Forget those image consultants, authentic leaders are brave enough to show passion and capable of saying sorry

Concepts such as banks, markets, capitalism and democracy have all taken a knock over the past few months. To these I would add leadership. What happened to all that talk about authentic leadership? As restaurateur Prue Leith says: "Leaders all say the same things; customers are king, people are our only asset, transparency is all. And it's hard to distinguish what's authentic."

I am amazed at how shallow we all are. If leaders look the part, use the right language, present their case with confidence and appear to act decisively, we are happy to follow. We don't question their competence.

Richard Greenhalgh, chairman of the Council for Industry and Higher Education, says that authentic leadership is about having "the courage to live life according to an inner being, rather than responding to external demands". But then leaders happily boast they are different people at home. According to Greenhalgh, this happens in large organisations with powerful cultures, "where management development often suppresses authenticity". In other words, leaders learn to hold back to fit in. We have to be brave enough to be ourselves at work. We need to give ourselves permission to be authentic and not listen to the image consultants.

Authentic leaders show emotion because leadership is about passion and you can't express passion without emotion. They change their minds because the world changes fast. And they say sorry because it is the proper way to behave to others who have suffered for your mistakes. It's not about dramatic actions: apologies, displays of emotion and changes of mind are all part of being human. Can you be authentic if you aren't human?

Julia Middleton is chief executive of leadership organisation Common Purpose