Authentic leadership and organizational synergy: Their combined effect on lecturer outcomes

My recent retirement from academia and an invitation to write this editorial have afforded me the opportunity to reflect on my work in researching authentic leadership theory in nursing and healthcare. When I was completing my PhD more than a decade ago, I searched for a leadership perspective that aligned with my learnings in a variety of previous practice and leadership roles. Basically, my leadership experiences contributed to a belief that authenticity is key: being oneself is extremely important to personal health and well-being and to effectiveness as a leader. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Objective: Research on EER (employee-employer relationship) has always attracted the attention of researchers in the field of Human Resources Management. Every organization and company always strive to be at the forefront and get employees who are competent in their respective fields besides having high and sustainable commitment to their organization. One of the antecedents of sustainable organizational commitment is the fulfilment of the psychological contract. Unfortunately, the psychological contracts that have been studied so far have only considered mundane transactional and relational aspects. In fact, worldly exchanges will not last forever. Need to review the psychological contract from a spiritual perspective which rewards are more lasting and can be felt in this world and the hereafter. No doubt, these exchanges are only believed by people who believe in the afterlife or people who have religion and belief in God. This study aims to investigate the indicators of the psychological contract from a spiritual perspective, namely from an Islamic perspective. The psychological contract from an Islamic perspective in this study becomes a mediating variable between authentic leadership and sustainable organizational commitment. In addition, trust in leaders is also used as a moderating variable between authentic leadership and spiritual psychological contracts. Methods: Respondents in this study were Muslim lecturers at Muhammadiyah universities accredited A throughout Indonesia. There are 6 universities that come across the requirements located in the cities of Yogyakarta, Malang (East Java), Surakarta (Central Java), Jakarta, and Medan (North Sumatra). The questionnaire was distributed via Google form using a 6-point Likert scale and processed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with the Partial Least Squares (Smart PLS) 3.0 technique. The number of respondents who filled out the questionnaire completely was 121. Results: This research produced several findings, i.e.: (1). Authentic leadership has a positive effect on fulfilling the spiritual psychological contract, (2). The spiritual psychological contract affects organizational commitment, (3). Trust (in the leader) has a positive effect on fulfilling the spiritual psychological contract, (4). The spiritual psychological contract becomes a mediator of the positive influence of authentic leadership on organizational commitment, (5). The spiritual psychological contract also mediates the effect of trust (in the leader) on organizational commitment. (6) authentic leadership has no direct effect on organizational commitment, and (7). Trust (in the leader) does not moderate the effect of authentic leadership on the spiritual psychological contract. Originality: This study adds one of the 2 previously known dimensions (transactional and relational), namely the liturgical dimension. This study also explores the dimensions of the spiritual psychological contract, although the term used still adopts the two previous psychological contract terms. However, the sources that are referred to all dimensions come from the verses of the Al Quran and Al Hadith which are the main sources of Islamic law. This research was conducted at Muhammadiyah universities which requires all members to prioritize Islamic da'wah, without neglecting financial needs, but financial needs are not the main goal. Implication: An authentic leader is characterized by listening to the opinions of subordinates, being a role model for his subordinates, being willing to guide and motivate, being aware of his own qualities, wanting to convey information on the achievements of the organization and his team, as well as strategies to achieve their goals, and respect the differences within the institution, will bring about subordinates' desire to fulfill their spiritual psychological contract. Likewise, leaders who want to recognize the superiority of subordinates, give flexibility in choosing work projects, give challenging assignments, facilitate growth, and intend to build relationships, as contained in indicators of trust in the leader, will be able to increase the desire of subordinates to fulfill their spiritual psychological contract. Spiritual psychological contracts are a novelty in this study, especially with the addition of one dimension in this variable, namely the liturgical contract. Authentic leadership and trust in the leader are able to arouse followers to fulfil their spiritual psychological contract which also has an impact on increasing their organizational commitment in sustainable manner.

