Authentic Leadership model

Background

Authentic leadership arose out of a recognition that many in society were becoming disillusioned with the behaviour of those running large businesses and politicians, which indicated that they were not thinking about the greater good but rather their own self-interests. It also seeks to address the stress that we can experience when we try to take on a leadership style that is not in keeping with our own beliefs. Authentic leadership is a not a distinct model, but rather a set of behaviours that enables positive types of leadership such as transformational, ethical, servant and charismatic leadership.

Main principles

Authentic leaders are seen to be hopeful, transparent, optimistic and resilient individuals (Wong & Cummings, 2009). They encourage others through taking an interest and providing support for their personal development. They are transparent in their decision-making and seek to communicate to others what they plan to do and the moral basis on which these actions are based. Gardner et al (2005) describe four components of authentic leadership:

• Self-awareness (Knowing yourself) is a continual process in which the authentic leader seeks to understand their individual talents, strengths, motivations, and sense of purpose. This enables leaders to then self-regulate their actual behaviour with their aspired values.
• Relational transparency (Being genuine) involves the leader being open about their values, emotions and motives in order to build trust with their followers. Leaders also encourage followers to share feedback so that they can understand different perspectives and alter their vision and actions accordingly.
• Balanced processing (Being fair-minded) requires the leader to make decisions that are based on a fair assessment of the situation which do not have a bias towards a particular viewpoint or interest group. Similarly the leader must be seen to give equitable access to information, opportunity and influence.
• Internalised moral perspective (Doing the right thing) means that the leader will act in accordance with their values rather than do what is expected by others, even if this could result in them being punished or losing a potential reward. This will demonstrate to followers that the leader has integrity.

Implications for strengths-based leadership

Similar to professional practice, it is vital that as leaders we are explicit about our values and demonstrate these in our interactions with others. This requires us to actively engage with our practice as leaders through reflecting on how we behave, challenging ourselves to lead better, and seeking feedback from others to support our reflection.

For more information:

• Watch Good leaders are authentic leaders  (video) with leadership thinker Bill George, on the importance of authenticity of leaders.