scholarly journals Authentic Leadership: Development and Initial Validation of a Situational Judgment Test

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Isabel de Campos ◽  
Fabián Javier Marín Rueda
Author(s):  
António Calheiros

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Shannon ◽  
Maurice Buford ◽  
Bruce E. Winston ◽  
James Andy Wood

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the role of trigger events and leadership crucibles in the lives of authentic leaders. The study was based on two theories: authentic leadership theory and born versus made theory.Design/methodology/approachParticipants were included in the study if they scored between 64 and 80 on the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ). The qualified leaders were then asked to participate in a qualitative interview utilizing an interview guide born out of the relevant literature. The interview followed the guidelines of the Critical Incident Technique (CIT).FindingsThe data indicated that trigger events and leadership crucibles play a significant role in authentic leadership development.Practical implicationsPractitioners should emphasize the prominent themes of self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing and moral perspective and the connection with other themes that emerged from the current study when developing or training leaders. Furthermore, practitioners concerned with creating an authentic leadership culture may consider the findings of the current study to develop and employ hiring and promotion strategies that increase the probabilities of hiring and promoting leaders that exhibit authentic leadership behaviors.Originality/valueThe findings of the research indicate that trigger events and crucibles both affect authentic leadership development. The research findings confirm characteristics associated with authentic leadership theory were predominant in the participants. However, one theme that prevailed was that of spirituality, which may or may not be considered to be part of an authentic leader's moral perspective


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A Crawford ◽  
Sarah Dawkins ◽  
Angela Martin ◽  
Gemma Lewis

Increasingly poor and unethical decision-making on the part of leaders across the globe, such as the recent Australian Cricket Ball Tampering Scandal, pose a significant challenge for society and for organisations. Authentic leadership development is one strategy that has been positioned as an antidote to unethical leadership behaviours. However, despite growing interest in authentic leadership, the construct still embodies several criticisms including conceptual clarity; leader-centricity; bias towards the person, not the leader; philosophical ambiguity; and demographic challenges. Each of these criticisms will be explored in depth to inform a reconceptualisation of the authentic leader construct, comprising indicators of awareness, sincerity, balanced processing, positive moral perspective and informal influence. Importantly, this revised conceptualisation considers how researchers can conceptually distinguish between authentic leaders, followers and individuals. To conclude, we propose a research agenda for authentic leaders, encouraging the pursuit of further construct clarity, including the development of rigorous authentic leader behaviour measures, expanding the psychometric profile of the authentic leader construct, increasing the focus on authentic followers and enhancing leader development programmes.JEL Classification: M12


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Fatima Hendricks ◽  
Susan Toth-Cohen

Background. Twenty-three years into democracy, concern is deepening regarding the slow progress of Occupational Therapy (OT) in South Africa, especially with regard to diversity and inclusion within OT. Methods. This study explores authentic leadership development primarily among Black OT students attending a pilot Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa (OTASA) National Student Leadership Camp. It seeks to ascertain their perceptions on leadership and leadership development. This descriptive pilot study employs in-depth interviews and subsequent content analysis, with 12 OT students from six university OT programs in South Africa. Findings. Four categories of participant perceptions on authentic leadership development emerged from the analysis: (1) perceptions about oneself as a leader based on personal narrative, self-awareness, self-control, and psychological capital; (2) perceptions about others, specifically current leaders, with regard to their moral crisis, including continuing inequality, insincerity, greed, and selfishness; (3) goals and aspirations for leadership development via student camps; and (4) effects of leadership on the system. Conclusions. Recommendations for future practice include promotion of storytelling as a means of personal reflection for authentic leadership development and focused investment in camps for developing student leadership skills and building authentic leadership knowledge.


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