Authentic Leadership Research Articles

Authentic student leadership development: structural equation model testing differences among student leader populations

ABSTRACT 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.

A new study on the flaws in positive leadership research

A new article, “A fatal flaw: Positive leadership style research creates causal illusions,” in The Leadership Quarterly finds that positive leadership approaches such as “authentic, ethical, and servant leadership” can’t be accurately measured, because they “conflate behaviors with subjective evaluations of leaders.” The writers, Thomas Fischer, Joerg Dietz and John Antonakis, claim that previously published positive research is therefore unreliable, and that “positive leadership style research is not only wrong but also practically futile” because it's impossible to separate out “concrete and learnable behaviors.”

ASPECTS REGARDING THE ROLE OF RELIGIOUS MILITARY SERVICE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMILITY, AS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE FUTURE AUTHENTIC LEADER OF THE ROMANIAN AIR FORCES

This paper was born out of the desire to clarify certain aspects regarding the role played by religious assistance and the actions taken by military chaplains, in resonance with those led by military instructors and teaching staff, in shaping a desirable/ideal profile of Romanian Air Force officer, through the lens of training and development of leadership skills specified by the graduate model. The approach through the prism of the element of humility was imposed by the desire to highlight the importance of training, within the "Henri Coandă" Air Force Academy, those leadership skills, with an intrapersonal connotation, which would contribute to the practice of authentic leadership by the young officers of this category of armed forces.

Leadership theories and styles—A systematic literature review and the narrative synthesis

This paper explores diverse conceptualizations of leadership, emphasizing its profound impact on individuals and organizations. Leadership’s influence on followers’ daily lives, necessitating adaptation to modern complexities. Various theories offer distinct perspectives: distributed leadership emphasizes shared expertise. While charismatic leadership focuses on vision alignment. Authentic leadership promotes ethical climates, while Emotional Intelligence theory emphasizes emotional competencies. Ethical leadership underscores moral conduct. Five Domains Leadership highlights talent management and strategy execution, while Leadership Transition Theory discusses dynamic changes. Other theories include direct/indirect leadership, entrepreneurial leadership, and leader-member exchange. Participative leadership explores decision-making styles, and situational leadership aligns styles with follower maturity. Trait and behavioral theories focus on inherent traits and learned behaviours. This review underscores leadership’s complexity, offering insights into its diverse conceptualizations and practical implications across contexts.

Unveiling the potential of perceived authentic leadership to enhance followers’ moral intentions: a self-determination theory perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the effects of followers’ perceptions of their leaders’ authentic leadership behaviors on how followers become motivated to develop moral intention.Design/methodology/approachUsing field survey data (n = 337), exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression, the authors suggest that perceived authentic leadership positively affects followers’ moral intent. The authors tested a self-determination theory-based model to explain the mediations.FindingsThe authors found that perceived authentic leadership is related to employees’ autonomous moral motivation through basic psychological need satisfaction, which in turn predicts their moral capacities and moral intent.Originality/valueThis study is unique in that it has examined various motivational variables to explain the mechanism by which authentic leadership influences morality. In addition, this is also novel in empirically using the autonomous motivation construct in the moral domain to explain how employees may develop moral capacities over time, impacting their moral intent. This research is also unique in testing the relationship between all moral capacities proposed in the literature and moral intent. The theoretical implications, practical implications and avenues for further research are also discussed.

Impact of Transformational and Relational Leadership Theories and Ethics Towards Climate Change Resilience in Fiji

