Sure. I think one of the most noticeable traits about me and one that I think is critical for leaders is authenticity; you just have to be true to yourself. People figure out when you’re doing corporate speak and kind of running out a series of lines, and they can tell when you mean it, they can tell when you care, when something matters to you. And so I make a point all the time, I’ll tell people this all the time, I’ll be in the room, and I’ll say, we’re trying to figure out how to communicate, maybe a tough message. And I’ll say, “Well, my first rule of thumb is I’m always going to tell the truth.”
Now, sometimes I can’t fully disclose everything, there may be something confidential about a specific person. We may be in talks with another company where we’ve executed a Non-Disclosure Agreement. But whatever I tell people has got to be the truth, it’s got to be true for me, it’s got to be true out in the world. I’ve got to believe it. And when I’m giving people feedback, positive, constructive, or otherwise, it’s got to be authentic, it’s got to be real to me.
And I’ve got to show up as my true self. I think there’s too many leaders out there, that when they get to really tough decisions, there’s somebody that pulls out a set of corporate speak and talks about synergies, and all kinds of things, where people are like, “Well, what does that mean to me? I don’t understand, what does that mean to me? It’s not really sounding like you care much about your employees.”
So yeah, I do think that being authentic and just being true to yourself is critical. Because you’re not going to get connected with people, you’re not going to get that commitment we talked about before, unless people feel like you’re being real. And I’d say that’s probably one of my key characteristics, and just beliefs in leadership.
