One of the hallmarks of an outstanding Business Analyst or Leader is authenticity. Authenticity is the quality of being genuine or real. You may ask why? Why do I need to be genuine or real as a leader or Business Analyst? Its simple – In your role as a leader, you are dealing with people, real people and with that comes humanity and all that goes with it – emotions, passions, values and principles. A great leader can balance all these well to obtain the outcomes they desire without losing themselves (their authentic selves) in the process thereby showing up in the best possible way. When we are real or authentic, we are able to present our best self.
In our final blog for 2021, we want to share some tips to help our tribe of leaders remain authentic:
- Know your purpose – What is it that you bring to the table? What value do you create? Why do you do what you do? The answers to these questions define your purpose and once you are clear what your purpose is, purse it relentlessly.
- Be clear about what your values and principles are – These are the things that make us human and the things that are important to us. Identify what is important to you when doing what you do. For example if it is important to you to produce excellent work then you probably value excellence and hence you need that to be present in your space. other examples of values/principles are – Team Work, collaboration, Safety, Respect, Honesty etc Figure out what your top 4 or 5 values are and make sure they are present in any space operate in.
- Know your network – We have talked about the topic of building networks as a means of improving leadership and influence. This extends to developing and maintaining authenticity. You ought to know who need in your team and how best to work with your team, partners and stakeholders. Do this around your values and principles i.e. build your values into your network by identifying and integrating those who have values and principles which align with yours into your network.
- Take a strength-based approach to leadership – Be clear on what your strengths and weaknesses are but focus on developing your strengths. Don’t pour your energy into turning your weaknesses into strengths – We can’t be perfect at everything. Rather enhance your strengths and devise a means of mitigating your weaknesses.
I hope you have found these tips useful. I look forward to kickstarting 2022 with our leadership series. We will be inviting seasoned leaders to our Podcasts in 2022, so look out for it on Spotify.
Happy New year in advance.
Authentic Global Solutions 