Your credibility as a leader rests in your personal authenticity.

• An authentic leader has the inner confidence to discover and use natural strengths.
• An authentic leader has the inner confidence to stretch their abilities and competencies by learning new skills. 
• An authentic leader has the inner confidence to turn to others for help. 
• An authentic leader has inner confidence that springs from a deep and personal sense of purpose in life.
• Authentic inner confidence in means to live and lead out of your won core beliefs and personal passion, with clear focus and action.
Each team member in your organization is aware of the presence or absence of  personal purpose in their leader.  They know if you believe in what you are doing or if you are just going through the motions. They know if you are enthused about the business or indifferent.  Your sense of fundamental purpose is reflected in your actions and your vision. Let me ask you three questions. Rate yourself on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest).
How excited are you to get to work in the morning? Everyone has ups and downs, but on average how much enthusiasm do you bring to the job?  Score: ___
How much do you enjoy what you do for its own sake rather than only for the money you are paid? We all work for money and we need money to live, but is there more than money in what you do? Do you simply enjoy it for its own sake?  Score: ___
How accountable do you hold yourself to your core beliefs? Have you sorted out what you deeply believe? Do you use your core beliefs to measure the worth of a plan, the importance of a decision, or the significance of an opportunity?  Score: ___
TOTAL SCORE: ___
If you score 16 or higher, it is likely that you have a sense of fundamental purpose in your work.  If you score less than 12, you are in need of a sense of purpose before you give up in boredom, emptiness or insignificance.

I visited the office of a financial advisor who had a team of three people who worked in his business. I asked each team member this question, “What is it about your job that is most personally significant to you?”
Each team member had an excellent answer. One reported that helping clients understand their financial situation and options was personally significant. If you were to examine the life of this particular staff person, you would discover that she helps people come to a new understanding in just about every aspect of her life including her children, her friends and her community. It’s a sense of fundamental purpose for her to help people understand.
The second team member who spoke told stories of protecting clients and their assets. Taking care of other people is something this individual displays in most areas of his life. His fundamental purpose is serving others.
The third member of the team was going through a difficult divorce. She was a single mom with two teenage boys. For her, the challenge of her life situation consumed everything. Keeping her home and her boys fed, under roof and cared for was her fundamental purpose.

There are three characteristics of fundamental purpose. First, it is something you do because you choose rather than because you must. A fundamental purpose is not motivated by pressure or intimidation but by inner passion and enthusiasm.
Second, it is something you enjoy doing for its own sake rather than just for money. As a leader, it is essential that you have a sense of fundamental purpose in your profession and your business.
Third, it is something you do for the good of others, not simply out of self-interest.  Today, team members expect their leaders to be less self-serving and interested in the greater good. 
As you give direction to your team, they know if you are motivated by intimidation or enthusiasm. They know if you enjoy the business or if you are just doing it for a paycheck. Your team knows if your purpose is to help them succeed or if your purpose is confined to your own personal gain. Have the inner confidence to live and lead true to a purpose that is bigger than yourself.