scholarly journals The impossibility of the ‘true self’ of authentic leadership

Leadership ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie Ford ◽  
Nancy Harding
Keyword(s):  
Object Relations ◽  
Authentic Leadership ◽  
Object Relations Theory ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
True Self ◽  
Leadership Model ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Critical Leadership Studies ◽  
Individual Self ◽  
Core Self

‘Authentic leadership’ is increasingly influential, with its promise to eliminate, and thus surpass, the weaknesses of previous models of leadership. This article uses object relations theory to argue, firstly, that authentic leadership as an indication of a leader’s true self is impossible and, secondly, that attempts at its implementation could lead to destructive dynamics within organizations. The authentic leadership model refuses to acknowledge the imperfections of individuals and despite its attestations to seeking ‘one’s true, or core self’ ( Gardner et al., 2005 : 345), it privileges a collective (organizational) self over an individual self and thereby hampers subjectivity to both leaders and followers. The paper thus contributes to emerging critical leadership studies by introducing the psychoanalytic approach of object relations theory to the study of leadership.

scholarly journals Mirror, mirror on the wall: Shifting leader–follower power dynamics in a social media context

Leadership ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-363
Author(s):  
Parisa Gilani ◽  
Elvira Bolat ◽  
Donald Nordberg ◽  
Claudia Wilkin
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
True Self ◽  
The Social ◽  
Leaders And Followers ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Critical Leadership Studies

The democratisation made possible by social media presents leadership studies with an opportunity to re-evaluate the often-neglected role of power in leader–follower dynamics. Drawing on Critical Leadership Studies and using a hybrid qualitative methodology, we discover that relationships between social media leaders and followers are co-produced and largely accompanied by continuous shifts and re-negotiation of power between social media leaders and social media followers. We show that social media platforms and their metrics play an important role in such power shifts by granting equal access to communication whilst potentially tilting information asymmetries in favour of the follower. The study also shows how these relationships can affect and even pervert the leaders’ problematic search for a ‘true self’. From this observation we draw attention to wider challenges in the social media context, which poses important questions for the leadership field.

Authentic leadership development: scrutiny of an apparent paradox

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
António Calheiros
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Authentic Leadership ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
True Self ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Positive Behaviors ◽  
Individual Self ◽  
Authentic Leadership Development

Leadership has long been a topic of interest for both academics (Hiller, DeChurch, Murase, & Doty, 2011; Sanders & Davey, 2011) and practitioners (Bennis, 2007; George, 2003). Academics have tried to understand the concept and identify its consequences and determinants. Practitioners have focused their efforts in its training and development hoping to reap its promised benefits. Over the last decade, authentic leadership has emerged as the fashionable leadership theory. More than just promising impacts on performance and subordinates’ work satisfaction, authentic leadership addresses management’s long term demand for and ethic and moral commitment (Ghoshal, 2005; Rosenthal et al., 2007). Authentic leadership is “a process that draws from both positive psychological capacities and a highly developed organizational context, which results in both greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviors on the part of leaders and associates, fostering positive self-development” (Luthans and Avolio, 2003). The components of authentic leadership’s self-regulated authentic positive behaviours are balanced (non-prejudice) processing, relational orientation and internalized moral perspetive. One key point of authentic leadership is the authenticity of leaders, which can be defined as “knowing, accepting, and remaining true to one’s self” (Avolio et al., 2004). Recent research (Ford & Harding, 2011) have argued that this demand for one’s true self privileges a collective (organizational) self over an individual self and thereby hampers subjectivity to both leaders and followers, and could lead to destructive dynamics within organizations. This paper discusses the seeming paradox of developing authenticity in leaders, (namely addressing the issues raised by Ford & Harding) and clarifies the aim of authentic leadership development. It also assesses the suitability of traditional leadership development methodologies in meeting the challenges posed by a process-based approach to leadership with a focus on individual and social identification.

An Approach for Humanizing Leadership Education: Building Learning Community & Stakeholder Engagement

2021 ◽  
pp. 105256292110413
Author(s):  
Shaista E. Khilji
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Leadership Education ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
Leadership Development Programs ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Critical Leadership Studies

In recent years, scholars have become critical of mainstream leadership development approaches. In particular, Petriglieri and Petriglieri refer to the dehumanization of leadership, whereby leadership breaks its ties to identity, community, and context. The purpose of this paper is to present an approach for humanizing leadership using the case example of George Washington University’s Organizational Leadership & Learning (OLL) program. Embedded in the critical leadership studies (CLS) approach, the humanizing principles, and the humanistic leadership paradigm, the OLL program’s leadership learning approach focuses on building a learning community and stakeholder engagement. I describe its pedagogical goals and instructional strategies that help promote a psychologically safe space where learners build trusting relationships, integrate diverse perspectives through respectful dialogues, and develop a sense of the “common good” and culture of equity through issue-centered learning. Using classrooms as “identity spaces” and “leadership learning laboratory” allows learners in the program to practice the co-construction of ideas through mutual influence and interactions. This paper makes a valuable contribution to developing future leadership development programs.

So what is new about leadership-as-practice?

