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What is Authentic Leadership about?
As an agent, you started this career with ideas of what it would be like: lots of revenue, endless opportunities, and many client appointments. With time you have realized the tremendous responsibility you have on your hands. You are responsible for your time, Facebook Ads, clients, and income.
You have a family to provide for, and you are getting desperate because no matter how much effort and calls you make to your clients; You do not see the earnings, the number of clients, or the status you want. All those together can leave you feeling misunderstood, alone, and with a lost sense of direction.
What exactly do you do when things fail to go your way? How exactly do we manage those crucibles effectively throughout our careers?
Sometimes you may need to implement new steps to your process, find a mentor, take a webinar, a training, implement a new sales strategy or read a book. However, sometimes it can be something sneakier and more difficult to find: a more profound sense of meaning.
Recently, McKinsey and Company interviewed Bill George, a prominent business executive, professor, and author, to talk about Authentic Leadership and what that means in today’s world:
Bill George: “My students sometimes say, ‘I will spend 12 years making money, then I will do what I want to do’. This is nonsense. I have never seen anyone do that. I would say find fulfillment now. Find joy. And you don’t have to change jobs-you can find it with the people you work with and a deeper purpose.”
Does this scenario sound familiar? For many of us, it is or has been at some point. When we finally realize that money and prestige can be solid motivators but exhausting and not very fulfilling, it is time to rethink ourselves in the long-term sense.
Bill George defines Authentic Leadership as a leadership style rooted in self-awareness, integrity, and a genuine commitment to leading from one’s values and beliefs. It is not about emulating someone else’s style or conforming to predetermined traits. It is about embracing one’s unique qualities, values, and purpose to lead with integrity and commitment while staying true to yourself.
What Should I Do?
But how exactly can I apply this to my life? And how can this information help me make better career decisions, rethink my situation, or get me through that difficult time in my career?
Bill George focuses on helping individuals develop their leadership skills and find their own True North – a term that refers to the internal compass of a person.
Bill George: “I started out my new book talking about learning who you are: Your True North. Your life story. To learn where you came from, your crucibles, and to be proud and learn from those crucibles when all the pretense is stripped. You’ve got to stand there, look at yourself in the mirror, and say, ‘Who am I, and who do I want to be?’ Not, ‘What am I? What’s my title? How much money do I have?’ It’s all about knowing who you are. And when you know that you can stay true to yourself when you’re under pressure.”
The book, Discovering Your True North presents a framework for authentic leadership based on interviews with 125 CEO of major corporations, non-profits, and governments. Through these interviews, George identifies common themes and practices that successful leaders have applied throughout their careers, using their life stories as fuel to build organizations with meaning and purpose.
As an agent, you might not see yourself leading an organization or company in the future, but your job with your clients is also about leadership. Below, I will share some of Bill George’s quotes to feed your curiosity and shed some light on how to take that difficult moment in your career and turn it into something meaningful for you.
Quotes on Authentic Leadership
- “Leaders who have reflected on their stories understand how important events and interactions with people have shaped their approach to the world”.
- “John Barth once said: The story of your life is not your life. It is your story. In other words, it is how you understand yourself through your story that matters, not the facts of your life.”
- “Reframing our stories enables us to recognize that we are not victims at all, but people shaped by experiences that provide the impetus to become leaders”.
- “Can you connect the dots between your past and your future to find your inspiration to lead authentically?”
- “Meaning is not something we stumble upon; it is something we create. We find meaning by connecting our work to something larger than ourselves.”
Agents
We hope that this information on authentic leadership is useful to you.
Empower Brokerage is dedicated to helping you make informed decisions about your health and finances. Whether it’s through webinar training, one-on-one calls, seminars, or marketing plans, we want you to be successful!
Give us a call at 888-539-1633 or leave a comment below if you have any questions.
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Jessimar Lopez graduated from the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Campus with a bachelor’s degree in audiovisual communications and participated in a study abroad internship at the University of Málaga with the sponsorship of the Benjamin G. Gilman Scholarship. She joined the Empower Brokerage team in 2022 as a videographer and editor.
