Authentic Leadership: Why Trust Starts with Congruence

In an excellent recent article, Founder & former CEO of Ipsos Karian and Box, Ghassan Karian, nailed what many leaders miss about authenticity.

“Authenticity at work isn’t about baring your soul; it’s about aligning your story, your decisions, and your follow-through so people actually believe you.”

Karian's point is simple but powerful. Authentic leadership isn't a vibe or a personality trait; it's a pattern of behaviour that earns trust over time.

His research with Ipsos Karian and Box shows that when leaders demonstrate relational transparency and balanced processing, in other words, when they invite dissent, admit uncertainty and act in line with their words, employee trust and engagement rise sharply.

That matters in an era when engagement data remains stubbornly flat and trust in senior leaders hovers around 50 per cent. Employees aren't demanding perfection. They're demanding congruence.

This echoes decades of research by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. In The Leadership Challenge, they found that the number-one quality people want from leaders is honesty. Not charisma. Not technical brilliance. Honesty. They describe it more specifically as doing what you say you will do.

Put simply, people will forgive your mistakes if they believe you mean what you say. They won't forgive inconsistency.

So, in practice, how do you demonstrate authenticity and congruence as a leader?

Here are five things to start doing now.

1. Clarify your non-negotiables and test them in real decisions

Write down the three values you refuse to trade. For example: "We keep people safe." "We tell the truth early." "We debate ideas, not people." Then test every major decision against them. When something doesn't align, talk about it openly: "Here's why we made this call, even though it stretched one of our values." That's honesty in action.

Authenticity starts with clarity about what you stand for and consistency in how you stand for it.

2. Build challenge into every big decision

Karian talks about "balanced processing," i.e actively seeking views that contradict your own. The best leaders institutionalise this by creating formal challenge sessions or "red teams".

Before your next major launch or change, ask someone you trust to play devil's advocate. Listen. Adjust if needed. Then communicate what you learned.

People trust leaders who visibly listen, not those who always look right.

3. Explain your trade-offs – and own your reversals

Every leader makes decisions that don't work out. Authenticity isn't about pretending they did; it's about explaining the "why" behind them and what you're doing next.

When you change direction, say so: "We committed to X because we believed Y. The data now shows Z, so we're adjusting."

Clarity builds credibility. Silence breeds suspicion.

4. Align incentives with what you say matters

Nothing destroys authenticity faster than rewarding the opposite of what you talk about. If you say you value collaboration but only promote lone heroes, your credibility collapses.

Review your recognition systems. Ask: "Who are we rewarding, and for what behaviours?" Then make sure your incentives tell the same story as your strategy and cultural narrative.

People believe what you measure and pay for.

5. Measure how authentic you actually appear

Authenticity isn't self-diagnosed. It's experienced by others.

Karian's research shows that when leaders measure relational transparency, fairness and consistency, they find strong links with trust and engagement.

Run a simple pulse survey with your team. Ask your people to what degree they agree with the following statements:

• My leader explains why decisions are made

• My leader welcomes dissenting views

• My leader honours commitments even when hard

  
  

Review the results, share them, and choose one behaviour to improve this quarter.

Final thought

Authenticity isn't about being perfect or "telling it all." It's about being consistent, transparent and congruent.

When people see alignment between what you say, decide and do, they trust you.

When they trust you, they'll follow you, even when the path is uncertain.

As Karian puts it, authenticity is the alignment of story, decision and follow-through. Kouzes and Posner would call it modelling the way. I'd simply call it leadership people believe in.

Has this hit a nerve? Let's talk. Email me at richard@twentyoneleadership.com or call me on (+44) 07932725113.