The Rise of Authentic

It's refreshing to see books, journals and blog posts speak about how authenticity in leadership and communications matter. How vulnerability is the new black. That when a leader exposes their human underbelly, their teams will connect, be inspired and do the good work. 

But what's authentic? Gabrielle Dolan's new book Ignite takes a great hit at it. She says it's about being real. Real talk, real leadership, real results. She's spot on. 

Real. It's needed because too many leaders continue to :

• Deliver dull PowerPoint packs full of bullet points following a template
• Use 'insert chart' or 'draw table' commands to put boxes and shapes in presentation documents
• Spend days and days and hours and hours of theirs and other people's time trying to get a presentation pack looking just right before they send out the 34 pages of detailed, boxy, dot pointed drivel.

It's so fake it's unreal. 

The team isn't engaged and they're not really, truly listening. They're busy listening to and thinking other more interesting and inspiring things. Things that involve them, make sense to them and give them an insight to something else, something bigger. That hefty wad of information is not only lacking authenticity, it's dull, boring, uninspiring. They tune out. Yawn!

So how do you be authentic? Now, today and tomorrow?

Here's how:

• Show your people what you're thinking. Your thoughts. It might not all be finalized right now but show them a low fidelity outline, a rough sketch of 'here's how this could look.' 
• Be honest with them: 'This may not be the finished thing, but here's what I'd love us to think about creating'. 
• Get their input. What do they reckon. How do they see it? What could they do with it? How could they shape it, share it and drive it?
• Share your thinking, that's what's authentic and human.That's a start. It may not be the end point but it's the 'now' point. 

This is the vulnerable leader. They're saying via their behavior : I do not know all. I am relinquishing command and control, I am collaborative leader, leading a team of humans who all have skills, knowledge and expertise...so tell me what you think.

Your team, organisation and industry need to know who you are and what you think...now. That's authentic. 

Put it out there even if it's not finished, final and fully done. 

What happens next ...now that will be authentic! 

Is there a meme in your message?

So you've got this message and information you need to share, spread, roll out or deliver to people.

You want them to take it up, listen to it, understand it, know it, trust it and love it so bad that they'll 'do it' and then share it with others so more people listen, understand, know, trust, ....

But wait.. what! They're not? They must be. Aren't they?

Not only are they not sharing it as you'd like, they're not acting the way you'd like. They haven't taken it (fully) on board, and they haven't changed their behaviour.

In fact it's worse than you think; they have done something with it! They're making fun of it. (Yes they are; just not in front of you.)

They've found the funny in it. They're sharing that. They've found the laughing bit, the rude bit, the cheeky bit and the risky bit. They've found the part that is shareable ... and unfortunately it's not your PR-speak "key message".

Every message needs a meme 
A meme is a central idea, a shareable, viral, culture-based and symbolic message - every message needs ... a meme. Without it, your message is just, bluh.

That's not to say your change or leadership message needs Grumpy cat or some Rickrolling or even Shark number 2 - but it does need:

• a clear idea on why they should care
• an element that just has to be shared with others; and
• a visual punch that hits them between the eyes.

With the rise of Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat and other smartphone and visual social sharing tools, you've got to create a clearer visual picture of your message so that it can be passed on.

'Meme' comes from the Greek word 'mimeme' to mimic or imitate. (Yes, well they might be imitating your message but not how you'd like them to be!)

Get meme therapy
Go get some contemporary meme therapy here at Meme Generator and you can see what people are buying in to, understanding, altering, editing and sharing. (I make no apologies for the naughty or 'inappropriate' memes that might be at that link. They're memes after all!)

Then you can go deeper into the thinking on the physics of it all from Nova Spivack, or check out the research behind memes from biologist Richard Dawkins and his work on evolution and how things spread... (and mutate) including his views on how the internet has hijacked the meme.

Pause. Before you punch out a list of BS bullet points on that slide deck for your presentation, spend some more thinking time to craft, create and generate something that will stick, transfer, build and ... live on.

