Questions raised were as interesting as the comments. As Richard Strasser said, "… to lead with authenticity, a leader needs to be very comfortable with who he is as a person." Brian Woodward put it this way: "The most important and powerful conversations occur between the individual leader and his/her leader's mask." The importance of self-awareness in the use of "masks" was stressed repeatedly. Be who you are, lead how you prefer to be led." It's after the battle when the leader shares how they actually felt or the range of emotions they were experiencing…. Those arguing a middle ground put forth some interesting suggestions, such as Leamon Duncan's: "… sometimes leaders must mask feelings and emotions in order to exhibit calm in the midst of chaos…. Mushato was even more emphatic: "The mask concept explains most if not all of mankind's woes of today." It builds trust." Shadreck Saili commented, "When a leader builds a mask around him/her … you close yourself from learning." Joe Schmid had no doubt, saying, "I'll simpl(ify) the question substituting 'two faced' for 'mask.' Can a two faced leader be 'authentic'? … Absolutely not." M. Otherwise it's not leadership at all." Kamal Gupta pointed out that "Speaking the truth with your team always helps. Richard Neff offered the opinion that "The(re) is no right or one way to lead … It should, however, always be authentic. The danger is that for some they begin to believe that the mask is who they really are." I do not believe that this makes us inauthentic." As Marlis Krichewsky put it, "Playing with the mask when the situation allows it strengthens the team spirit." Dan Erwin commented, "… rather than a single underlying, authentic and true self, individuals are a collection of masks tied to particular social or work settings." While agreeing in general, Ann Parker voiced a note of caution: "All leaders at times mask their feelings, especially fear or uncertainty.
Frances Pratt argued that "… we must be careful (and caring) in the way we tell people difficult things. Those arguing that the two can coexist cite situations, generally involving adversity, in which the "greater good" is served by masking a leader's feelings. We seem to have found such an issue this month: Can the "masks of command" coexist with authentic leadership? Do authentic leaders need "masks of command"? Instructors seek case studies posing issues that provoke discussion on both sides of an issue and raise many questions.