The Need for Authentic Leadership Currently, our nation is witness to a Congressional approval rating of only 12%.  Nightly news is filled with the collapse of national governments.  Our own country's debt is at an all-time high, as the Republicans blame the Democrats, the Democrats in turn are blaming the Republicans. Business is not faring much better.  According to a recent Gallup poll, 71% of the American workforce are either not engaged or disengaged with their job.  With numerous layoffs during the past five years, it's not surprising about the lack of trust in today's leadership. For those aspiring leaders reading this, looking for their own style of leadership to practice, my advice is to look no further than within.  The Traits Approach, the Skills Approach, the Style Approach, the Situational Approach, the Contingency Theory, the Path-Goal Theory, the Leader-Member Exchange Theory, or the Transformational Leadership Theory (yes, I've studied them all) are not going to work for you, if they don't feel right. In August 1914, the vessel Endurance set sail for the South Atlantic under the command of Sir Ernest Shackleton.  Shackleton's objective was to cross the Antarctic overland, a feat not previously done.  In October 1915, still a half continent away from their intended base of operations, the Endurance got caught in an icepack, subsequently leaving the expedition of 28 members stranded in one of the most inhospitable places in the world. If you want to read more about this harrowing experience, the book is called Endurance