Objective There remains a need for effective and ethical development in students, for cohesive and connected societies of moral actors. This paper adopts an authentic leadership development in students perspective as a possible complement to discipline expertise. This research explored whether taking leadership roles while studying had a positive effect on students’ development of authentic leadership attributes, including demographic contributions. Method This study comprised a quantitative survey of undergraduate students (n = 415) at an Australian university using structural equation modelling to test relationships between student leadership status and authentic leadership. Results Results demonstrated that student leaders exhibited higher authentic leadership than students who were not leaders. Demographics (e.g. gender) also explained variance across authentic leadership scores. Authentic leadership also served as a useful predictor of whether students intended to take up formal student leadership roles. Conclusions Practical implications of this research include opportunities for policy development to support leadership opportunities and training for higher education students as a method of developing their authentic leadership.

The aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of empowerment in the relationship of nurse managers' authentic leadership, with nurses' organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The participants in this study were 273 registered nurses working in five University hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The measurements included the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Condition of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, Organizational Commitment Questionnaire and Korea-Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients, simple and multiple regression techniques with the SPSS 18.0 program. Mediation analysis was performed according to the Baron and Kenny method and Sobel test. There were significant correlations among authentic leadership, empowerment, organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Empowerment showed perfect mediating effects in the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational commitment. It had partial mediating effects in the relationship between authentic leadership and job satisfaction. In this study, nurse managers' authentic leadership had significant influences on nurses organizational commitment and job satisfaction via empowerment. Therefore, to enhance nurses' organizational commitment and job satisfaction, it is necessary to build effective strategies to enhance nurse manager's authentic leadership and to develop empowering education programs for nurses.

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of transformational, transactional, authentic and authoritarian leadership styles toward lecture performance in some private university in Tangerang. The study population are lecture of private university as many as 120 lectures from 14 of private university and data collection methods by giving an electronics questionnaire to the lectures of private university in Tangerang. The data analysis tool of this study uses SEM (Structural Equation Model) the LISREL program version 8.70. The results show that the transformational, transactional and authorian leadership style have positive and significant affected to lecture performance. Transformational leadership and authentic leadership has no significant effect to lecture performance.

Committed and satisfied teachers have been increasingly recognized as valuable assets in enhancing the effectiveness of schools and adapting to evolving education reforms. This study investigates how and under what conditions principals' authentic leadership contributes to teachers' organizational commitment. Valid data collected from 476 teachers in seven primary schools in mainland China were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), regression analysis and bootstrapping tests. The results yielded a partial mediation model, finding a significant direct effect of principals' authentic leadership on teachers' organizational commitment and an indirect effect through the mediating role of teachers' well-being. Moreover, teachers' social-emotional competence positively moderated the relationship between principals' authentic leadership and teachers' organizational commitment. This study underscores the theoretical importance of teachers' affective pathways and the boundary condition linking principals' authentic leadership to teachers' organizational commitment, while it also offers practical recommendations for school leaders.

Authentic leadership has been studied across a variety of disciplines (e.g., education, construction management, and nursing) and from numerous perspectives such as philosophy and psychology. However, the formal study of authentic leadership within the management literature surged following the publication of a seminal book chapter by Luthans and Avolio in 2003. Authentic leadership is most commonly defined as “a pattern of leader behavior that draws upon and promotes both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, to foster greater self-awareness, an internalized moral perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with followers, fostering positive self-development” (Authentic Leadership: Development and Validation of a Theory-Based Measure, cited under Empirical Research: Quantitative Research: Measurement, p. 94). Authentic leadership has been linked to a number of positive leader, follower, and organizational outcomes, suggesting that it holds much promise for helping leaders, followers, and their organizations to more effectively address the multitude of ethical and performance challenges found in the 21st-century workplace. Although the preceding definition and core dimensions of authentic leadership represent the most prevalent perspective on the construct, there are alternative perspectives and critiques of this dominant view. Radical Authentic Leadership: Co-creating the Conditions under Which all Members of the Organization Can Be Authentic (cited under Theoretical Foundations of the Authentic Leadership Construct: Philosophical Conceptualizations of Authentic Leadership) advances an alternative philosophical perspective of authentic leadership, and Authentic Leadership: Clashes, Convergences, and Coalescences (cited under Authentic Leadership Books: Scholarly Books) captures some of the “clashes, convergences, and coalescences” that have emerged within the authentic leadership literature in an edited volume on the topic. Questions have also been raised about the applicability of authentic leadership principles across cultural, occupational, industrial, structural, and temporal contexts that merit investigation, as discussed in ‘Can You See the Real Me?’ A Self-Based Model of Authentic Leader and Follower Development (cited under Theoretical Advances in Authentic Leadership). While authentic leadership is clearly related to ethical, spiritual, and transformational leadership, it is also conceptually distinct, as discussed in Taking Stock of Moral Approaches to Leadership: An Integrative Review of Ethical, Authentic, and Servant Leadership (cited under General Overviews/Literature Reviews). Specifically, it is differentiated by its focus on leader and follower authenticity and the emphasis placed on the four core components of self-awareness, balanced processing, relational transparency, and an internalized moral perspective. The merits of the conceptual and empirical support for authentic leadership theory have been increasingly discussed and debated in recent years, as evidenced by Alvesson and Einola’s 2019 critique of the theory and the ensuing exchange of leaders in Authentic Leadership Theory: The Case for and Against (cited under Critiques of Authentic Leadership Theory).

