Enriching the concept of authentic leadership in project-based organisations through the lens of life-stories and self-identities

Natalya Sergeeva,Dicle Kortantamer

doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2021.09.001

Natalya Sergeeva, Dicle Kortantamer

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2021.09.001

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Abstract

The tendency to present authentic leadership as a set of project manager attributes (e.g., characteristics, behaviours, competencies) limits the potential of this concept to help address the challenges of contemporary projects. Using the lens of self-identity and drawing on life-story interviews with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of public project-based organisations in the UK construction industry, this paper offers an enrichment of the authentic leadership concept that takes into account situated nuances and struggles encountered in the lived experiences of leaders. The findings reveal a dialogical process between more coherent narratives and personalised stories articulated by the leaders, continued interweaving stories of self and the context, and ongoing efforts to cope with relational anxieties, authenticity and self-identity struggles. It is shown that these processes are situated in cultural values, roles, institutionalised views of leadership and the broader context, and shape the contextual conditions for project work.

Highlights

Has explicitly talked about storytelling and narrating and their importance in the context of project-based organisations, the first as more interesting and exciting and the latter as more repetitive and strategic. This is in alignment with the growing project management literature that focuses on lived expe riences, stories and self-identities of megaproject leaders (Drouin et al, 2021; Sankaran, 2018) and oscillation between narratives and stories constructed by executives (Sergeeva and Green, 2019)
The paper contributes to enriching the concept of authentic leader ship in the project management research (e.g., Berg and Carlsen, 2014; Lloyd-Walker and Walker, 2011; Tak et al, 2019; Todt et al, 2019; Toor and Ofori, 2008; Walker and Lloyd-Walker, 2014; Walker et al, 2014) by critically confronting assumptions underpinning this concept and offering conceptual resources and analytical extensions that can help address the current blind spots in capturing the complexities of prac ticing authentic leadership in project-based organisations
By inquiring into an underexplored senior leadership position in project organising, the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), the paper contributes to the ongoing efforts in the liter ature concerned with leadership in projects to extend the analysis beyond the analytical level of project managers (e.g., Clegg et al, 2018; Kissi et al, 2013; Shao, 2018)

Summary

Introduction

In line with the growing interest in authentic leadership within the leadership literature (e.g., Alvesson and Einola, 2019; Avolio et al, 2004; Avolio and Gardner, 2005; Cooper et al, 2005; Gardner et al, 2005; Crawford et al, 2020; George et al, 2015; Ilies et al, 2005; Ladkin and Taylor, 2010; Nyberg and Sveningsson, 2013), the concept of authentic leadership has made inroads to the project management studies (Drouin et al, 2021; Lloyd-Walker and Walker, 2011; Toor and Ofori, 2008). Authentic leaders are anchored by their own deep sense of self: they are self-aware about who they are, what they believe, what their values are, and they can act upon these beliefs and values. Their positive emotions and well-meaning values such as honesty inspire trust and commitment in their teams (Avolio and Gardner, 2005; Nyberg and Sveningsson, 2003). By identity anxieties and struggles we mean leaders questioning themselves, their identities, and the context and system within which they operate (Alvesson, 2010) This identity work is crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of authentic leadership (Ibarra, 2015).

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