What Authentic Leadership Means to Me

Authentic leadership is one of those phrases that gets used a lot and understood very little.

It’s often reduced to buzzwords. “Be yourself.” “Bring your whole self to work.” “Lead with authenticity.”

But for many of us, especially those who have spent years navigating environments where difference is quietly penalized, authenticity hasn’t always felt safe.

For me, authentic leadership isn’t performative. It’s not aspirational. It’s not about being likable.

Authentic leadership is about freedom.

Authentic Leadership Means Showing Up Without Fear

At its core, authentic leadership is being able to show up as who you are without fear of judgment, punishment, or retaliation.

That doesn’t mean oversharing. It doesn’t mean disregarding professionalism. It means you’re not constantly scanning the room, editing your words, shrinking your presence, or questioning whether your authenticity will cost you credibility.

When you lead authentically, you’re not performing a version of yourself that feels more palatable. You’re grounded in who you are, and you trust that your leadership stands on its own.

That level of safety is not accidental. It’s intentional. And it’s powerful.

Leading Without Sacrificing Yourself

Too often, leadership has been framed as a tradeoff: Success or authenticity. Visibility or safety. Power or truth.

Authentic leadership rejects that false choice.

It’s leading in a way that feels genuine, not rehearsed. It’s refusing to sacrifice your values, your voice, or your identity in exchange for proximity to power.

When leadership requires you to abandon who you are, it’s not leadership, it’s compliance.

And compliance has never changed anything.

No Masking. No Code-Switching for Survival

Masking is exhausting.

For years, many professionals, especially women, people of color, and those who don’t fit traditional leadership norms, have learned to hide parts of themselves for fear of retribution.

Tone-policing. Code-switching. Softening truths. Downplaying expertise.

Authentic leadership is choosing to stop hiding, not recklessly, but intentionally.

It’s the decision to lead without constantly calculating how your identity will be received. It’s understanding that your credibility does not require erasure.

And yes, it takes courage. But it also creates trust. The kind that performance alone never will.

You Don’t Need a Title to Lead

One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is that it begins with prestige.

It doesn’t.

Authentic leadership means leading from where you are, regardless of title, hierarchy, or formal authority. It’s about influence, not rank—trust, not optics.

Some of the strongest leaders I know have never had the biggest titles in the room, but they shape decisions, culture, and outcomes every day.

Leadership is not granted. It’s practiced.

Comfortable in Who You Are, Courageous in What You Do

Authentic leadership isn’t passive.

It requires being deeply comfortable in who you are and brave in the decisions you make.

It’s:

• Saying the thing that needs to be said

• Making choices aligned with your values

• Standing firm when it would be easier to conform

• Taking responsibility, even when it’s inconvenient

Comfort fuels confidence. Courage fuels change.

You need both.

Rejecting the Cookie-Cutter Mold

Leadership has long been defined by narrow, exclusionary standards such as how leaders should look, speak, act, and move through the world.

Authentic leadership dismantles that entirely.

It does not require:

• A specific background

• A polished pedigree

• A rehearsed persona

• A personality that fits neatly into a box

Authentic leaders don’t chase approval by fitting a mold. They build credibility by being real.

Leading Without Preconceived Notions

At its best, authentic leadership is expansive.

It leaves room for different styles, identities, experiences, and expressions of power. It challenges the idea that leadership must look a certain way to be valid.

Because when leadership is narrowly defined, talent is wasted. And when leadership is reimagined, everything shifts.

Why This Matters

Authentic leadership isn’t about comfort; it’s about sustainability.

People don’t burn out because they can’t do the work. They burn out because they can’t be themselves while doing it.

Authenticity creates leaders who last. Leaders people trust. Leaders who build cultures instead of just climbing ladders.

That’s the leadership I believe in. That’s the leadership Breaking Rank exists to elevate.

Reflection Questions

Where in your leadership, or your career, are you still hiding parts of yourself to feel safe?

What might shift if you didn’t?