Diary of a Leader: Know Who You Are - Authentic Leadership
- Lindsay Sheldrake
- Sep 8, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 4
Welcome to "Diary of a Leader" – Real Stories, Leadership Lessons, and Personal Growth
Ah, leadership! The thrilling, heart-racing journey of ups, downs, and all the delightful chaos in between.
Welcome to "Diary of a Leader," where I peel back the curtain on the good, the bad, and the downright awkward moments of being a leader.
And today, I’m serving up a lesson that I wish I knew from the beginning:
THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING WHO YOU ARE - (Simply put, it’s Authentic Leadership—simple right?)
The first step in becoming an effective leader is knowing who you are.
And why is this so important?
Because the easiest way to lead and inspire others is to “walk the walk.”
You can’t expect people to follow you if you’re not being real. Leadership is about being a role model, and trust me, people can tell when you’re faking it.
The Wake-Up Call (a.k.a. My "Oops" Moment)
I learned this the hard way during my first leadership position. I had convinced myself that to be "the leader," I had to act a certain way—more serious, more polished, more authoritative and less me. So I started holding back, speaking differently, and basically pretending to be someone I thought my team wanted and needed. Spoiler: it didn’t work.
Instead of gaining their respect, I just confused them (and myself). One day, after yet another awkward meeting, a colleague pulled me aside and said, "Why are you being so...not you?"
That’s when it clicked.
The Lesson Learned (Yes, I Finally Got There)
I realized I’d been trying to lead from a persona rather than leading as myself. From that moment on, I stopped performing and started leading authentically—no more scripts, just real conversations. And guess what? It made all the difference.
Why This Is So Important
Knowing Yourself Makes Walking the Walk Easier
Here’s where it all connects. If you know who you are, know what you value and you’re comfortable standing in your own truth, walking the walk becomes easy. Why? Because you’re not juggling different personas. You’re not pretending to be one type of leader in front of your team and a completely different version in private. When you’ve figured out who you really are, everything you do aligns with that naturally.
No more guessing. No more acting. You lead with authenticity, and that’s when others start to follow—not because they have to, but because they genuinely believe in you.—not because they have to, but because they genuinely believe in you.
Leading by Example
Let’s talk about walking the walk.
This is the easiest and most effective way to inspire others. You don’t need grand speeches or motivational talks to get people on board. You just need to be what you expect from them.
If you want your team to value honesty, practice honesty yourself. If you value hard work, show them what hard work looks like. Your values should be mirrored in your actions, because people follow actions, not words. Once I realized this and stopped trying to be someone or something I wasn’t, leading became a lot simpler—and a lot more effective.
Step Two: Understanding Yourself as a Leader to Others
Here’s where it gets tricky: once you know yourself, the next step is understanding who you are as a leader to others.
This is where I see a lot of leaders, especially entrepreneurs, hit roadblocks. They figure out the solo part, but things get messy when they start bringing others into the mix.
Entrepreneurs, in particular, are used to running the show solo. They create company values and a way of working, and everything works—until they hire their first employee. Suddenly, those values are more than just words on a page. You have to figure out how those values look in someone else’s behavior. This is where leadership starts to get real.
Anchoring Leadership Values in Behavior
It’s one thing to say you value “integrity” or “teamwork,” but how do those values show up in real life? Leadership is more than throwing around buzzwords. You need to anchor your values in specific behaviors. For example, if you value teamwork, what does that look like in your daily interactions? Are you collaborating and being open to ideas, or just saying you value teamwork without living it?
And once again, circle back to walking the walk. If you’re not living and breathing your values, how can you expect anyone else to?
Wrapping Up (Because Time is Precious)
So, what’s the takeaway?
So, here’s my advice: First, know yourself. Truly. Understand who you are before you try to lead others. When you’re confident in who you are, walking the walk becomes second nature. You won’t need to juggle different personas—you’ll lead authentically.
And don’t forget to
Check how your values translate into actions. Ask yourself: Am I living these values every day? Am I showing my team what these values look like in practice? When you know yourself and lead by example, everything else falls into place.
Catch you next time, fellow leaders-in-training!
Stay tuned for more reflections and lessons from the frontlines in the next chapter of "Diary of a Leader"—there’s plenty more ahead!
-Lindsay
Additional Resources
Here are some great resources that support authentic leadership:
Books on Leadership and Authenticity:
"Daring Greatly" by Brené Brown
"Start with Why" by Simon Sinek
"True North" by Bill George
Podcasts on Authenticity:
Finding Your Authentic Self with Tracy Borreson - The Wellness Dojo Podcast by Kyle Craik
What Makes an “Authentic” Leader? - HBR on Leadership Podcast
Articles on Leadership and Authenticity:
Leadership & Character Assessment Tools:
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