How to Be Authentically You; Build Trust
How to Be Authentically You; Build Trust
10 Ways to Be Real and Be You
Welcome to ValuesCrafting This site and newsletter emphasize authenticity as the foundation for exhibiting almost any other value. Authenticity is the cornerstone of ValuesCrafting's mission and the reason for our existence.
In this issue, we explore the “10 Key Components of Authenticity"—an ongoing journey that requires regular reflection. By assessing whether your actions and words align with your core values, you ensure that you remain true to yourself.
You'll also find our essential article defining trust and what it takes to become a trustworthy person. Trust is an integral value that builds on authenticity, and understanding it is crucial for personal and professional growth.
To deepen your understanding of authenticity, we’ve selected several resources that you can explore further, from quizzes to articles and more.
Insights & Truths: We're excited to introduce our new section, Insights & Truths. You'll find thought-provoking articles that tackle some of the more challenging aspects of values, such as "Lapses in Integrity,” "Why Does Everybody Hate HR?" and "Top 10 Ways to Know You're a Bad Manager." This section is dedicated to uncovering the truths that often go unspoken, providing practical insights you can apply directly to your work and life.
Your feedback during this summer adjustment phase, as we experiment with formats and frequency, is invaluable. We greatly appreciate your input as we strive to tailor our content to better serve your needs. Today's issue is a 10 minute read.
Thank you for being part of the ValuesCrafting community. Together, let's explore how to be authentic and build a more supportive, productive environment.
Warmly,Susan
Mastering Authenticity: Let Your True Self Shine Through
Authenticity is more than a popular term; it's the bedrock of meaningful relationships and impactful work. Aligning your actions, words, and values allows your true self to shine through, creating a ripple effect of trust and respect in all areas of your life.
Authenticity is an ongoing journey that requires regular reflection. Assessing whether your actions and words align with your core values ensures that you remain true to yourself.
10 Key Components of Authenticity
If you want to be authentic, you must understand the ten key components of living authentically. Let's explore these components in more detail with examples.
Self-Awareness
Authenticity requires self-awareness and an understanding of the core values you desire to express through your decisions and actions. It involves recognizing your strengths and weaknesses and being mindful of how your actions affect others.
For instance, if you’re aware that you tend to dominate conversations, you might consciously try to listen more during meetings, ensuring that others have the space to contribute. This mindfulness aligns with your values of respect and collaboration and fosters a more inclusive environment.
Consistency
Consistency is key to authenticity. You must align your values, words, and actions to make your decisions and interactions consistent. This consistency engenders trust, which is further strengthened by openness and transparency.
For example, a manager who values transparency regularly holds open forums where their team can share concerns. Their consistent actions—listening and providing honest feedback—reinforce their commitment to openness, build trust, and encourage more open communication within the team.
Openness and Transparency
Openness and transparency create trust. People know what you believe and what motivates you to act. This authenticity also requires vulnerability because when you share your true self, you leave yourself open to questioning and, potentially, criticism.
For instance, a leader might openly admit during a team meeting that a recent decision didn’t turn out as planned. The leader shows vulnerability by sharing the reasons behind the decision and acknowledging the mistake. This honesty may invite questions or criticism, but it also builds trust, as the team sees the leader as genuine and accountable.
Integrity
Integrity is another key component of authenticity. For people to believe you, integrity means being honest and trustworthy in all circumstances. You understand that lies can occur by omission as often as commission. People must see your actions as coming from an ethical base.
For instance, if you realize a mistake was made on a project, acknowledging it rather than covering it up demonstrates integrity. Your teammates will think of you as honest and trustworthy.
Genuineness and Sincerity
Genuineness and sincerity shine out in actions that come from your authentic self. People know when you have a hidden agenda or fail to express your true thoughts and feelings.
For example, if a colleague asks for your opinion on a new idea, instead of offering vague or overly positive feedback to avoid conflict, you share your honest thoughts with constructive suggestions. This sincerity helps the colleague improve and strengthens the trust and transparency in your relationship.
Empathy
Empathy underlies the actions of a person who is communicating authentically. You know the effect of your words and actions and care about how others feel. This approach ensures that those around you perceive you as empathetic and caring.
For example, when giving constructive feedback, an authentic person will take the time to consider how their words might impact the recipient and deliver the message with compassion and understanding, ensuring that the feedback is perceived as honest and supportive.
Accountability
Accountability in authentic behavior requires you to take responsibility for your decisions, actions, and results. You learn from them and continuously improve both personally and professionally.
For example, if a project you led didn’t meet expectations, rather than shifting blame to others, you openly acknowledge what went wrong, analyze the factors that contributed to the outcome, and take steps to improve future efforts. This approach demonstrates your commitment to growth and builds trust and respect among your team members.
Humility
Authentic people are humble because they know they don’t know everything. They understand their limitations and seek the input and contributions of others. They don’t do hail and hearty or offer false praise; they sincerely acknowledge the contributions of colleagues and friends.
For example, during a project review, a leader might recognize that a particular challenge was solved thanks to a team member’s expertise. Instead of taking credit or offering exaggerated praise, the leader sincerely thanks the team member responsible and highlights their specific contribution and impact on the project’s success.
Courage
Truly authentic behavior requires courage. Staying true to your values and beliefs is tough when others disagree with you, especially when you think a different opinion will undermine harmony or a good working relationship. The courage you demonstrate must be based on your core values and sense of purpose.
