Authenticity in Leadership: Eliminating the Masks

“Hooded Justice” and Sister Night (aka Angela Abar)

The Masks of Watchmen

In a recent post on flow, we opened with some thoughts on how the masterpiece show Watchmen played with time. In this post, let’s revisit Watchmen for another element it tackles so provocatively—the symbol of masks.

Putting on a mask is a way of disappearing, being invisible, unidentifiable. In Watchmen, the masks allow the characters to take on alternate identities—from the hero Hooded Justice (Will Reeves) to the villainous Klan in the Tulsa massacre and the white supremacist group known as the Seventh Kavalry to the Tulsa police, and the vigilantes fighting for justice. Masks are central to the show’s plot as a way to question identity and to prompt inquiry. For many of these characters, the justification for a secret identity is to keep themselves, their friends and family safe from the constant threat of danger. 

Watchmen’s Tulsa police, Looking Glass, and Sister Night (aka Angela Abar, played by Regina King)

The show grappled with the idea that secret identities do not always provide the desired protection and may do more harm than good. The show also asked the question: when do masks stop being about protection and, instead, become a tool that emboldens the abuse of power?  Masks undoubtedly create such duality. Watchmen reminds us that sacrificing one’s identity, a common theme for superheroes, is just as common for everyday folk.

Central character Angela Abar’s grandfather Will (Hooded Justice, as played by Louis Gossett Jr.) puts it somberly in the finale’s final minutes: “You can’t heal under a mask, Angela. Wounds need air.” 

As complex human beings, we may present ourselves in different ways based on the circumstance, the people we’re dealing with, or what we hope to accomplish. We may feel that a “mask” is needed to avoid conflict or to get desired results. Watchmen’s shrewd handling of masks gives us an opportunity to ask questions about what it means to be authentic.

How Can We Define Authenticity?

Authentic leadership is the pursuit of excellence (high performance) and meaning, joy and integrity (high fulfillment). It is a path of action and reflection that brings these two factors — performance and fulfillment — together for your benefit and the benefit of the people you work with and serve. In your most purposeful and meaningful work experiences, performance and fulfillment unite:

High Performance + High Fulfillment = Creating Desired Results with Meaning, Joy, and Integrity.

— Eric Klein

Authenticity is the ability to express yourself as you truly are, reflecting your true character, values, and principles so people understand exactly where you stand. It’s also about inspiring people to action through the distinctive contributions you have to offer. Authenticity is empathy without sacrificing rationality. Authentic leaders are reliable and trustworthy, and people respect them. They take responsibility and expect others to do the same.

Becoming an authentic leader is not easy. It involves a degree of selflessness and much self-reflection—to truly “know thyself.” It also takes a great deal of courage.

Authenticity in Music

Eric Klein’s quote above is an apt description of the jazz ensemble at their best. It embodies what the music is all about–high performance and high fulfillment. Authenticity in music contains an emotional depth that people connect with. In jazz, each musician operates from what we have framed as an Ensemble Mindset, a core principle of the Jazz Leadership Project. Their true self and their gifts are what they offer through their performances.  Jazz musicians either possess or strive to develop, with every performance, the characteristics of authenticity in the graphic below.

Showing Up with Authenticity

Courtesy of The Institute of Leadership and Management

Self-Awareness: Authentic leaders are aware of their strengths, their limitations, and their emotions. They also show their real selves to their teams and colleagues, not act one way in private and another in public. They don’t hide their mistakes or weaknesses for fear of looking weak.

Building Trust: Authentic leaders put the mission and the goals of the organization ahead of their own self-interest. They do the job in pursuit of results, not for their own power, money or ego. Authentic leaders construct conditions that create high trust.

Conversation/Communication: Authentic leaders lead with their heart, not just their minds. They are not afraid to show their emotions, their vulnerability, and to connect with their employees. Communicating in a direct manner is critical to successful outcomes, when done so with empathy.

Aligning Values: Focusing on principles and values, not just quarterly profits, authentic leaders understand that aligning individuals with company values requires hard work and patience.

Integrity: Being honest and straightforward when dealing with others, not playing games or having hidden agendas. Aligning what you think and feel with what you say and do. Staying true to your values so people know where you stand.

Challenging: An effective authentic leader solicits opposing viewpoints and considers all options before choosing a course of action. There is no impulsive action or “hidden agendas”—plans are well thought out and openly discussed. This is an example of what we call “antagonistic cooperation.”

Supporting: Fostering an environment of safety and encouragement is critical so people are comfortable sharing their opinions.

Ethics: Operating from a moral center, an authentic leader is driven by a concern for fairness and holds strong ethical values, even in the face of tempting shortcuts. We’re essentially talking about “doing the right thing.” (Spike Lee pun intended.)

The Pragmatism of Authenticity

The most practical reason to shed our masks is to live up to our potential to bring all of who we are to what we do. Ray Dalio, in Principles, emphasizes radical truth and radical transparency as the bedrock for building meaningful work and relationships. He says these principles help maintain high standards because they reinforce good behavior and good thinking, which leads to effective decision-making.

Poet E. E. Cummings once wrote: “The greatest battle we face as human beings is the battle to protect our true selves from the self the world wants us to become.” Food for thought.