front of everyone.”

Becoming an A+ Manager is relatively straightforward: think seriously about how you like to be treated by your manager and consistently do the same toward your employees. Be especially good at listening, making good decisions, and recognizing worthy performance.

the employee centric managerDR. JACK WILEY has more than 30 years of experience studying what employees most want and what organizational design factors best promote employee engagement, performance confidence and business success. He is the president & CEO of Jack Wiley Consulting, LLC, and Employee Centricity LLC. In addition to his business ventures, he’s the chief scientific officer at Engage2Excel. He is the author of The Employee Centric Manager and RESPECT: Delivering Results by Giving Employees What They Really Want. In 2014, Dr. Wiley was awarded the prestigious Professional Practice award by the Society of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, a lifetime achievement award for outstanding contributions to the practice of industrial-organizational psychology. In addition to being elected to Fellow status in SIOP, he is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.

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Building High Performing Teams: Giving Authority and Responsibility

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handing over keys

Giving your team the authority to make important decisions improves trust, satisfaction, and accountability.

Members of high performing teams are going to be the most satisfied when they feel like they can have an impact on the outcome of their work. And to get to that point you need to understand the difference between accountability and responsibility and then how authority interplays with both of them. Read more

Building High Performing Teams: Empower Your People

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delegate

To build and foster a high performing team, sometimes you have to step back and let your people do their thing. 

For you to get the most out of the members of your high performing team, you need to empower them. Remember, on a high performing team, those team members are typically very self-motivated, and they like being self-directed. You need to understand how letting go of your agenda, creating space for them to flourish, and then accepting that there are different ways of doing things is going to bring out the best in your people. Read more

Why You Shouldn’t Rush Into a Business Partnership – 5 Factors to Consider

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handshake

Too often, entrepreneurs seek business partners for the wrong reasons, from skills to capital. Whether leading a startup or growing organization, here’s how to avoid making a bad decision.

Today’s post is by Patrick Burke, author of The 10 Biggest Business Mistakes And How To Avoid Them (CLICK HERE to get your copy). 

“Do I need a business partner?” I’ve been a business adviser for more than 40 years and this is one of the most common questions entrepreneurs ask, whether they are starting their first business or expanding an existing one.

Holding onto as much of your company’s ownership as possible and sharing it only when absolutely necessary is simple logic. But entrepreneurs often succumb to the emotional need to partner. Though by nature an independent and confident group, they start tossing ownership around with little or no regard for its current or eventual value.

So whenever I’m asked that question, I remind them that there’s no Rorschach test for what a successful business partnership looks like. Too often, you may think the inkblot looks like an opportunity, while your partner sees only obstacles. It’s an extremely tough chasm to bridge. But if you’re seriously considering a partnership, ask yourself these five questions as your guide: Read more

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