Juggling a slew of new employees with your existing employees, “Business Norms” and processes can be exciting as much as it is challenging. Recently, as we discussed edits to our website to promote SEO, an eager new team member presented ideas for a complete website redesign. Amidst these progressive changes, our consensus was, “Let’s maintain authenticity in our process”.

What is authenticity? Is it sticking to what we already have or know? Is it staying true to brand or culture?  Since our initial discussion, we have made minor edits to our website to improve our SEO and we have started having conversations around what a website redesign might look like.

From my point of view, Authenticity is more complex than just being “true to you”.  Authenticity includes the values and knowledge gained from your past through your experiences, how you apply them at the moment, and allowing space for the inevitable change you or your company will embrace moving forward. In a way, authenticity is being grounded in what exists while being open to progress. It’s the balance of being aware of your current emotions and wisdom while also being aware of the emotions and assumptions of those you lead – and allowing the experience to direct your actions.

Would love you to hear your thoughts on authenticity in the comments below!