Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Insincerity

Boy, if I could just be like Colin Powell or Warren Buffett or Condoleezza Rice or another leader I greatly admire, I could be an even better leader. All I need to do is to lead the way they did as described in their autobiography, their diary, their memoir, their biography. Really?

As Judy Garland famously said, “Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of someone else”. Studies show that a key ingredient to gaining trust, which is a key ingredient to good leadership, is authenticity. It is hard for us to be authentic when we are trying to pattern ourselves after someone else.

There is a scene from the movie, Patton, that I find incredibly inspirational. As depicted in the movie, General George Patton is at his lowest point during WWII — facing discipline and the end of his army career, he thunders “I must be allowed to fulfill my destiny!”

Now, I’ve been described as soft-spoken and even keeled but you’d think in the privacy of my own den with no one around I’d be able to muster up the same type of intensity I was witnessing on the screen. Nope. I suppose I could if there was something truly important at stake but the point is, that’s just not how I am wired.

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery but it also results in insincerity since it causes us to be something we are not.

I could never lead with the type of energy displayed by Patton in the movie. I would fail miserably if I tried. Sticking to soft-spoken, quiet, nice guys finish last leadership has served me well.