This study aims to analyze the influence of organizational support and organizational culture on lecturer performance, with organizational commitment as a mediating variable. The research design used a quantitative approach with an explanatory survey method. The study population included all certified permanent lecturers in economics study programs at private universities in Riau Province, with a sample of 150 lecturers selected through purposive sampling. The research instrument was a five-point Likert scale questionnaire that was tested for validity and reliability before use. Data analysis was conducted using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS. The results showed that organizational culture had a positive and significant effect on organizational commitment, and organizational commitment has a substantial impact on lecturer performance. In addition, organizational culture had an indirect effect on performance through organizational commitment. Conversely, organizational support was not proven to have a significant impact on either lecturer commitment or performance. This study found that cultural factors have a more dominant role than administrative support in driving performance. Practically, the implications of this study suggest that higher education leaders should prioritize strengthening an academic culture that fosters lecturer loyalty and engagement, thereby enabling continuous improvement in the performance of the tridharma.

To examine the associations between unit managers' authentic leadership with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and to investigate whether nurse tenure has a moderating effect on these associations. Authentic leaders create trusting relationships with their staff and help nurses become more satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organizations. Because nurses have different perceptions of their working environments based on their tenure, the effectiveness of managerial leadership differ accordingly. This study is a cross-sectional secondary analysis using survey data from 1,118 staff nurses. To determine the significant tenure range for the associations between authentic leadership, job satisfaction and organizational commitment, the Johnson-Neyman method was used. Authentic managerial leadership perceived by staff nurses had positive associations with job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The strengths of these associations were attenuated with nurse tenure and were no longer significant for nurses with more than 20years of tenure. Although authentic leadership in managers was effective, the strengths of its effectiveness varied based on nurse tenure. According to nurse tenure, differentiated approaches are needed to increase the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of staff nurses.

In dynamic business environments, innovation is the key to organizational success. PT. Indokemika Group recognizes leadership's pivotal role in driving innovation. The study aims to assess Authentic Leadership's impact on Innovation Performance, with Explicit and Tacit Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Commitment as mediators. Analyzing data from 180 respondents, Structural Equation Model (SEM) and Sobel Test were utilized. Findings reveal that authentic leadership and tacit knowledge sharing significantly influence innovation performance through organizational commitment mediation. However, organizational commitment doesn't mediate the link between authentic leadership and explicit knowledge. Implications entail nurturing authentic leadership, promoting knowledge-sharing culture, and fostering robust organizational commitment.

This study aims to examine the influence of authentic leadership, school climate, and procedural justice on the organizational commitment of teachers at public senior high schools in Bekasi Regency. The research involved 321 teachers as respondents, using a quantitative approach with data collected through surveys. Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicate that authentic leadership has a significant direct effect on teachers’ organizational commitment, as do school climate and procedural justice. Furthermore, authentic leadership and school climate were also found to have a direct impact on procedural justice. Additional findings reveal that authentic leadership and school climate indirectly affect organizational commitment through the mediation of procedural justice. Overall, these findings underscore the importance of authentic leadership, a positive school climate, and the implementation of procedural justice in enhancing teachers’ organizational commitment, which in turn can contribute to improving the quality of education in Bekasi Regency.

