Entrepreneur Qualities and Characteristics: Authenticity
by Bruce Wade on 28/07/10 at 9:27 am
1 comment
I came across this word many years ago when developing a mission statement for an organisation. It sounded right and we went for it but it was only later that I went back and look at what it meant to be authentic and it began to change my life.
At this time I was still trapped in Cubicle Nation and each day forced to be a square peg in a round hole. I had to play ball and play the customer to make the deal. All these terms were a part of the daily lie I was living trying to be someone that my boss wanted me to be. The word authentic boils down to be real. To be the me that I was meant to be, nothing more, nothing less, just me. Often this me is well hidden behind years of pain, education, culture and compliance. Stop for a time and ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, how real are you, at work, at home, with friends, alone with your spouse or partner. Why do we believe we need to be different depending on who we are with? How much energy do you consume being someone you are not just to try make others see you as one of the crowd that is made up of false personalities.
As Entrepreneurs move more into the sector of person to person business and not being able to hide behind the brand or letterhead of some large organisation, we are called to become more real and to stand out in the crowd as an individual. What people see us do and how we behave is our brand. Being authentic just ads to that.
To be authentic, requires us to drop the crap and be real. Laugh, smile, hug, live life fully where ever you are, with whomever. Only when you are able to do this can you build a brand based on truth and authenticity.
Time for some changes, me thinks…
Bruce Wade is a survivor of the corporate and NGO world, author, speaker, business owner and entrepreneur, Bruce now runs the Entrepreneur Incubator; a member based organisation dedicated to serving those in the trenches of business through coaching, mentoring and leadership education. View more articles by Bruce Wade.
Tags: Entrepeneurship, entrepreneur, Entrepreneur Qualities and Characteristics, Entrepreneurial Ideas
Kirsten
Aug 19th, 2010
Nice one, Bruce