Abstract
Orientation: Authentic leadership is a relatively new construct that has recently gained increasing attention resulting from challenges faced by organisations relating to ethical meltdowns, corruption and fraud.Research purpose: This study seeks to explore the relationship between components of emotional intelligence and authentic leadership.Motivation for the study: Several authors called for more empirical investigations into the antecedents of authentic leadership. Despite the important role that emotions play in leadership, empirical studies were lacking about the influence of different components of emotional intelligence to authentic leadership.Research design, approach and method: Data were collected, using questionnaires obtained from 341 full-time employed applicants to MBA and leadership programmes in a South African Business School. Relationships between variables were analysed, using Pearson product-moment correlations and stepwise multiple regression.Main findings: The results indicated that emotional intelligence has positive statistically significant associations with authentic leadership. Specifically, those who scored high on all the emotional intelligence components also scored high on authentic leadership. In addition, the emotional intelligence component of empathy was a statistically significant predictor of authentic leadership.Practical/managerial implications: Initial findings suggest the potential value of recognising and developing the emotional intelligence of leaders to enable them to lead their organisations authentically to desired, successful outcomes. As empathy has been shown to be the most important emotional intelligence predictor of authentic leadership, leaders need to understand when subordinates perceive a leader as displaying empathic emotion.Contribution: This study contributes to the literature and empirical research on the antecedents of authentic leadership.
Highlights
The challenges faced by public, private and even non-profit organisations relating to ethical meltdowns, corruption, accounting fraud, and IP infringement (Price Waterhouse Coopers, 2014), as well as the growing attention paid to corporate social responsibility (Lawler & Ashman, 2012), have created a public need for organisational leaders who keep themselves accountable and who can lead with integrity, courage, and transparency (Diddams & Chang, 2012)
Leadership has always been more difficult in challenging times (Avolio & Gardner, 2005) and, in the face of such pressures, people look for organisational leaders of character and integrity to provide direction, to help them find meaning in their work, and to restore confidence, hope, and optimism by relating genuinely to all stakeholders (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May & Walumbwa, 2005)
The results section consists of five tables encompassing the statistical outcomes from the collected data, followed by a short report
Summary
The challenges faced by public, private and even non-profit organisations relating to ethical meltdowns, corruption, accounting fraud, and IP infringement (Price Waterhouse Coopers, 2014), as well as the growing attention paid to corporate social responsibility (Lawler & Ashman, 2012), have created a public need for organisational leaders who keep themselves accountable and who can lead with integrity, courage, and transparency (Diddams & Chang, 2012). Leadership has always been more difficult in challenging times (Avolio & Gardner, 2005) and, in the face of such pressures, people look for organisational leaders of character and integrity to provide direction, to help them find meaning in their work, and to restore confidence, hope, and optimism by relating genuinely to all stakeholders (associates, customers, suppliers, owners, and communities) (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May & Walumbwa, 2005) This type of leadership has been termed ‘authentic leadership’, referring to genuine leaders who lead by example in fostering healthy ethical climates, and who are true to themselves but who, likewise, lead others by helping them to achieve authenticity (Gardner et al, 2005). ‘At more specific levels, authenticity is manifested in concrete aspects of one’s’ behaviour ‘and existence, such as in leading others’. Avolio, Luthans and Walumbwa (2004) describe authentic leaders as: http://www.sajhrm.co.za doi:10.4102/sajhrm.v13i1.716
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