This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of workplace social capital on the relationship between authentic leadership and the three dimensions of organizational commitment: affective, normative, and continuance. In January 2019, anonymous self-reported questionnaires were distributed to 1220 nurses working in the general wards of two university hospitals in Japan. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating effects of workplace social capital on the relationship between nurse managers' authentic leadership and the three dimensions of organizational commitment. Six hundred and fifty-nine data points were analyzed (valid response rate=54.0%). Participants' average age was 28.6 years (standard deviation: 6.6), and 93.3% were female. The mediation indirect effect of workplace social capital between authentic leadership and organizational commitment was statistically significant in the models of affective organizational commitment and normative organizational commitment, but not in the model of continuance organizational commitment. The effects of authentic leadership and workplace social capital had different impacts on each of the three dimensions of organizational commitment. Nurse managers' authentic leadership and workplace social capital can enhance nurses' positive commitment to the organization.

The present study was conducted by the aim of investigating the fit of the presented model for the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational commitment of staff with a mediating role of organizational justice. The population of the research included all the teachers in high schools (for male students) in Education district 2 in Qom city. From the population, 300 individuals were selected through cluster sampling. For gathering the data, authentic leadership questionnaire (Avolio et al., 2007), organizational justice questionnaire of Niehoff & Moorman (1993), and Allen & Meyer's Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (2002) were used. For analyzing the data, structural equation modeling – fit indices and path coefficients – was used. The results of the analysis showed that authentic leadership has a direct and significant effect on the organizational commitment of teachers. Also, authentic leadership has an indirect effect, through organizational justice, on organizational commitment. The other finding of the research is that organizational justice has a direct and significant effect on organizational commitment of teachers, and the offered conceptual model has a significant statistical fit, that means the explanatory model for organizational commitment based on authentic leadership and organizational justice has fitness with empirical data. Finally, based on the information obtained from structural equations model, it can also be said that all the components existing in the 3 variables of the research have positive and significant relationships with one another.

The study aims to find out the influence of Servant Leadership on lecturer performance through the Organizational Commitment of a private university in the city of Sorong, Indonesia. This research presents organizational commitment as a mediator between Servant Leadership and Lecturer Performance. Six private universities were involved as the objects of the study. The sampling method was Proportional Random Sampling using the Slovin formula gaining 236 respondents. The data collection used was a questionnaire with the tested validity and reliability. The data analysis technique employed was SEM-PLS. The research results show that Servant Leadership has a positive and insignificant effect on Lecturer Performance and Servant Leadership has a positive and significant effect on Organizational Commitment while Organizational Commitment has a positive and significant effect on Lecturer Performance. The relationship between servant leadership and lecturer performance has a full mediating effect among the variables examined. The research evidences that the construct of Organizational Commitment is the main factor that plays a mediating role in the relationship between Servant Leadership and Lecturer Performance. Building and improving Organizational Commitment requires open communication, consistency, and transparency from the heads and management of private universities. The study provides important reinforcement for institutional leaders in improving the performance of lecturers at private universities in Sorong by increasing the causal relationship between the construct of the organizational commitment variable as a mediator toward the influence of servant leadership on lecturer performance.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between authentic leadership, organizational Virtuousness, and departmental effectiveness at private universities in Jakarta. Two-stage sampling was undertaken in this study. In the first stage, a sample of 17 private universities was selected using a simple random sampling technique. In the second stage, faculty members were randomly contacted from the selected departments from sampled private universities to fill out the questionnaire for this study. Data was collected from the experienced faculty members of various departments of private universities and processed through the Structural Equation Modelling - PLS technique. This study finds that Authentic leadership plays a significant role in cultivating a virtuous environment in a private university department and enhances organizational effectiveness within the department of private universities. Furthermore, the findings propose that organizations must reinforce significant internal powers such as authentic leadership and organizational Virtuousness to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Authentic leadership, as an upbeat leadership style, can nurture positive qualities in the company. The amplifying and buffering roles of organizational Virtuousness will contribute to the organization’s effectiveness. Limitations of the study were primarily because the focus was on relatively contemporary topics like authentic leadership and organizational Virtuousness, which are part of the evolving research areas. There is little information available, particularly in the context of Indonesian organizations. Secondly, the number of items in the original survey instrument was too large to be efficiently answered in one questionnaire; therefore, it was cut short to a more appropriate scale with experts’ assistance.