Couldn't agree more. As I said in the previous comment…its fine to emulate what others have done but if you can't make it your own and be authentic you'll never stop acting.

You are correct actually. When learning to be a great boss, project manager, CIO, teacher or anything else, you don't automatically know what to do or how to be. The key for me is how a person takes the information they learn and make it their own.

What I may not have gotten the point across that well, is that you have to internalize the 'top 10 ways to be a great boss' or the 'best practices for project manager'. If you don't internalize them, you'll never actually “be” the great teacher or CIO.

Emulation is perfect for learning but you have to take those lessons and make them your own. Make sense?

Thanks for stopping by and providing some great insight.

At the risk of being blown apart, I'm going to disagree with you on this one.

If I want to be the best manager or leader I can be, most of the time I automatically know the right thing to do. When I don't, I reach into my reservoir of memories and think back to the great managers I've worked for and think “what would they do” then act accordingly. In effect I'm 'emulating' good leadership.

The first few times around the loop, this may be a little like acting, but along the way I can refine things to fit better with my own personality and values – pretty soon it becomes habit.

I don't think this need come across as insincere if you are genuinely feeling your way through the problem. In fact, I'd say it's almost the only way to improve management skills.