An article at CLO magazine takes on the topic of leadership. It’s message: that authenticity is a crucial factor in successful leadership.

The idea that a willingness to be openly human makes people better leaders resonates with me. The people I’ve worked with who attempt to control or hide their humanity usually do it out of lack of self confidence. They are afraid to appear fallible. The effect is worse. Instead of appearing human, they come across as overconfident know-it-all jerks. A characterization that doesn’t breed loyalty or respect.

From the article:

Truly authentic leaders will selectively show their weaknesses. No one is perfect, so the old way of looking at leadership development, to point out good traits yet focus on those that need improving, can make someone forget about traits that make him or her special and encourage frustration as the leader in training chases after perfection, which doesn’t exist. “We all have weaknesses,” Jones explained. “And by weaknesses we don’t mean things that are central to your role performance. We mean that all of us have individual foibles, which in some organizations we’ve been encouraged to hide. Selective revelation of weakness or foible has a humanizing effect, and followers want to be led by a human being. We want people to be able to selectively and skillfully reveal weaknesses, which are real, perceived relevant to context, and which convince followers that they’re being led by a person.