Role Versus Self: Authenticity in Leadership
It’s so easy to get caught up in the job and the title that you carry, that you can easily lose sight of who you are. Worse, people around you may lose sight of who you are as a person and treat you as your title, your job, and your role.
At the height of a tumultuous and controversial period in our country, we were asked to brief people on the “inside scoop” about what was happening in Washington, DC. We questioned if people wanted to hear from us in our official roles or what we really thought as people. Both was the answer. But the fact is, we couldn’t do both. When you are in a role, you are speaking on behalf of that organization. And so you are constrained by the parameters that the organization sets — its policies, standards, guidelines.
In addition, people often talk with you as the role. They tell you what they believe you want to hear, in a way they believe you want to hear it, or they’ll withhold information that they think you won’t like. They offer you benefits, relationships, and perks that magically disappear when you change jobs and change titles.
In all of this then, it is critical that you personally hold clearly and tightly to your sense of self. That you understand that who you are is not your job or your title.
You may wonder as you read this about being authentic if you need to separate yourself from your role. Quite the contrary. Separating your sense of self from your role does not mean pretending to be someone that you are not. Authentic leadership requires embodying our true selves into our leadership role. It requires enacting our roles in a way that is founded on the very essence of our unique humanness and core values. Obviously if there is misalignment between expectations of the job and your foundational beliefs, principles, and morals, you will struggle to authentically fulfill the role responsibilities.
Your experiences as a leader will certainly inform you and, in the best jobs, challenge you to tap into your most authentic self.
While having a clear sense of authentic self enables you to bring your full self to the role, it is equally important to recognize that you are separate from the position. Simply put, authenticity is staying true to who you are and what you do.
“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” — Oprah Winfrey
About the Authors
Pam Thompson MS, RN, FAAN is the CEO Emeritus of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, formerly AONE. During the same time, 2000–2016, she was the Senior VP of Nursing for the American Hospital Association. After retiring in 2017, she now serves as a healthcare consultant and volunteer board member and trustee for several healthcare entities.
Marla Weston PhD, RN, FAAN is the past CEO of the American Nurses Association Enterprise which included the American Nurses Association, American Nurses Credentialing Center and American Nurses Foundation, serving from 2009 to 2018. She now is a consultant and facilitator in leadership development, organizational strategy and growth, and future trends.
