Legacy Leadership: Wisdom Of The Apostle Paulಮಾದರಿ

Authentic and Sincere

I don’t know about you, but I get an internal prompt – a gut feel - when someone isn’t sincere. They just don’t seem real. Like an actor in a play, they seem to be playing a role, and I am left wondering who they really are. Leaders worth following do not engage in this kind of masquerade; rather, they consistently live out the values they proclaim. While no leader is without gaps between their espoused values – what they say - and their enacted values – what they actually do, Legacy Leaders constantly strive to close the gap. This is the essence of authenticity.

Authentic leaders have a seamless link between their values and their actions. But the congruence between values and attitudes is just the starting point for authentic leadership.  From the perspective of scripture, a leader’s attitudes and actions must be anchored to God’s standards. When a leader’s enacted values are in congruence with their espoused values, and those espoused values are in turn anchored to God’s principles, the leader moral authority. 

We have seen that Paul was often the target of malicious attacks on his character. He responded to these by inviting the scrutiny of those he was addressing. To the Corinthians he said,

For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. (2 Corinthians 1:12).

Paul linked his attitudes, values, and behaviors to God’s standards. Inviting both the Thessalonians and God to examine him, he reminded them “how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers” (1 Thessalonians 2:10). He uses three adverbs to indicate the authenticity and sincerity of his conduct and motives — devoutly, uprightly, and blamelessly. His inner convictions led to holy and devout behavior. With reference to God’s high standards, Paul and his colleagues were upright and righteous. God had approved and equipped them for the work they were doing. They measured up to God’s expectations and requirements. Their conduct was blameless and irreproachable. Their authenticity gave them moral authority.  

It’s easy to critique the authenticity of others.  But, if we are really serious about developing our own authenticity, we must focus on ourselves. I read this statement several years ago: “If we are to be people of integrity, we must constantly confront our lack of integrity.” This reminded me of something my high school coach, Bill Carter, once told the team, “I can’t hear what you’re saying because I am so distracted by what you’re doing.” I don’t remember the immediate context of his remark, but I can still hear his distinctive voice making that statement. He was challenging us to confront the gap between our words and our actions.

Coach Carter’s challenge continues to remind me of the importance of authenticity. If we are to lead with integrity, we must be willing to confront our own hypocrisy. Only by doing this can we be authentic and sincere.

Reflect and Act on these questions:

• Think of a time when someone in a leadership position acted in a way that was contradictory to what they had said. How did that impact their credibility?
• Think of a time when you were in a leadership position and acted in a way that was contradictory to what you said. What was the impact on your credibility?
• “If we are to be people of integrity, we must constantly confront our lack of integrity.” How comfortable are you with this idea?Where are your “integrity gaps”? What small thing in your life right now has the potential to grow into a big thing? Who, other than you, knows about it?
• An important element of developing our authenticity and sincerity as leaders is to have an inner circle of people who love us enough to challenge our integrity gaps and tell us about our blind spots. Have you cultivated an inner circle like this?