For instance, a team member might speak up during a group discussion to challenge an idea that goes against their ethical beliefs. Even though most of the group supports the idea, this person calmly explains their concerns and suggests an alternative approach that aligns with their values. This act of courage, despite potential pushback, demonstrates true authenticity by prioritizing integrity over conformity.
Building Connections
You build connections with family, friends, and colleagues when you authentically express your decisions, beliefs, and feelings. Communication that is accessible and relatable and avoids jargon or pretentiousness will also help people perceive that you speak with genuine warmth and understanding.
For example, imagine a family gathering where a sensitive topic arises, such as a disagreement about holiday plans. Instead of starting the conversation by saying you won’t attend, you share your feelings openly and honestly, explaining why a particular tradition is important to you. By speaking from your heart and in a way everyone can understand, you help foster a deeper connection and mutual respect within the family, ragardless of the outcome.
Conclusion
Exhibiting these ten key factors will build a foundation of trust, respect, and credibility and inspire others to do the same. In a world where authenticity is rare, your commitment to living authentically not only sets you apart but also creates a ripple effect, fostering more genuine connections and leading to greater fulfillment in both your personal and professional life.
How to Build and Maintain Trust
Trust. You know when you feel it and notice when it's missing. But what exactly is trust, and how can you define it practically in your workplace? How do you nurture and grow the trust you have? Can you build trust where it's lacking? These are essential questions, especially in our rapidly changing world.
Trust is the foundation for effective communication, employee retention, motivation, and discretionary energy—that invaluable extra effort people willingly invest in their work. When trust thrives in an organization or relationship, almost everything becomes more accessible and achievable.
A Definition of Trust
When reading about trust, many definitions exist that purportedly describe it in understandable ways—but don't. Trust is a valuable and critical quality in building a relationship—personal and business relationships depend on it.
But what is trust, how can you build trust, and how can you be sure that you and those you work with are trustworthy?
A recent, comprehensive definition of trust in Psychology Today suggests it is a complex construct involving cognitive and emotional components. It's a complex process that includes a sense of confidence and security in the trustworthiness of others, not just predicting their behavior. Trust is context-specific, combining rational assessments and emotional responses.
In Psychology Today, Paul Thagard, Ph. D., points out that mistrust isn't just about predicting negative behavior; it's an emotional response involving dislike and fear that affects how we perceive others.
He says, "Mistrust is an emotional process that goes far beyond the estimation of low probabilities about people doing what they are supposed to. It also requires representation of the self, the person mistrusted, and the relevant aspect, but it differs from trust in assigning negative emotions akin to dislike and fear."
The Three Constructs of Trust
Duane C. Tway, Jr., Ph.D., outlines three constructs of trust:
Capacity for trusting: You need life experiences to develop trust. If your parents and teachers were untrustworthy, you might have a low capacity for trust—no one else has been trustworthy, so why should you trust this business partner?
Perception of competence: A person can be honest, but you cannot trust them if they are incompetent. Likewise, it would help if you could do the work at hand. To experience trust, you must trust that a person can do the job effectively.
Perception of intentions: How do people perceive your actions, words, direction, and mission? Are they self-serving, or do they benefit everyone involved? Trust is unlikely if others see you as self-serving.
Why Trust Is Critical in a Healthy Organization
Would you go to work every day if you were wondering if you'd get paid on time? Would you hire someone if you doubted they'd show up for work? Trust is foundational for success. You need to trust the people within your organization to be successful so that you can experience success, too.
This is why bullying wreaks havoc in a company; you can't trust a bully's intentions and that what they say to you is true. A lack of trust creates a miserable environment.
Micromanagers operate with low levels of trust. They do not believe their employees can accomplish anything without checking on them frequently and giving guidance. Under micromanagement, employees quickly become miserable.
The critical component in all these issues is trust.
Even in trustworthy organizations, misunderstandings or mistakes can erode trust. For instance, if an employee misinterprets a communication or a customer order is misplaced, trust can falter—even without dishonest intentions. And if a business owner files for bankruptcy, it raises questions: Is this action a lack of trustworthiness or just bad luck?
Intrigued? Discover the key factors that can undermine trust and learn about the vital role leaders play in building and maintaining trust. Don’t miss out—read the full article on the ValuesCrafting site.
ValuesCrafting Compass: Curated Resources for Value-Driven People
These curated resources provide valuable perspectives on authenticity, helping you understand its critical role in leadership and relationships. Explore them to deepen your understanding and application of this fundamental value.
Check out this 10-question test from Psychologies, UK. Do you know how to be authentic? It takes around five minutes, and the analysis of the two me’s I tested is interesting. In one, I exhibited a lack of empathy. In the other, I demonstrated a tendency for inhibition.
People who strive to be authentic and are willing to invest the mental evaluation time to see themselves are key to others seeing them as authentic. Authenticity is a multi-faceted concept that requires ongoing attention and self-awareness. Psychology Today provides a good overview of what you need to know to be authentic.
Finding your authentic self at any age, later, is better, and a few techniques for getting past feelings like envy are themes in Bevy Smith’s 2022 TED Talk. How to discover your authentic self is wry, funny, and from her heart. Listen to her journey from fashion executive to radio and TV host, public speaker, and author.