Ancient Romans decorated their public spaces, temples, homes, and gardens with beautiful marble statues. Only high-quality pieces, those with no surface cracks to expand and break due to temperature changes, survived over time. Unscrupulous art merchants hid imperfections in flawed statues by rubbing in a mixture of beeswax tinted with marble dust. But dealers with integrity who refused to engage in this fraud placed a small sign over their doors that simply said Sine Cera. Sine is Latin for ‘without’ and Cera is ‘wax’. Although the origin of the word Sincere is now forgotten, its meaning survives intact and we use it every day.
A statue of Athena is pictured because she took on the guise of Mentor and accompanied Telemachus on his journey to find his father in Homer’s The Odyssey: She was an Executive Strategist, a very sincere adviser who accompanied her client on his journey to help him succeed. She was focused on relationships and helping others.
How would you rate your own sincerity? Do you try to be a more sincere, honest leader or do you sometimes try to hide your weaknesses? Leadership starts with knowing yourself. You have many strengths and you’re where you are today because of those strengths, not because of your weaknesses. So, simply try acknowledging your weaknesses with humility and asking your team to back you up in those areas in which you need their support. You’ll be more respected for your sincerity, more trusted as an executive and more successful as a leader.
Ed Forsberg
Executive Strategist and CEO at Forsberg & Co.
