Authentic Leadership And The Reptilian Brain

By Nicholas Boothman

So, you want to shine in strong corporate, sales and social structures? Then, according to the new buzz phrase, "you gotta be authentic". You want to be a great leader, parent or partner? Then learn to express your genuine self and be, you got it, authentic.

Volumes have been written about this concept of authenticity. Some say it's trust, respect, sincerity, honesty and integrity all rolled into one. Others will tell you it's all about walking your talk, while still others believe it means saying it like you mean it. Many published experts will tell you you've either got it or you haven't. But, guess what? We've all got it – we were born with it. Babies are authentic.

Authentic is just another way of saying you are "congruent". That your body language, your voice tone and the words you use are all saying the same thing – and that your thoughts, words and deeds are consistent. If these are out of whack, then you, and your communication, are "inconsistent". That makes people nervous and unable to trust, believe and want to follow you. There’s solid scientific proof for this. In 1967, at the University of California at Los Angeles, Dr. Albert Mehrabian published the most widely quoted study on face-to-face communication to date called Decoding Inconsistent Communication. In it he reported that 55 per cent of what we respond to takes place visually; 38 per cent is the sound of the communication; and only seven per cent involves the actual words we use.

This distrust is not a conscious thing, it's an involuntary reaction caused by a tiny bulb that sits at the top of your spinal cord called your reptilian brain! This multi-million-year-old organ is responsible for basic stuff like breathing, swallowing, heartbeat, your visual tracking system and your startle reflex. For reptiles the choices are simple: do I ignore it, eat it, mate with it, or run for it? In business your reptilian brain will signal, in a flash, if it perceives someone to be an opportunity or a threat.

Make 2006 the year to reclaim, or tune up, your natural-born authenticity and send the right unconscious signals. You lose the ability to lead if people don't believe what you say, so walk your talk, deliver the goods, mean what you say and say it like you mean it. Use your authenticity to make a difference in your own life and in the lives of those who look to you for leadership.

Nicholas Boothman is an author and entertaining keynote speaker. His books, How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less and How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less, have been translated into more than 20 languages in less than four years.

• www.nicholasboothman.com