Leadership can be found in Passion and Authenticity

I was blessed enough to be able to take my family to see legendary rocker Elton John in Vancouver.  Wow!  What a night of memories.  So cool to see my young adult children experience a legend and enjoy the music!

What’s this got to do with leadership though? Easy.  As Elton, on his grand piano, and his band were pounding out hit after hit, it was obvious that the 67 year-old rocker was having the time of his life.  The energy was infectious.  In between songs at one point, he spoke to the audience about why he was there.

He quite simply said that he was finally comfortable in his own skin enough to be himself without caring what others thought and that he LOVED being on tour because he got to be with people that loved his music.

Well said Sir Elton.  The essence of leadership and succession life for that matter, is ALWAYS chasing your passion (not your pension) and being yourself while you are doing it.

Passion for what you do is infectious.  Other people can see it and feel it.  Your passion for what you do will produce better results and garner you more recognition.  If you find yourself in a role that you cannot get excited about each and every time you arrive at the office, then you are killing your career and probably yourself too through the stress of it.

Authenticity is easier than you think.  Elton said it perfectly.  “Comfortable in my own skin.”  All through our lives, we are faced with pressure from parents, family, friends, teachers, coaches, employers, etc., to be this or that.  The problem is that for the most part, this ‘helpful’ advice we receive is based on two things…

1. Other people’s values not yours.  We all have a value set.  Our values make up our guiding principles.  The issue here is that ‘helpful’ advice we often get is based on someonelse’s values not ours.  Do some soul searching on your values.  Write down which ones are the most important to you.  Live them.  By doing so, you will begin to live authentically.
2. Your weaknesses.  We all have weaknesses or blind spots.  And, we all have a long lineup of people that are more than happy to point them out for us.  I have lots of weaknesses.  “Attention to detail” is one of them.  That is why I make a great strategy developer because I can see the big picture.  However, get down into the tactical details and I am a disaster.  Living authentically means living your strengths as it is your strengths that have got you to where you are today not your weaknesses.  Embrace who you are and nurture your strengths.  You will happier and more aligned with who you really are.

Robert Murray is an Author, Global Speaker and Business Strategist. You can find Robert’s books on heart based leadership here. For further advice, ideas and inspiration on leadership, follow Robert on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.