CHAPTER 09

Authentic Leadership
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
OF THIS CHAPTER

Description
✓ Authentic Leadership Defined
✓ Approaches to Authentic Leadership

How Does the Trait Approach Work?

Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Authentic Leadership
Authentic Leadership
❑ Authentic leadership is a recent area of research focusing on leaders being
genuine and "real."
❑ It emphasizes the leader's authenticity and leadership style, unlike other
theories focused on specific actions or traits.
❑ It's still under development and expected to evolve as new research emerges.
❑ Recent societal events (9/11, corporate scandals) increased demand for
trustworthy and honest leaders, making this research timely.
❑ Researchers are intrigued by its potential and are working to better define and
understand it.
Authentic Leadership
Defined
❑Defining authentic leadership is complex and there's no single agreed-upon
definition.
❑Three main perspectives exist:
▪ Intrapersonal: Focuses on the leader's inner qualities like self-knowledge,
self-regulation, and originality.
▪ Interpersonal: Views authentic leadership as a relationship built between
leader and followers, emerging from their interactions.
▪ Developmental: Sees authentic leadership as something learned and
developed over time, influenced by life events and positive qualities.
 Approaches to Authentic
Leadership
❑ Practical Approach: This approach draws on real-world experiences and training
materials, focusing on "how-to" steps for becoming an authentic leader. It
emphasizes personal growth, self-awareness, and developing specific behaviors.
❑ Theoretical Approach: This approach relies on social science research and
findings to understand the underlying mechanisms and factors that contribute to
authentic leadership. It explores the psychological aspects, leadership dynamics,
and organizational impact.
❑ Both approaches offer valuable insights into the multifaceted nature of authentic
leadership, providing different perspectives and practical applications.
Practical Approach
❑ Bill George's approach focuses on 5 characteristics:
▪ Purpose: Passion for goals and knowing one's
direction. (Example: Terry Fox)
▪ Values: Strong, unwavering moral
compass. (Example: Nelson Mandela)
▪ Relationships: Openness, trust, and connection with
others. (Importance of high-quality communication
and mutual respect)
▪ Self-Discipline: Focus, determination, and
consistency in actions. (Importance of staying "on
course" and predictable behavior)
▪ Heart: Compassion, sensitivity, and willingness to
help others. (Developing sensitivity through different
experiences)
❑ George's approach emphasizes personal growth and development to become an
authentic leader.
❑ Each characteristic is further explained by related qualities individuals need to
cultivate, such as passion, behavior, connectedness, consistency, and
compassion.
Theoretical Approach
Background to the Theoretical Approach.
❑ The study of authentic leadership is relatively new, emerging in 2003
following a leadership summit focused on its nature and development.
❑ Increased interest stemmed from societal upheavals (9/11, corporate
scandals) and a need for more ethical, constructive leadership.
❑ Researchers aimed to expand on transformational leadership concepts and
create a defined framework for authentic leadership.
❑ Defining and characterizing the construct due to multiple interpretations and
emphasis on different aspects.
❑ "a pattern of leader behavior that fosters positive capacities, ethical climate, self-
awareness, and transparency, leading to positive self-development" (Walumbwa
et al., 2008).
❑ Various models exist, focusing on leader/follower development,
happiness/wellbeing, and authentic leadership as a process.
❑ Presenting a basic model of authentic leadership based on core components and
its processual nature.
❑ Components of Authentic
Leadership.
 Four key components:
❑ Self-awareness: Understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and impact on
others; reflecting on core values, identity, and emotions.
❑ Internalized moral perspective: Guiding behavior by internal values, not
external pressures; seen as authentic due to consistency between beliefs and
actions.
❑ Balanced processing: Analyzing information objectively, considering different
viewpoints, and avoiding bias; seen as authentic due to openness to others'
perspectives.
❑ Relational transparency: Being open and honest about your true self, sharing
positive and negative aspects; seen as authentic due to genuine communication.
Factors That Influence
Authentic Leadership.
❑ Positive psychological attributes:
▪ Confidence (self-efficacy): Belief in one's ability to succeed, leading to
motivation, persistence, and embracing challenges.
▪ Hope: Positive motivational state with goals and willpower, inspiring trust
and belief in followers.
▪ Optimism: Viewing situations positively and having favorable
expectations, promoting abundance mindset.
▪ Resilience: Adapting to hardships and bouncing back, gaining strength and
resourcefulness.
Factors That Influence
Authentic Leadership.
❑Moral reasoning:
▪ Capacity to make ethical decisions, enabling selfless judgments for the
greater good.
▪ Promotes justice and achieving what's right for the community.
❑Critical life events:
▪ Major life events, both positive and negative, act as catalysts for change and
self-knowledge.
▪ Sharing life stories helps leaders gain self-awareness and understand their
role.
▪ Stimulate growth and contribute to becoming a stronger leader.
HOW DOES AUTHENTIC
LEADERSHIP THEORY WORK?
❑ Developmental process: Both practical and theoretical perspectives agree that
authentic leadership develops over time, but differ in describing the process.
❑ Practical approach: Focuses on how to be authentic, offering prescriptions like
George's five characteristics (purposeful, value-centered, relational, self-
disciplined, compassionate).
❑ Theoretical approach: Explains what authentic leadership is and its underlying
mechanisms. Key components are self-awareness, internalized moral
perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency.
HOW DOES AUTHENTIC
LEADERSHIP THEORY WORK?
❑ Influences: Critical life events, positive psychological attributes, and moral
reasoning contribute to developing these components.
❑ Goal: Develop qualities that make leaders trustworthy and believable to
followers.
❑ Leader's responsibility: Continuously learn and apply these qualities to serve
others and the common good.
 STRENGTHS
❑ Fulfills need for trustworthy leadership: Provides an answer to the societal
desire for ethical and reliable leaders, especially after periods of mistrust.
❑ Offers clear guidelines for development: Both practical and theoretical
approaches provide concrete steps for individuals to become authentic leaders.
❑ Explicit moral dimension: Like transformational and servant leadership, it
emphasizes doing what's right and good for followers and society.
❑ Learnable and developmental: Authenticity is not a fixed trait; anyone can
develop it through self-awareness, transparency, and other practices.
❑ Measurable: The Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) provides a
validated tool to assess and track progress.
 CRITICISMS
Limitations:
❑ George's practical approach: Lacking strong empirical research and validity to
fully support its claims.
❑ Moral component: Unclear how leader's values influence self-awareness and
other components.
❑ Positive psychological capacities: Inclusion debated due to unclear connection
and potential for measurement difficulties.
❑ Organizational outcomes: Limited data on whether authentic leadership
translates to positive results.
Criticisms:
❑ Effectiveness: Whether authentic leadership actually leads to productive
outcomes and achieving organizational goals.
❑ Sufficiency: Can authentic leaders lacking other skills (organization, technical
competence) be effective?
 APPLICATION
❑ Limited research: Despite its practical suggestions, the theory lacks strong
evidence on how to effectively develop authentic leadership behaviors.
❑ Learning and development: The human capacity for learning suggests
organizations can foster authentic leadership through training and
development programs.
❑ Emphasis on morality: Authentic leaders aiming to do the "right" thing can
create a culture of honesty and ethical behavior, potentially reducing unethical
choices among followers.
❑ Leveraging critical life events: Using significant life experiences as catalysts for
personal growth and increased authenticity can be beneficial for aspiring
leaders.