Be More of Who You Are
Sometimes the most transformative leadership advice is the simplest.
It's about being more of who you already are.
If emulating someone else ever did cut it, it doesn’t now. Authenticity has become the cornerstone of effective leadership.
When I coach leadership teams navigating the complex dynamics in their organisations, the breakthrough moments rarely come from adding to their leadership toolkit. They emerge when leaders stop performing and start being.
The younger employees respond better to this than you might imagine. Gen Z is a lot less interested in traditional workplace hierarchies than they are in genuine, transparent communication and strong relationships with those who lead them.
And as the age range in the workplace grows ever larger, and generational differences can create friction and misunderstanding in multigenerational teams, there’s a need for every leader to cut through.
That happens when leaders embrace their unique strengths, acknowledging their limitations, and creating space for others to complement their capabilities.
Here's four things to consider.
1. Drop the mask
It can be very alluring for leaders to want to feel safe, and hide away all the things they would rather not do. Vulnerability is often not an attractive option.
A leadership team table can reward conformity, encouraging leaders to adopt personas that feel safe but inauthentic.
It can all be very tiring, and it’s not sensible to use energy on anything other than the big priorities. You have a better chance of tackling them if your leadership is real rather than rehearsed.
Your direct reports would rather follow your lead because of your transparency, not your title. It is particularly true of your younger Gen Z staff, who can spot inauthentic leadership from miles away. They're not looking for perfect leaders, just honest ones.
Showing up as yourself can be a significant paradigm shift for some, but the psychological risk taken by the leader can create a great deal of psychological safety within the team. When leaders model authenticity, it gives permission for others to do the same.
In this day and age your quirks, passions and struggles become connection points rather than liabilities.
2. Strengths first
If you did not have strengths, you wouldn’t be in your job unless you owned the company.
When you are a leader you need to amplify your strengths, and not spend your time eliminating weaknesses.
Some of the latter may never go away. If it’s fundamental to your job you will at least need to practice so you can round off the edges.
But spending a disproportionate amount of time on improving what you are not good at will only produce mediocre results.
Effective leadership in a multigenerational workplace requires playing to your strengths while allowing others to complement your gaps.
The challenge is to create the practices which consistently put you in situations which play to your strengths. This might mean delegating operational details to focus on relationship building, or structuring your day to tackle creative challenges during the times you are at your best.
When leaders operate from their strength zones, they model excellence and inspire teams to discover and develop their own unique capabilities. The challenge then of course is to ensure they do the same.
3. Strategic vulnerability
A contradiction in terms? Maybe.
But vulnerability in leadership does not mean showing it 24/7.
Ultimately people expect you to be able to do your job. The occasional times when you do not do it as well or have a bad day show you as human.
Direct reports do not expect oversharing or emotional dumping. It's the strategic revelation of humanity that builds trust and connection.
Leaders who understand and acknowledge their strengths, admit mistakes and ask for help create cultures where people buy in. But they don’t make a habit of doing it every day.
Two bad days in a row and that mask I advised you to drop in number one might come in handy.
So choose your moments.
Sharing a failure and its lessons during a team meeting transforms a potential embarrassment into a teaching moment. Admitting you are clueless about new technology while expressing eagerness to learn models what you should expect of others.
The intergenerational workplace thrives when leaders demonstrate that progress is the goal rather than perfection. Success is never a straight line.
And as the saying goes, leadership is what happens when you are not in the room. Organisations which learn use their mistakes to their advantage. Innovation can only happen when risks are taken. People need to know that getting it wrong really is an option.
4. Embrace your quirks
Leaders who embrace their quirks attract like-minded talent and complementary team members.
It is amazing how little some leadership teams know each other. They spend years hiding their stand out talents and deficiencies.
Consequently they never find out how complementary they really are.
Your personal preferences, when openly acknowledged and strategically deployed, enhance rather than hinder leadership effectiveness. They make you memorable and human, and that you accept yourself for who you really are.
When a senior executive admits they need Gen Z team members to explain TikTok trends, or when younger leaders acknowledge learning the art of line management from experienced colleagues, these ‘quirk acknowledgments’ build bridges across generational divides.
Authenticity is the universal language that transcends age differences.
Remember That
Authentic leadership isn't about perfection—it's about alignment between who you are and how you lead. Your team needs to see the real you.
Creating space for others to shine doesn't diminish your leadership. The best leaders in multigenerational workplaces know when to lead from the front and when to support from behind.
How can I help you?
1. Talks, workshops and seminars - including managing topics relevant to the two areas above plus explaining Gen Z to Gen X and dealing with the intergenerational workplace. Speaker showreel here.
2. My book The Snowflake Myth will be published in 2025 - to receive a free chapter (when available 😬) please click here.
3. One to one coaching programmes for senior leaders who are swamped by their jobs so they can thrive in life. Click here to discover where you are on your journey from Frantic to Fulfilled? Just 5 minutes of your time and you will receive a full personalised report with guidance on your next steps.
4. Team coaching programmes - working IN a team is not the same as working AS a team and yet they are often treated as if they are the same. I help teams move from the former to the latter, and generate huge shifts in productivity and outcomes.
