Authentic Leadership

Good Morning,

As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. Gal. 2:6

There’s a pretty good chance that at some point in your life you have encountered someone who seemed to change their stance on something depending on who they were around.  It might have been a complete “flip” of their position or perhaps, a slanting of their stance to appease someone. Maybe they wanted to present an augmented picture of reality.

Dealing with and working with people like that can be exceedingly frustrating.  You never know quite where you stand and on what ground rules to make decisions. Behavior like this can destroy a team and greatly harm morale. This becomes especially true when it involves a core value of an organization or its people; things many would view as non-negotiables of faith or truth.

In the verse above Paul gives us a great example of how to deal with people when facing a potentially touchy subject.  He simply stuck to his scruples.  He stood on the truth of his convictions. He didn’t couch, or conveniently skew them depending on the people he was with. Their position or title did not influence him.  In his view, the truth, presented in transparency took precedence.

Think of the freedom that way of living and leading brings.  We don’t have to remember what we selectively told to who and recall the viewpoint we espoused previously.  In addition, our integrity stays intact.  And that is a really big deal, because it has been said that the only thing that comes back from the grave is a person’s character and integrity.

As you take stock this Monday morning, ask yourself. Are you a transparent, authentic leader, spouse, and parent? If so, that will take you a long way in your influence with others.

“When you have to start compromising yourself and your morals for the people around you, it’s probably time to change the people around you.” (60 Quotes that Will Change the Way You Think)

Live this week on purpose,
Ron Klopfenstein