Let's Get Real: It's Time To Be Authentic!

"I know of nothing more valuable, when it comes to the all-important virtue of authenticity, 
than simply being who you are."
- Charles R. Swindoll

Authenticity: A Critical Value for the New Leadership Paradigm

Authenticity is the path to trust. And today people, particularly Millennials, make choices about employment, what organizations to support, and where to buy things, based on whether they trust the organization or company.

Being authentic means there is no space between what you say, and what you do.  People may not agree with what you state, but they know where you are coming from, and your words reflect what you believe.  Authentic people don’t say things just to make a customer or client happy. Instead, they are candid, honest and real. 

It's not about spin, hype or packaging a message to be liked or to make the sale. It’s about delivering on your promises and sharing who you are without a wearing a mask.

"Authenticity is alignment of head, mouth, heart --thinking, saying, feeling and doing the same thing – consistently.  This builds trust… and followers love leaders they can trust."
 - Lance Secretan

One of the Simplest Ways to Make a Difference...

It was a rainy evening and there weren’t many people at the shop.  I busied myself, straightening the shelves where we sold our journals, which is one of my favorite places in the store.  The candle’s scent of citrus and vanilla, along with the mellow tunes of  Alina Baraz from our sound system, lulled me into a place of contentment. 

A modestly dressed woman in her sixties walked into the store and began to browse.   Now I love browsers, because I am one.   Often it is more about the experience of shopping than buying -- the creativity and imagination of colors, fashion, function.  

And I’m curious about people – knowing there is often a place for a connection.

I smiled and asked her if she was looking for anything and mentioned today was the last day of our home goods sale with linens, candles, and ceramics 20% off.  She returned my smile, and shared she had just randomly come into the store.  “I thought I would treat myself to something special,” she said. “I just need a little pick-up.”

Of course, my job is to sell, but “poof” that went out the window in a heartbeat, and I stopped to listen.  

We walked through the store together, as she told me about her life, her loneliness, her estrangement with her daughter living across country.  So, we talked about daughters for a while, and before too long we were in deeper discussions about letting go and flirted with topics of spirituality.

I’m a talker, but I listened and listened some more, and a few tears fell from her eyes.  Soon we were at the perfume counter and she asked me which one was my favorite.  I told her – an old-world scent of jasmine and blood oranges, that reminded me of Sicily, and her tears dried as she tested the scent.  Soon we were laughing, talking about silly things and she touched my arm and said, “Thank you,I just needed to talk with someone who would listen. “

I was humbled.

I left her side when another customer asked for my help.  But I watched ‘my friend’ who continued to shop the store.  Soon I saw her at the check-out counter, her hands full and I waved to her as she held up the bottle of my favorite cologne.  Then she stepped aside and walked to me and said, “Every time I wear it, I will feel better, knowing you care.”

Sometimes it’s the little things, of connecting by listening from our hearts when we can make the most difference to someone. It’s what Conscientious Leaders do.

 To get our book, "25 Building Blocks To Create a Conscientious Organization" FREE, go to HCollaborative.com for an instant download.

Dangers of Isolation: Lesson from a Habitat Build Day

If you've ever doubted the idea of one being a lonely number, you most likely have never worked on a Habitat for Humanity build site.

Last week, I spent my Saturday with a dozen other volunteers finishing up two new and affordable homes in Portland's Cully district. In fact, the house I helped paint was to be occupied by its new owner and family three days later.

Everywhere you looked on the site, the Habitat staff teamed up with the volunteers to see to it that the necessary tasks were performed with excellence. No one-man-bands in sight. Just the teams of painters, sawers,  and cleaners as they went about their business being accompanied by Brazilian music on one boom-box and old Steve Miller tunes on another.

Yes, there was the occasional volunteer doing a little rumba step thanks to the music tickling his backbone.

From time to time, one of the Habitat leaders would remind us of the need for hydration. "Take a break...get some water in you," we would hear on occasion. After all, these passionate folks were out on this site known as "Helensview" 5 days a week, week-after-week.  

Clearly the work completed during those six hours could not have been done without that strong esprit de corps.

What I mean by that is that isolationist thinking serves no one. No community, no organization and no country. Certainly, not in this day and age.

Practicing teamwork builds more than houses. It builds satisfaction and esteem.

And it truly is how things will always get better as every Conscientious Leader knows.

Which means, of course, better product, better marketing and better(happier) employees or team members.

It's clearly what Millard Fuller saw when he and his wife started Habitat for Humanity in 1976. And I think it embodies what Helen Keller wrote when she penned the words, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

To get our book, "25 Building Blocks To Create a Conscientious Organization" FREE, go to HCollaborative.com for an instant download.