Authentic and Constructive

Being a good leader influencing others to good outcomes can be hard. For one thing, good leaders must manage their emotions. They cannot afford the luxury of “wearing their feelings on their sleeve.”

Not sharing feelings? What about transparency? What about authentic leadership? Transparency and authenticity are important aspects of good leadership. A national Christian organization dedicated an entire conference to the topic of authentic leadership.

But sharing our innermost thoughts with those with whom we have influence is not the definition of authentic. Leaders can be authentic without being unfiltered in their communication.

During my first managerial assignment, my boss once critiqued the contents of a memo I had written by asking, “I know it will make you feel better to say it, but is it constructive?” To influence people to good outcomes, a good leader must be constructive.

In Numbers 13, Moses sent 12 leaders to scout out the Promised Land. I believe that all 12 returned with some doubts about their ability to possess the land.

Only 10 of the 12 “wore their feelings on their sleeves.” They influenced the people’s desire to return to Egypt. Now, I’m not going to say that the other two leaders, Caleb and Joshua, understood the power of being constructive (who can know?), but their comments do provide an example of how to be constructive as a leader.

When the 10 leaders reported that the Promised Land contained powerful people and fortified cities, Caleb didn’t dispute the report. “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it,” he said.

A good leader must understand that if her goal is to influence people to good outcomes, she must share her thoughts (not pretend they do not exist) in a way that makes the intended outcome more likely.

A leader may not like that her boss made a decision that makes it more difficult for her team to reach an important goal, but there’s a big difference between telling her team “I hate this decision! How does he think we’re going to make our goal?” and “I’m not a big fan of this decision either, but let’s figure out together how we can make our goal anyway.”

The second statement is authentic, constructive and more likely to produce a good leader’s desired result—influencing people to good outcomes.