Jivan Schuurmans
Jivan is a highly skilled project management and leadership facilitator who I have had the pleasure of working alongside for a number of years. We often talk about what authenticity really means, and I'm really pleased that Jivan agreed to share his view with us in 2nd edition of the book.
Authentic Leadership is an experiential path, which has two directions
Authentic leadership is much more than a model we can think about, analyse and plan for. It’s a personal and experiential path, which has two directions: An inward direction and an outward direction.
The first direction is the process of moving through the layers of your personality and your ego and come closer to who you really are. This is a lifelong journey, which takes perseverance and determination. Along the way your rational mind will start to ask questions about why you’re looking inwards and what the expected results are. But the journey to your authentic core can be hard to quantify. It’s a personal process, where you have to look at your own compass rather than somebody else’s. You can get there by observing and analysing your behaviour, your values, and what your life is all about. Techniques like personal inquiry, meditation, feedback, coaching, guided visualisation and moments of reflection can be of great help.
The second direction is the outward process of displaying and integrating who you really are into your working life. This is where you decide how much of your authentic self you display when you connect with teams, clients and stakeholders. Do you fully adapt to the requirements of your environment or do you – in a rather inflexible way – stand your ground and guard your authenticity? It’s the coming together of these two movements that gives you a physical experience of being authentic.
When you strike the right balance you will feel strong and grounded. You will feel that you are in the right place, doing the right thing for the right reasons. It’s a powerful feeling of synchronicity and alignment