Give them something they want to mimic... for good.

What's your wallpaper of the week?

When you think how often we check our phones and digital devices in a day...

This morning alone I've looked at the screen to off the alarm, check my diary, check a weather app, look at email notifications, see who liked an image I uploaded to Instagram... and most of this isn't even work related. I'm on holidays!

While we're absorbing all that information, data and stuff, I wonder what opportunity there is to reinforce what we really want to be focusing on.

What's on your home screen? Is it a photo of a loved one, the kids, the dog or cat? Maybe it's a serene scene of a beach or holiday memento? Or maybe you're using one of the stock images provided on the device.

This year I'm trying out a new 'wallpaper of the week'. Want to join me? Wallpaper of the week is an image I choose as something to inspire, focus and keep me on track for my goals, targets, ways of living and intentions.

Yes, holiday photos and pictures of Fluffy are sweet, but what piece of mindshare might I claw back by having a focused message, inspiring quote, or visual anchor to keep popping up on my home screen or wallpaper.

For most of us, the amount of screen time we have is growing. With many people detoxing, turning devices off and being more choosey about when they're online, why not be more conscious about what you look at in that second or two when you're about to delve into your device?

Choose wisely what impresses on you every time your fire up, swipe or touch your devices.

There's some prime real estate there up for grabs; use it to your advantage and leverage the mini billboard that gets your eyes throughout the day.

How NOT to start your presentation on change

Senior leader... standing at the front of a room, about to announce some key information on a change and transformation piece of work. 

The room is hushed. Everyone is waiting to hear why the change is happening and how it will affect them. You know the old 'WIIFM' 'What's in it for me'. You've got to hook them in first, before you even begin to blab on about how it will roll out and when it will happen. 

So the leader begins... and the first words out of their mouth were: 

'I have seven slides to present'.

Yep, that was it. The number of slides. The number of times they were going to 'click' the clicker to advance the PowerPoint deck of pre-prepared numbness. Seven times. 

THAT was the most important thing?

That's what you wanted to lead with?

That was going to frame the change, the message, the impact?

The nervousness, uncertainty or anxiety was leaking out of this leader and their subconscious or unconscious was speaking: 'just get through these seven slides'. 

The team thinking - 'oh great, seven slides.'

After some wise counsel on how this leader could design, communicate and facilitate change through the rest of this national rollout, the start of the subsequent presentations changed.

This leader started with a story, or a statistic, or a statement. It was inspiring, engaging and it captured attention.

They didn't start with the number of slides. Not any more. 

Know your message.

Know your team and their 'what's in it for me'.

Lead with that. Reinforce that.

Share that and be passionate about that.

Not how many slides you have. (zzzz)

Do it with the lights on and the blinds open

Yep, put it on show and make it visible.

Stand out, loud and clear so people can see and hear you!

Doing what and where ... you wonder?

Last week I was working with a team on their leadership day. They put so much effort into making the conference room dark enough for the PowerPoint presentation and slides. I figured this was gonna be one heck of a deck. 

But, well, it wasn't. It was a bunch of dot points on the company template. zzzzzzz, yawn and dull boring, #fail.

This was a leadership team and a big event focused on communicating change, inspiring the team, getting everyone on the same page.

A darkened room and a deck of uninspiring, forgettable bullet points. Yep, that's really going to have staying power... no.

Leaders need to get real when it comes to communicating change. Turn the lights on. Let them see you. Keep the blinds open. Let natural light in. Be authentic - there's so much 'authentic leadership' talk going on, yet when leaders have the perfect opportunity to influence, persuade and deliver messages as a real human being, they sanitise themselves and hide in the dark, clicking and 'blah-blahing' through lists of linear nothingness.

Stop spending so much time on your bullet points and slide deck and spend some more time crafting, rehearsing, speaking, engaging, sharing and humanising your leadership communication.

Lights on. Blinds open. Now.