Authenticity

Keeping It Real

At the June 1450 Marketing Collective event, Leah Andrew, Assoc. VP Customer Experience Federated Co-op Ltd., Saskatoon shared some of her ideas on authenticity, including examples from her own life of a smaller city, sports and retail sales loving, family oriented gal.

She said the sweet spot for all of us is when we can . . .

Be true to

Ourselves

Our purpose

Our brands

Our business.

A starting point in all of this is discovering your true purpose.

 David Irvine, the Leadership Navigator and a mentor, says “Within every person lies an aspect that, when connected to it, you feel deeply and intensely alive”. From David I learned of Ikigai – a Japanese concept that means a reason for being. The following diagram illustrates the concept better than I can describe it.

Leah also cited a few reflective exercises that can help us in the discovery of our purpose.

Turning annoying people into a learning opportunity. Next time someone irritates you – recognize it, think about it, and learn from it.

What value of yours is not being met?

What beliefs do you have that are not being met by this person?

Where are you taking this human truth too seriously?

What are you seeing in this person that you might be afraid to see in yourself?

The second exercise was sourcing your strength. Ask two to five of your most trusted friends to list 10 strengths they think you have and send them to you. Also do it yourself. Which comes up most often? Were there any surprises? Put the top 5 in order of priority. This will give you a pretty clear indication of your top core values. Think of how you can leverage these in everyday life.

A third exercise was writing your own obituary and thinking about what you want to be known for. Leah related this to a marketing campaign where you begin with the end in mind and work backwards.

Living according to your core values and finding your tribe were two of the most important points stressed by Leah. It is easy to see that she has done this in her own life and truly “walks her talk.”