The Art of Authenticity

12How to Ferociously Seek the Truth (When Everyone Is Framing and Spinning)

When well-being comes from engaging our strengths and virtues, our lives are imbued with authenticity.

—Martin Seligman's Twitter Self-Description¹

Authenticity is knowing, and acting on, what is true and real inside yourself, your team, and your organization AND knowing and acting on what is true and real in the world. It is not enough to walk one's talk if one is headed off, or leading one's organization, community, or nation off, a cliff.

—Robert Terry²

Leadership is all about two words now. It is about truth and trust. Let's say you are the boss and have a conference room down the hall. People are coming in and spinning you. You have to look out for your people when they hit it out of the park and when they don't. Then, they trust you. When they trust you, you get the truth. When you get the truth, you get speed. Then, you can act.

—Jack Welch³

I was finishing up my day and thinking about pizza for dinner when an e-mail popped up from a client named Ken. All the e-mail said was CALL ME in all caps on the subject line. This couldn't be good. I sighed and dialed the number. Live from Brussels, Ken yelled into my ear: “Every single member of my staff has been lying to me! For months!”

I lowered the volume on my speakerphone. It was 4 PM for me on the East Coast of the United States and 9 PM for him ...