You Won’t Make it if You Fake it

Kyler Shumway, PsyD

Anyone can lead.  But great leadership calls for something deeper. 

What’s the difference between a good leader and a great one? Is it having a lot of followers on social media? Is it being able to give a catchy slogan or a catchy speech? Is it having a big idea or a big plan?

Well, those things are nice, but they aren’t what define leadership. True leadership means so much more than popularity, power, and prestige.

True leadership… 

…inspires and empowers others to be their best selves.

…serves and sacrifices for a cause bigger than yourself.

…courageously faces one’s fears and learns from failure.

…honors human imperfection.

…does what is right, even when it is hard.

But the only way you can make that happen is by embracing who you are.

The Difference Between Good and Great is YOU

Anyone can lead. But not anyone can be you – only you can do that. 

True leadership is sourced in the self. The real self. The authentic, foibles and all, you.

You aren’t going to be a great leader by faking it until you make it. You can’t hope to achieve excellence by cosplaying as a CEO. The only way to lead with greatness is by being you. 

While that might sound cheesy, so are nachos – and nachos are amazing. 

I wish I could tell you that I learned this the easy way. Instead, my leadership track record is loaded with wonderful learning opportunities (failures) and memorable misfortunes (regrets). 

But lucky for you and your audience, you can avoid all of that and skip to the fun part – the part where you make the world a better place through authentic leadership. 

Discover the Secrets of Authentic Leadership

You might be thinking to yourself, “That all sounds great, Kyler, but how do you actually do that?”

Well, I’ll tell you… ideally, at your next event 🙂  Connect with me and my team using the contact form below. 

But for now, let me give you a sneak peak of the kinds of hard-earned lessons I can bring to your community: 

1. Leading Without A Title

Most people assume that leadership can only happen if you have a formal role in an organization. But that’s not what leadership is about. You can lead by being an amazing team member and setting an example. You can lead by sharing ideas with others. You can lead by following someone who is trying to do something awesome all by themselves. 

Learn some of the essential ingredients of title-less leadership by tuning in to this mid-pandemic prerecorded keynote featured by the APA:

2. Embracing the Authentic Leader in You

It’s hard to be an authentic leader if you don’t really know who you are. Foggy self-awareness might be holding you back in ways that might not be obvious.

But, how do you find clarity? First, use evidence-based tools to get a metric understanding of your psychological strengths and areas of growth. Second, parse apart the elements of your leadership style which are and are not congruent. And third, make a plan of actionable experiments to help you begin to lead the way you were meant to all along, firmly sourced in the self.

3. Congruent Positivity and Organizational Wellbeing 

One of the strongest indicators of organizational health is turnover. If people aren’t happy, they leave – unless they have no other choice. And if they have no other choice, then their work is likely a source of suffering. Imagine being part of a team full of grumpy, unwell people who scare off anyone with a glimmer of hope and positivity. No thanks! 

The science of mental health can be used to help any organization – from small team to national employer – thrive. You can learn to use simple, evidence-based principles to foster genuine workplace satisfaction, reduce (unhealthy) turnover, and an environment where people succeed.