Leadership ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Collinson
Keyword(s):  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Critical Leadership Studies

This paper returns to the original focus of my earlier 'Leading Questions' article (Collinson, 2017) which questioned Joe Raelin’s (excessive) claims that LAP is a distinct ‘movement’, particularly new and supercedes post-heroic perspectives and is more critical than critical leadership studies. Arguing that Raelin's claims overstate the value of LAP, this rejoinder draws on Giddens’ structuration theory to illustrate my points about structure, practice and resistance in relation to the foregoing responses from Leadership As Practice (LAP) contributors (Raelin et al, 2018).

Is leadership a myth? A ‘new wave’ critical leadership-focused research agenda for recontouring the landscape of educational leadership

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110662
Author(s):  
Linda Evans
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
Departure Point ◽  
Object A ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Critical Leadership Studies ◽  
New Research ◽  
Why Questions

Intentionally provocative, this study identifies weaknesses in mainstream educational leadership scholarship, and draws upon ‘new wave’ critical leadership studies to propose a new, potentially paradigm-shifting, direction for the field. The central argument is that educational leadership researchers, in focusing predominantly on how institutional heads and other formal ‘leaders’ may best ‘do’ leadership, are addressing the wrong questions and setting off from the wrong departure point. The unit of analysis should shift, it is argued, from leadership to influence, within a new research agenda that replaces surface-level, causality-assumptive ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ questions that have shaped mainstream educational leadership research for over thirty years, with more fundamental ‘who? and ‘what?’ questions, aimed at identifying who is in fact doing the influencing. An aspect of such inquiry is leadership scepticism and agnosticism, which confronts the question: Does leadership exist, or is it a myth that we have reified? A highly original feature of the proposed new research agenda is the adoption of the author's theoretical notion of a singular unit of micro-level influence as an ‘epistemic object’ – a concept derived from STEMM research, denoting a vague and undefined potential focus of inquiry that may (or may not) turn out to be significant.

Context and conditions matter: Stress and strain in the exercise of leadership power

Leadership ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Krauter
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Stress And Strain ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
Business World ◽  
Workplace Organization ◽  
Self Assessments ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Critical Leadership Studies ◽  
Leader Role

Current research shows that a significant number of leaders suffer from strain which effects their application of power. This is a highly relevant leadership issue in today’s challenging business world. This study applies conservation of resources theory and the critical leadership studies approach to re-think leadership dynamics such as stressors and strain factors and their influence on power-related behaviour. The leader role, leader–member relations, workplace, organization and environment can be identified as resource passageways which create, maintain or limit the development of resources such as power-related behaviour. Research on the self-assessments of 43 German leaders from private sector shows that strain factors, leader role and leader–member relations can influence power-related behaviour. The data also show the importance of clarifying demands and expectations to prevent resource loss, otherwise overtaxed leaders are highly likely to use negative forms of power-related behaviour. The results demonstrate the need to improve understanding of the leader role with its increasing demands to be more flexible, agile and ambidextrous, but also to accept the human limitations of those who take on senior positions. Hence, the study findings demonstrate that context and conditions shape the situation in which leaders are embedded and therefore how to handle power is not only a problem for leaders themselves. The article also discusses the limitations of these findings and outlines possible directions for future research.

scholarly journals Beyond unsustainable leadership: critical social theory for sustainable leadership

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jem Bendell ◽  
Neil Sutherland ◽  
Richard Little
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Critical Social Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
Sustainable Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Critical Leadership Studies ◽  
Critical Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to prepare the conceptual groundwork for the future study of leadership for sustainable development. The paper demonstrates the relevance of Critical Leadership Studies to future research on sustainable development policies and practices. A critical approach is also applied to concepts of sustainable development, with three paradigms of thought described. Design/methodology/approach The approach taken is an extensive literature review in fields of leadership and sustainable development, with a focus on some of the broad assumptions and assertions in those literatures. Findings A key finding is that leadership studies drawing from critical social theory can provide important insights into future research and education on leadership for sustainability. This literature shows that some assumptions about leadership may hinder opportunities for social or organisational change by reducing the analysis of factors in change or reducing the agency of those not deemed to be leading. These limitations are summarised as “seven unsustainabilities” of mainstream leadership research. Research limitations/implications The paper calls for the emerging field of sustainable leadership to develop an understanding of significant individual action that includes collective, emergent and episodic dimensions. The paper then summarises key aspects of the papers in this special issue on leadership for sustainability. Practical implications The implications for practice are that efforts to promote organisational contributions to sustainable development should not uncritically draw upon mainstream approaches to leadership or the training of leaders. Originality/value The authors consider this the first paper to provide a synthesis of insights from Critical Leadership Studies for research in sustainability.

The invisible norm: An exploration of the intersections of sport, gender and leadership

Leadership ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Ryan ◽  
Geoff Dickson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
Gender And Leadership ◽  
Sport Leadership ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women ◽  
Critical Leadership Studies ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Insight Into

The gender leadership problem is not the underrepresentation of women, but the dominant presence of groups of men and valued forms of masculinities. We argue that critical leadership studies would benefit by considering sport to explain the nuanced relationships between leadership, sport, men and masculinity and the ensuing invisible norms that marginalise women. In doing so, we respond to calls for critical leadership scholars to examine situated power relations in more reflexive and innovative ways. Sport influences, and is influenced by, the inequalities of gender, class, age and race. The intersection of sport, leadership and gender provides an otherwise unavailable insight into what is normalised, men and the masculine subtext of leadership We examine New Zealand’s relationship with Rugby Union to achieve both of these aims. We conclude that Rugby is anything but benign or irrelevant when it comes to understanding gender and leadership in New Zealand.

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