Mgmt 648 - Oprah! Case - What Is Authenticity?

Joey Almeida

                                                                        MGMT 648

Oprah! Case

What is authenticity?

Authenticity is “knowing” ones self and recognizing others as well as the mutual influence between individuals. It is a hard and endless process that creates a healthier and more creative self.

How does Oprah! Case illustrate the roots and meaning of authentic leadership?

Oprah’s lessons of authenticity were “slow to take root” because she focused on her “professional persona” instead of finding her own “authentic voice”.  It’s natural for us to “invent variations of ourselves in different social situations. However, by doing so we are holding ourselves back in order to fit in or “impress people”. Rather than focusing on how we are perceived, “we should do what we are suppose to do”.

In order to find authenticity, you have to seek truth and be honest with yourself. According to Oprah, honesty comes from your natural instinct telling you when you are doing something right or wrong. When you do what feels right, “you feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment and worthiness to the world”. Finding authenticity is not only about honesty; it’s also about being self aware, becoming more humble, and accepting feedback from others.

Finding your authenticity is a difficult and endless process because you are constantly evolving as a person. Opera does not see her self as “being successful” because she still feels she is “becoming successful”. She has “committed herself to being immersed in every” aspect of her life. When you are with her, “you get all of her”. Recognizing others as well as the mutual influence of individuals is another key aspect of finding your authenticity. Oprah recognizes she has the power to influence other people and she sees it as an “incredible opportunity” to give back and touch the people’s lives the same way others have touched hers.

How will you find authenticity for yourself?

I believe a great starting point in finding my authenticity is looking back at my past and looking more closely at experiences that shaped me. For Oprah, reading and reciting speeches at a young ate “endowed her with self confidence”.

        From now on, I will be more honest with myself. Like Oprah mentioned, honesty comes from natural instincts telling you what you are doing is right or wrong. I will to listen to my instincts more and “go with my heart”.