Authentic leadership in practice:small gestures, big changes

Authentic leadership is not just a theory: it’s a new way of being and acting – a way of letting go of the organisational reins. And in personal terms, that means first of all challenging oneself…

Inspiration sometimes comes from totally unexpected sources. “I heard that song – you know “Let it go”, the one from “Frozen”. And that’s when I thought, yes, how about that? Why don’t I just let go!” We don’t know if the French version, “Libérée, délivrée” (“Liberated, released”), would have reflected Lily Lu’s state of mind, but for Hilton Worldwide’s Director of Human Resources South China, “authentic leadership” began with a shout. In organisations, the leadership style was initially set in stone. “For a long time at Renault Group, we just hired people who were not only men but also trained in the same way, according to the same principles, with the same priorities,” says Béatrice Chavanel, the Group’s VP Diversity & Inclusion. The result today is a masculine management style that is far from generic.”

Because, yes, trying to define authentic leadership often means contrasting it with “masculine leadership”, which tends to be compared with… “feminine leadership”. “I’m not convinced that change will really come from women,” says Karine Lair, Deputy CEO of Oasys Dirigeants, who has finally come round to the idea of “gender-diverse leadership”. What if we had believed that change came from women because it came with women, when in fact it came from greater gender diversity on organisations’ management committees?

An alignment between being and doing

To define it, the managers we interviewed used several terms: “fragility”, “empathy”, “letting go”… For Caroline Vaquette, Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Pernod Ricard, “it’s an individual task incumbent on everyone” – an “awakening.” Lily Lu had to go through that too: “Above all, it’s a change of mindset. Over time, a lot of time, I began to look within myself more than at the results. I told myself to do less, think more.” Authentic leadership is a journey towards oneself and on behalf of others. Cécile Lefevre, Deputy CEO in charge of HR, CSR policy and Transformation, Groupe Pasteur Mutualité, speaks of “naturalness” and an ”alignment between being and doing.” In her view, “you are a leader when you show that what you do is who you are.”

Florence Dupré, La Poste Groupe’s Global Healthcare Officer, says: “The leader is the person in charge of the environment. Many women don’t see themselves doing the same job as their boss. They forget that if they take on these positions, they’ll do it in their own way, and the environment will end up reflecting them.” They can “break down the silos”, expand the organisation and make it more horizontal. Beyond hierarchical restructuring, this involves “small gestures”. Catherine Petit, CEO of Moët-Hennessy Brazil, spoke to the trainees rather than the managers; Florence Douroux-Chatellier, who has management experience in a variety of corporate cultures, at Dyson, Zehnder Group, Microsoft and Nilfisk, asked questions like “How are you doing?”, “How can I help you,” “What do you need?” And she even took note of the answers: “People told me: “Wow, you’re actually listening to us!” It’s the first thing to do when you decide to take people with you, but they’d been getting stuff from the top down all the time.” At Nokia, we’ve often called it “Connecting people”: “I was this person who connected people.”

This sharing of the floor goes hand in hand with a wider distribution of responsibilities. “With time, I’ve learned to ask for help,” says Florence Douroux-Chatellier, who is now trying to get the message across. “The other day, with a CSR project, I advised a manager to delegate, saying: “You know, you could think about giving this project to a junior.” We’re always extremely surprised by the results we get when we give people power and responsibility,” says Béatrice Chavanel.

Little by little, everything is falling into place: “Trust is becoming established,” says Florence Douroux-Chatellier. This word is often used in conjunction with another: “benevolence”. Together, they seem to form the contemporary driving force that is transforming organisations. If you can be yourself, you can give the best of yourself. “If you can’t be authentic at work, if you constantly have to hide who you are, you’ll never be able to perform well,” says Caroline Vaquette.

You are a leader when you show that what you do is who you are.

Cécile Lefevre, Groupe Pasteur Mutualité