According to Simon Sinek, nearly all the inspiring leaders and organizations in the world act, think and communicate in the same way. Simon stresses that all decisions for current leaders are facilitated by the “why” drive which mainly focuses on the purpose, cause, belief and many other factors. According to him, inspired leaders and inspired organizations all think, act and communicate from the inside out (Sinek, 2010).

Taking a look at Nike’s case, there was need for a strong “why” drive changes because their marketing of the sales was uninspiring. Nike Annual Report of 1997 stated that Nike had no intentions of creating a new world order. This implied that it had no intention of eliminating poverty and famine or lead war against crime and violence (Paine et al, 2013). This was very uninspiring and hence the need to change it. The strong “why” drive was evident in their Nike Annual report 2011 which was focused on the belief that any company doing business had two simple options of embracing sustainability as one of the core parts of its growth strategy. They had to focus on what they believed in so that they may get the attention of the people that they share the same beliefs with. This was to ensure its success.

It is important to note that authenticity and vulnerability played out well when it came to allowing the needed changes to occur in the Company. First, authenticity has been considered to be playing a key role in managing successful organizations. In changing business environment, authenticity is an important leadership competency because it enhances clarity, articulates a vision and it helps in painting a clear picture of the future (How leadership must change to meet the future, 2008). With so many changing variables in an organization, leaders are always expected to lead with confidence and take strong stand which will enable them to build confidence and trust in the organization.

Therefore, according to Sinek, a good leader should be authentic because it helps in building trust in an organization (Sinek, 2009). A leader of any organization has to practice authenticity and set a tone that builds trust among its customers. Authenticity is all about being absolutely honest and having the ability to embrace vulnerability. Therefore, vulnerability is the key factor when it comes to building connections and trust between the people in a working organization or just any place. Authenticity gives people the freedom to be themselves and be more comfortable with who they are; it also improves connections between people in a more meaningful and genuine way. Thus, vulnerability can be equaled to authenticity and it relates to the ability for a person to be true to themselves (Brown, 2010).

It is important to conclude that both authenticity and vulnerability played a key role in the changes that occurred at Nike because it fulfilled the three parameters of authentic leadership. These parameters included; leadership that is founded on vision and values of a leading role; consistency in leadership and sustainable and reliable leadership. All these parameters were fulfilled in the changes that occurred because the organization had two visions which were delivered in two different ways. First, the leaders of the organization were focused on making today better by taking account of their impacts, their optimization and the efficiency in their drive. Secondly, the leaders designed the future by unleashing innovations; fixed sustainability into their approaches regarding the product. The sustainability vision of Nike Company inspired and drove the creative process in the organization resulting in an accelerated innovation. After the Corporate Responsibility challenges experienced by the company in the 90s, the organization continued to work hard to help regain the trust and respect of their customers and peers from the industry through a set of strategy focused with the vision to lead.