Authenticity – catchphrase or real movement?

QS TopExecutive Editor-in-Chief and EMBA alumna (ESCP Europe class of 2010) Hina Wadhwa Gonfreville takes a look at authenticity and how EMBA programs are addressing this trend in business today.

“Fellow penguins, as we meet this challenge — and we definitely will — it is more important than ever to remember who we really are.”
- Louis the penguin, Our Iceberg Is Melting (John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber

Have you noticed how the idea of authenticity gets tossed around a lot nowadays? “Is this product truly what I think it is?”; “Is this really 100% organic?”; “Is the politician I cast my vote for genuine?” It’s natural — we’ve lived through a number of crises recently: the global financial crisis, the subprime and real estate bubbles, multiple bank and government bailouts, the European debt crisis, rating agency standards … and alongside all of that, the news is full of political turmoil and ongoing military conflicts.

In all cases, authenticity and the questions revolving around it can be found at the heart of the subjects at hand. These recent events have touched our lives in more ways than one and have fuelled the rhetoric of many an economist, news channel or journal. It has also given birth to numerous movements questioning the distribution of wealth and the role of government bodies, financial institutions, rating agencies, company boards and more evidently, their leaders.

Roger Delves, who delivers the Authentic Leadership module for the Ashridge Business School, UK MBA says, “Being authentic means being driven by values which are about the wellbeing and welfare of others, rather than having at the front of one’s mind values which are about self-regard, personal success and ambition. Authentic leaders are not (whatever the temptation) predominantly self interested. The apparently inexplicable decisions of obviously intelligent people can often seem far more understandable when viewed through the lens of self-interest.”

I decided to embark on my own EMBA journey in fall 2008. At the time, the crisis was at its most critical stage. I can’t say I really understood what was happening around me (a vague understanding would come later in finance class!) but that was one of my motivations — to be able to read about what was going on around me and at least understand the concepts.

One of my other main motivations in pursuing an EMBA was the desire to develop a better understanding of myself in order to grow into the leader I aspire to be. Many of us presume that we are not concerned by the idea of leadership (just another one of those big words thrown around), but that is only on the surface. We lead in many different ways, implicitly and explicitly.

An entrepreneur leads his company to deliver his dream; a team leader drives his team mates to achieve a goal; a marketer is responsible for a message to drive customers to his product; an employee of any company is accountable for any action that represents his company. We all lead people, actions, campaigns and send our signals with our words, our actions and our behaviour in general.

“The bottom line is not just about the next quarterly dividend or income report but rather about building something over time and connecting with all stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, society),” says Dr. Francis Petit, Associate Dean for Executive MBA Programs at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business Administration in the US.

In an article published by Harvard Business Review in 2007 entitled Discovering Your Authentic Leadership, Young & Rubicam’s then Chairman and CEO Ann Fudge said, “All of us have the spark of leadership in us, whether it is in business, in government, or as a nonprofit volunteer. The challenge is to understand ourselves well enough to discover where we can use our leadership gifts to serve others.”

The authentic nature of the EMBA candidate

The quest for authenticity as an Executive MBA candidate starts early on. First of all, does the program you have chosen correspond to who you are and what you want to do? What are your goals? Does the EMBA program give you the opportunity to develop the skills you need? “Our students are working professionals with years of management experience. Their MBA must be authentic—anything less is unacceptable,” says Laurie Kirsch, Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Business Administration at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh. “We measure authenticity by the return on investment our students realize, [as well as] the degree to which we expand the leadership potential of our students […] by giving them the tools to develop their long-range strategic vision,” she adds.

Next comes the question of being an authentic candidate. Do you have what it takes? Are you willing to put in the time and the effort required, as well as handle the triple work/life/ study balancing act? “It’s very important for [E]MBA students to be authentic—honest, candid, confident in who they are and in their abilities—both during the search for the right MBA program and while undertaking coursework. The worst thing applicants can do is to misrepresent themselves and their experiences,” says Alexis Mellon, Regional Director of Europe, Duke University, Fuqua School of Business.

The authentic nature of entrepreneurs

Executive MBA programs provide the right environment for entrepreneurs to build their skills and develop their knowledge (read our Entrepreneurial Edge article on page 38 to learn more about what EMBAs have to offer). Entrepreneurs (or even intrapreneurs in corporations) have a duty to be true to their vision and subsequently share that vision with employees to help deliver the dream.

“Human nature responds to authenticity. Brands, for example, are built from the heart and not from a slogan. Business relationships are also built from trust and this trust must be cultivated. Employees do their best work when they are intrinsically motivated for a project task,” explains Fordham’s Petit.

Who you are as a leader and what you communicate will influence the culture and values of your corporation. Imagine a company that prides itself in great customer service but allows team leaders to treat employees badly. Or a healthcare company that doesn’t promote wellness in the workplace? Does that make sense? Leaders and their attitudes trickle down to all levels of an organization and can be sensed or worse, mimicked, by all members of a team; dissonant behaviour creates a culture based on lack of authenticity, which sooner or later will affect performance.

“Authenticity has two dimensions for a leader. The first is integrity. We teach our students to act with integrity in their work. This is even more important for leaders, since they set the tone and play a key role in forming the culture,” explains Michael Gibbs, Clinical Professor of Economics and Faculty Director, Executive MBA Program, University of Chicago Booth School of Business. “The second dimension involves trust. Trust facilitates cooperation, collaboration, and a working relationship that creates the most value and benefit for both sides,” he adds.

Tony Hsieh, founder and CEO of Zappos, in an interview with Forbes in 2010, explained that his primary focus as CEO was to ensure a “great service-focused culture.” He adds, “If you get the culture right, then a lot of really amazing things happen on their own”.

You can even instigate great change, just as Fred, Alice and the few penguins who knew their colony was in danger in John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber’s Our Iceberg is Melting. They found other penguins to share their vision of changing icebergs. Those of you who are drivers of change in your corporations or communities will have to demonstrate your authentic belief in your cause.

The authentic nature of good managers

Bruno Staffelbach, Professor of Business Economics and Chair for Human Resource Management at the University of Zurich, tells us, “In brief, authenticity means to walk the talk. It means to be honest in your actions and the willingness to communicate accordingly. Very often, we confront students with situations they have gone or are currently going through themselves. It is the connection to their own living environment that provides the most sustainable learning effects. Therefore, we ask the class to come up with problems they are facing in their companies, teams or families,” says Staffelbach.

Through case studies and group work, Executive MBA participants can investigate different outcomes of leadership decisions in a safe environment that allows for experimentation. They can discuss their own experiences and compare how other executives from other companies and industries lived or handled professional challenges or crisis situations. I remember when I had just started my EMBA program, I found it fascinating to watch my fellow classmates demonstrate their own leadership styles through group work. Again, the importance of being authentic cannot be undermined. Your fellow participants quickly sense who they’re dealing with.

Perhaps Zappos’ Family Core Value #6 sums it up best—“Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication.” The charter explains that strong relationships are built on emotional connections. “It’s important to always act with integrity in your relationships, to be compassionate, friendly, loyal, and to make sure that you do the right thing and treat your relationships well. The hardest thing to do is to build trust, but if the trust exists, you can accomplish so much more.”