RARE Leadership is Authentic
Introduction
“As I ordered my steak, I wanted to be medium RARE – for its taste, which is my desired taste. Though often costs me, I enjoyed it. Then, moved on to next agenda with filled stomach. Apologies! I got carried away.”
But to be authentic to the definition of leadership, which is to influence or affect others to do good, Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, gave us “RARE Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead” as a path to effectively affect those we lead. Following are the habits: (1.) to remain relational, (2.) to act like yourself, (3.) to return to joy, and to endure hardship well.[1]
A RARE leadership.
These habits of leadership that are not only described as rare, are also essential qualities to be displayed within a leader to affect the followers. To remain relational, leaders need to value relationship with their followers more than they value results and solving problems which caused to be more isolated and overwhelmed; and this is not sustainable. To act like yourself, if one remains relational to his/her team/group or followers, he/she will be genuinely known by them regardless of the situation. Return to joy, or resiliency is a motivating factor that needs to be displayed by the leader as an example of not dwelling on the past failure or mistake. And finally, to endure hardship well, which demonstrates a responsible leadership.[2]
A RARE leadership and My Leadership Journey.
In learning about ‘RARE Leadership,’ I have felt the need to reconcile it with previous leadership lessons. ‘To remain relational’ reminded me of the ‘servant-leadership model.’ At the core of the servant-leadership model is the essence of relationship between the leadership and the followers for by which is displayed by the 10 characteristics of a servant leader.[3] Secondly is ‘to act like yourself’ which could be described in other way as, being authentic. Being authentic does not only improve one’s leadership but lighten up the burdens of being a leader that is looked up to. “Freedom comes from knowing that you are approved of. Freedom to perform comes from the knowledge that there is someone rooting for you in the audience, whose opinion you value more… In such relationship you become from the need to succeed. Indeed, you can perform with nothing to lose, because you are secure that your identity, your future, your wellbeing, does not depend on the quality of of your performance. [4]
Thirdly, ‘return to joy’ resemble resiliency. Two qualities that qualities come to mind as the underpinnings of resiliency, which are grit[5] and growth mindset. ‘Fall seven, rise eight’ [6] is an old Japanese saying that describes perseverance and passion. Perseverance and passion are build upon motivation that resulted from a growth mindset. For example, “character, heart, and the mind of champion. It’s what makes great athletes and it’s what comes from the growth mindset with its focus on self-development, self-motivation, and responsibility.[7]
A RARE leadership and My Map-Making.
‘RARE Leadership’ is just another way of saying what was already said in leadership learning journey. However, it is packaged and given as a prescription for increasing trust, joy and engagement with the followers.
Promoting relationship could yield the following: fostered trust, enhanced communication, encouraged collaboration, promote team loyalty, and more.[8] One way for leaders to learn to be relational is to ‘develop one relationship at a time’ [9] meaning to learn to be a leader of oneself, then progress to a group. Through this, a leader may need to convince himself/herself that the relationship matters more. And finally, be focused, passionate and be open to learning and improving. This can be unique and authentic to one’s leadership or leadership journey.
[1] Warner, Marcus; Wilder, Jim. Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy and Engagement in the People You lead (pp. 19-20). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
[2] Ibid. (p. 25).
[3] Northouse, Peter G.. Leadership: Theory and Practice (pp.462-463). SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.
[4] Walker, Simon P.. Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership (The Undefended Leader Trilogy Book 1) (p. 147). Piquant Editions. Kindle Edition.
[5] Grit. Define: “firmness of mind or spirit; unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grit. Accessed March 8, 2025.
[6] Duckworth, Angela. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (p. 169). Scribner. Kindle Edition.
[7] Dweck, Carol S.. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (p. 107). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
[8] Rizvi, Hidayat. Top 10 reasons why relationship building is important in leadership. https://hidayatrizvi.com/why-is-relationship-building-important-in-leadership/. Accessed March 7, 2025.
[9] Moores, Leon D.. All Leadership Is One Relationship at a Time. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbooksauthors/2025/03/05/all-leadership-is-one-relationship-at-a-time/. Accessed March 7, 2025.
About the Author
Noel Liemam
4 responses to “RARE Leadership is Authentic”
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Noel, thanks for drawing on the other books we read. I appreciated this perspective. What is the most difficult aspect for you in RARE leadership? What makes it difficult?
Hey Noel! I appreciate how you bought Northouse into the conversation. I thought about him as well. How do you see the Rare Leader becoming a better Relational leader.
Hi Noel, the ks for this analysis. I wonder, when you know it’s time to return to joy, how do you do it, in your leadership role?
Hi Noel, I found it interesting that you related what we read this week to being similar to other books from this and previous semesters, but as you say, packaged differently. It is a good reminder how so much of what we do it interconnected. If you were to pick one quality of a leader that stands above all others, what would that be?