Authenticity and Appropriate Action
Reflecting on the story of Ferose and that difficult day at SAP Labs India, we see a number of challenges that he addressed deftly by acting wisely. He needed to shift his perspective on several levels to determine the appropriate actions for dealing with the deceased employee’s family and work team, as well as the right actions for SAP Labs India in both the short and long terms. Ferose needed to act authentically by remaining true to himself and leading appropriately in an entirely new context.
The dictionary definition of authentic is “not false; true to one’s personality, spirit, or character.” Authenticity means “the quality or condition of being trustworthy, genuine, credible.”3 In studying the lives of many authentic leaders, we have found Mahatma Gandhi to be an authentic leader who embodied his philosophy of frugality by leading an austere, near-monastic lifestyle. Steve Jobs was also authentic: he always followed his heart and acted according to his own intuition. Ford’s CEO, Alan Mulally, is another authentic leader with whom what you see is what you get.
Today authenticity is touted as a virtue that leaders need to cultivate. While we agree with that, acting with authenticity alone isn’t enough—and could sometimes even backfire—unless a leader also acts appropriately, that is, in a way that is suitable or fitting for a particular situation.4 Steve Jobs was authentic, but his actions were not always appropriate. He denied giving stock options, for example, to his long-time friend Dan Kottke (and Mike Fernandez) who had worked on early versions of Apple computers in Jobs’s garage (Jobs claimed Kottke was just an hourly employee).5 Steve Wozniak, the other cofounder of Apple, was authentic as well as appropriate when he recognized the need to give stock to Kottke and Fernandez because they had contributed to Apple’s early success. When Jobs refused to agree, Wozniak gave some of his own stock to Kottke and Fernandez.
Practical wisdom involves learning how to be appropriate—to both oneself and to others—in one’s action without losing one’s authenticity. Manu, one of the early thinkers of social law and customs in Indian philosophy, said that wise leadership is about having the discernment to know how to balance authenticity and appropriateness.6 To put it plainly, there are times when you need to act in accordance with your nature (who you truly are) and times when you need to act against your nature when circumstances require it—for your own benefit as well as the larger good. But it is not just about acting in a way that is appropriate to oneself as much as it is about acting in a manner that is appropriate to others. Leaders must allow both the internal and external contexts to shape what is appropriate in their actions.
We know that many leaders don’t act out of authenticity, let alone act appropriately, in that their actions are incongruent with who they are or with their noble purpose. In this chapter, we discuss how wise leaders can use their context sensitivity and discernment to maintain a balance between authenticity and appropriateness in their actions.
How do we become authentic, and where does authenticity come from? Finding one’s source of authenticity can be tricky. In his book Authentic Leadership, former Medtronic CEO Bill George suggests that leaders can derive and demonstrate their authenticity by “being yourself—being the person you were created to be.”7 George believes that many leaders embody a leadership style that is either “fake” (because it is about keeping up appearances) or “borrowed” (because the leaders were trained in business school or by a mentor or coach to act and lead in a certain way). This lack of authenticity in leadership, George believes, compels many CEOs to take actions that make them look good and deliver personal gains, but fail to contribute to the organization’s long-term sustainability. Self-deception is a major stumbling block to wisdom; it’s a mental filter that limits our ability to be authentic and appropriate.8
In our experience, wise leaders are authentic when they emphasize character and substance over style. In this way, their actions are always aligned not only with what they are feeling; more important they are aligned with their being, their authentic self.
When Ferose became the managing director of SAP Labs India, he showed up on the first day at the office wearing jeans and a casual shirt. He blended in perfectly with the young workforce of SAP Labs India, whose average age is twenty-nine, and its laidback lifestyle and dress. Ferose recalls that some senior managers weren’t amused and suggested that he live up to his title by wearing a suit and even growing a beard to hide his boyish features. Ferose was unfazed. “I wanted to act and lead like Ferose, not as someone else I can’t recognize in the mirror,” he explained. Except when meeting clients, Ferose has maintained his casual dress code (and kept his face clean shaven) and has extended his informal leadership style to major corporate events. At the annual employee meeting in 2011, Ferose and senior management scrapped the usual speeches and improvised a show in which they assumed the roles of Bollywood actors or self-deprecating political characters. At the end of the performance, they received a standing ovation from their delighted employees.
But acting with authenticity isn’t enough to cultivate wise leadership. Rather, wise leaders know when and how to keep their authenticity in check and act appropriately whenever circumstances require it. For example, although Ferose dresses casually while in India, he does wear a suit and tie when he meets with senior management at SAP headquarters in the more formal business environment in Germany.
As you continue on your wise leadership journey, the next step after shifting your perspective and finding your noble purpose is to start aligning your new perspective with authentic and appropriate actions. Identifying your noble purpose is only the beginning. You must then act consistently in alignment with that noble purpose as well as on the insights and discoveries it brings.