The following is a short book about being perfectly imperfect contributed by the Ohio State University Leadership Center.
Making Work Work: The Positive Solution for Any Work Environment
Shola Richards, New York, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (2016)
“As a leader, the goal is not to appear perfect. The goal is to be real. This worries some people. Does being real mean sharing our weaknesses? Does that mean admitting our mistakes? Does that mean refusing to hide our insecurities and acknowledging that we’re scared?
Ideally, yes to all of it.
No, you don’t have to share your deepest, darkest personal and professional insecurities and private failings in a weekly, company-wide email newsletter. But, on the flip side, you don’t have to frantically hide and minimize your flaws on a daily basis in a failed attempt to appear perfect either. The positive leader must find a happy medium.
The happy medium is doing whatever it takes to create a deeper connection with your followers. If you only care about having people’s bodies behind you, all you need is a title. But if you care about having people’s hearts and minds behind you as well, you will need much more than authority. You will need to build deep connections by leading in a way that many people are unwilling to do.
We must be willing to be authentic and vulnerable (p. 506-507).”
Making Work Work by Shola Richards is available from the OSU Leadership Center.
Learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is inspiring others to take a leadership role that empowers the world at the OSU Leadership Center website.
