PUBLICITY CONTACTS: Lori Ames, ​
lori.ames@finnpartners.com​
, 631­539­4558 Johanna Dickson, ​
Johanna.dickson@finnpartners.com​
, 212­715­1559 "Today's employees value a strong company culture of honesty, transparency, and collaboration more than ever, and the connection between leadership behaviors and a company's culture is inextricable. Karissa's book provides insight into the leadership qualities needed to create a great work environment and to build a strong culture of employee engagement that leads to success." —MARY LASCHINGER, Chairman and CEO, Veritiv "Leaders need to get wiser about authenticity. Karissa gets it, and her book The Art of Authenticity will help you get it, too! She is one of the best story tellers of our time and brings the learnings from data­driven research to life, using real stories about real leaders in a conversational tone that has you on the edge of your seat, grasping for how each example applies to your own experiences and leadership style." —KEN FENOGLIO, VP, AT&T University BEING AUTHENTIC IS KEY TO LEADERSHIP SUCCESS Workplace Psychologist Karissa Thacker Shares How In THE ART OF AUTHENTICITY To be authentic – to be true to oneself – is one of the noblest of aspirations. In ​
THE ART OF AUTHENTICITY: Tools To Become An Authentic Leader And Your Best Self​
, workplace psychologist and executive coach Karissa Thacker combines scientific research with her own extensive experience coaching corporate executives to develop principles and techniques for becoming the leader others respect. Authenticity is all about human possibility, creativity, expression, and freedom. Those who aspire to become leaders must first know themselves, which requires a high level of introspection and a willingness to leave one’s comfort zone. “The drive toward authenticity requires you – like Mozart, Da Vinci, and Napoleon – to think for yourself,” says Thacker. “It requires you to do the hard work of figuring out what you really want to do. You must dig in and notice your passions, your strengths, your shortcomings, and relentlessly pursue opportunities.” Thacker explores the four components that form the basis of authentic leadership: Self­awareness​
Motivations and values are individual and distinctive. This level of authenticity requires knowing what one really wants, what is important, and why. Balanced processing​
Balanced processing is the skill of blending thought process with the thought processes of others without a bias toward one’s own view. PUBLICITY CONTACTS: Lori Ames, ​
lori.ames@finnpartners.com​
, 631­539­4558 Johanna Dickson, ​
Johanna.dickson@finnpartners.com​
, 212­715­1559 Relational transparency​
When it comes to building genuine relationships with people, transparency is critical. Authentic leaders allow themselves to evolve, grow, and experiment regarding their personal transparency. Internalized moral perspective​
Authentic leaders are students of human nature in general and experts on the peculiarities of their own particular moral nature. They keep their own unique internal GPS system activated as they deal with day­to­day pressures. THE ART OF AUTHENTICITY​
shows how to find and develop one’s authentic self, and leverage that into an effective, executable leadership strategy by: Becoming authentic in a way that befits one’s values Showing loyalty, honesty, ethics, and consideration Maintaining authenticity in leadership roles Making conscious choices instead of blind reactions According to Thacker, the relevant research asserts that people have a strong drive toward ●
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self­expression and determination that can become obstructed through life experiences. “Becoming more authentic requires tapping into that innate drive toward self­determination and expression,” she says. “For some of us, it is a process of rediscovery.” Through a series of case studies and questions, such as Truth Serum Questions and George Bailey Questions, she allows readers to experience coaching sessions she uses with her clients. The end of each chapter features The Workouts, with exercises and questions that dig deep into each individual’s life experiences to help discover one’s authentic self. Authentic leadership is about inventing and developing oneself with intention. The self­development process is not separate from day­to­day work life but a key aspect of it. Authentic leaders who have “selves awareness” maintain a clear view of their current self and their ideal self as a leader, according to Thacker. It requires both discipline and focus to continually update one’s vision of ideal self and current self. THE ART OF AUTHENTICITY​
is essential reading for managers who want to discover the true authentic leader within, and thereby lead from the inside out. Thacker equips readers with the tools and skills to be catalysts of positive change within their organizations, and to transform their PUBLICITY CONTACTS: Lori Ames, ​
lori.ames@finnpartners.com​
, 631­539­4558 Johanna Dickson, ​
Johanna.dickson@finnpartners.com​
, 212­715­1559 careers by tapping into their authentic selves. By applying the principles and exercises prescribed within, they will learn how to lead through reflection, action, and conscious choice. #
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# About the Author Karissa Thacker​
is founder and president of Strategic Performance Solutions, a management training and consulting firm dedicated to elevating people to reach their highest potential and career satisfaction. Over the past two decades, Thacker has done just that for countless individuals, working with nearly half of the Fortune 500 companies to drive performance and leadership growth. She specializes in ​
executive coaching​
and development that balances on­the­job performance with the need for sustained personal fulfillment. Thacker is often quoted in ​
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Forbes, MSNBC, and many other major outlets, and is a sought­after authority on the subject of authentic leadership. Her articles have appeared in the ​
Harvard Business Review, Business News Daily​
, and elsewhere. Thacker earned her doctorate in psychology from Spalding University and later served as a researcher with General Mills in the strategic growth arena. She also served as a senior consultant at RHR International, a global executive­development firm. Currently she serves as an adjunct professor in the MBA program at the University of Delaware’s Lerner School of Business. For more information visit ​
www.KarissaThacker.com​
. THE ART OF AUTHENTICITY
Tools To Become An Authentic Leader
And Your Best Self
By Karissa Thacker
Publisher: Wiley
Publication date: March 2016
Price: $25.00 / hardcover ISBN: 978‐1‐119‐15342‐9 PUBLICITY CONTACTS: Lori Ames, ​
lori.ames@finnpartners.com​
, 631­539­4558 Johanna Dickson, ​
Johanna.dickson@finnpartners.com​
, 212­715­1559 Sample “Workout” from THE ART OF AUTHENTICITY, Chapter 5 THE WORKOUTS •Take 20 minutes on three consecutive days and respond to the following prompt. Just keep writing without editing. If you feel like you have written everything down, just keep writing. At the end of the three days, take a look at everything you have written and look for the ideas that mean something to you. Edit the work down to between five and seven statements. You will have a vision of who you want to be as an authentic leader. Think about yourself as a leader in the future. Imagine you are impacting the business, other people, teams, and the organization as a whole, fully making use of your talents and all of your selves. What do you imagine? •Go to the following website: http://personality­testing.info/tests/ SMS/. You will have the opportunity to take the self­monitoring scale. Having an understanding of your level of self­monitoring is fun and useful. •Make a list of your free traits. What are the traits you work at because they are important in achieving something meaningful to you? Have a discussion with someone else and ask him or her what traits they choose to work at in order to accomplish something meaningful.