Becoming an Authentic Leader in Stockholm

The first evening in Stockholm is dedicated to spring, on the rooftop of the restaurant TAK at the Hotel At Six. People are enjoying music, cocktails, and each other's company, their laughter encouraged by the soft light and the mild evening temperature. Just as the birds are singing and celebrating that spring has finally arrived, you can feel winter's longing for light replaced with positivity, appreciation, and kindness.

It's the perfect place, and the perfect way, to end the first day of the 'Becoming an Authentic Leader' programme for a group of female leaders from a large Nordic organisation. We spent the day together in a room of love and kindness, focused on unlocking the participants' potential, both as individuals and as a team. The aim of the programme is to focus on what is right with people, rather than what is wrong and needs fixing — building a network within their organisation that makes it possible to collaborate, elevate, and support one another. And, not least, retaining female leadership talent, and encouraging these women to become leaders who will transform the current leadership demographic and culture.

The key to authentic leadership is knowing and investing in one's strengths. All participants completed a CliftonStrengths assessment and a coaching feedback session. When we know our strengths, we're more likely to focus on what's right for us, and to take ownership of our own careers. This leads to becoming a sustainable leader — one who no longer tries to emulate others, and who moves away from learned behaviours that may serve others, but not oneself.

'Becoming an Authentic Leader' is a programme that encourages leaders to do what they do best, and to be true to their authentic selves. It acts as a catalyst for daring to explore one's own leadership style, and for becoming a leader who challenges the status quo and the old ways of leading that no longer serve the people within organisations. We encourage leaders to stay true to themselves and their strengths, in the necessary work of building a culture with psychological safety, an appreciation of authenticity, and purpose-driven engagement — developing sustainable leadership that creates followership, facilitates real conversations about wellbeing, and fosters an inclusive, empowering culture able to attract, develop, and retain people, especially Gen Z.

Together, we explore the opportunities and barriers at each stage of the participants' careers that can look different for them as women. Knowing these challenges helps participants overcome them, and create change for themselves and others, on the road to authenticity, success, and happiness — speaking up, and becoming advocates for other women. Part of this is building awareness that female leaders, in any given organisation, are more likely to face double standards, more severe scrutiny, and higher pressure to perform without being seen to compete; more likely to carry a disproportionate share of office housework, and to face expectations shaped by the majority around them; and more likely to find that the more successful they become, the less likable they're perceived to be — a trap for most women, compounded further by stereotyping and unconscious bias.

The programme supports participants in aiming for promotion into leadership positions, and even in becoming the face of change within their organisation, representing a transformation that's long overdue. It builds an understanding that when women enter positions of authority and influence, they're held to a different standard of likability — a double standard that acts as a glass ceiling for women, and stands as an obstacle to realising genuine gender equality.

Authentic Leaders strongly encourages women to say yes to promotion, because they have most likely already done more than enough to deserve it. Women are never promoted simply because they are women, but because they've earned it. Ignore the coffee machine gossip. Be the quota. Be the role model you've been missing. Dance like no one's watching. Lead your own life and career in a sustainable, authentic, inclusive way that's rewarding to you and to others. This programme helps you love yourself, love your strengths, and become the authentic leader your organisation is longing for, and desperately needs.