This analytical essay explores the intricate interplay between leadership theories and the ethical dimensions inherent in addressing climate change, natural disasters, and their impacts on Fiji. Transformational and relational leadership theories are identified as crucial frameworks in shaping ethical attributes within organizations, creating ethical climates that address the implications of climate change and disasters. The challenges posed by natural disasters in Fiji, particularly on the economy, vulnerable sectors, and communities, necessitate effective leadership and ethical approach. This essay delves into multiple leadership theories, examining their relevance and efficacy in the context of Pacific Islands. Authentic leadership, transformational leadership, and culturally sustaining leadership emerge as influential paradigms, contributing to disaster risk reduction, resilience, and coping mechanisms. The Ethical and Effective Leadership (EEL) Model introduces propositions that underscore the impact of leader characteristics, people practices, institutional practices, and contextual factors on organizational outcomes. However, ethical dilemmas surface, as leaders navigate vulnerabilities, resilience, and societal expectations. Crosweller and Tschakert highlight the ethical challenges faced by leaders, particularly in balancing the urgency of climate action with the constraints of neoliberal policies. Complexity of leadership is discussed in disaster risk reduction, including the influence of worldviews and power dynamics within community-led initiatives. In summary, this essay synthesizes various leadership theories, and showcasing their applicability in the Pacific Islands, specifically Fiji, in addressing climate change and disasters. The ethical considerations woven into leadership decisions and actions underscore the need for leaders to navigate complexities, fostering compassion, inclusivity, and preparedness in the face of environmental and societal challenges.

Authentic leadership and performance of public servants in Tanzania context: the mediation role of motivation

PurposeThis study examined the relationship between authentic leadership and employee performance among public servants in Kigoma/Ujiji municipality in Tanzania. Further, we investigated the mediating role of motivation on the relationship between authentic leadership and employee performance.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional research design was applied along with a quantitative research approach. The study sampled 260 public servants selected by random sampling from a total of 800 employees. Data were analyzed using Mplus software using the maximum likelihood estimator to test for hypotheses.FindingsThe findings show a positive significant relationship between authentic leadership and employee performance, a positive significant relationship between authentic leadership and motivation and a positive significant relationship between motivation and employee performance. Furthermore, motivation was found to be a significant mediator in the relationship between authentic leadership and employee performance among public servants in Tanzania.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to the corpus of research on authentic leadership, motivation and employee performance, especially in the context of public service. Additionally, it provides advice on how to use authentic leadership and motivation to enhance public servants performance. Managers should strive to create a motivational work climate characterized by trust, empowerment and recognition. By fostering a sense of ownership and investment in their work, managers can enhance employee motivation and engagement, leading to improved performance outcomes.Originality/valueOur study is one of a kind to emphasize the crucial roles that authentic leadership and motivation play in promoting commitment, dedication and positive social interactions at work. Our study also advances the understanding of public service motivation (PSM) theory.

Authentic Leadership on Industrial Harmony in the Devolved Public Health Sector in Kenya

Authentic Leadership on Industrial Harmony in the Devolved Public Health Sector in Kenya

Authentic leadership, proactive goal regulation and help-seeking behavior: a multilevel moderated mediation

PurposeBased on self-regulation theory, this study aims to investigate the relationship between authentic leadership and help-seeking behavior, as well as the mediating effect of proactive goal regulation and the moderating effect of leader identification.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted a questionnaire survey on 489 employees from 94 teams and tested our research model through multi-level pathway analysis.FindingsThe analysis results suggest that (1) authentic leadership positively relates to employees’ proactive goal regulation; (2) employees’ proactive goal regulation positively relates to their autonomous (dependent) help-seeking behavior; (3) employees’ proactive goal regulation plays an intermediary role between authentic leadership and help-seeking behavior; (4) leader identification positively moderates the influence of authentic leadership on employees’ proactive goal regulation and (5) leader identification positively moderates the indirect relationship between authentic leadership and employees’ help-seeking behavior through employees’ proactive goal regulation.Practical implicationsBased on the findings of this study, organizations should foster authentic leadership in workplace to promote employees’ help-seeking behavior. In addition, managers should also attach importance to proactive goal regulation in promoting help-seeking behavior and leader identification in enhancing the positive influence of authentic leadership on employees’ proactive goal regulation.Originality/valueThis study finds that proactive goal regulation plays a key mediating role between authentic leadership and help-seeking behavior, and reveals the role of leader identification in reinforcing the positive impact of authentic leadership on help-seeking behavior.

Authentic leadership, organizational climate stress and wellbeing in healthcare workers

Authentic leadership, organizational climate stress and wellbeing in healthcare workers

Authentic leadership – for better and for worse? Leader well-being and inconsistency as moderating factors in the relation between daily authentic leadership and follower well-being

ABSTRACT Despite comprehensive insights on favourable outcomes of authentic leadership for followers, there is a limited understanding about boundary conditions of authentic leadership. Leaders’ decreased well-being (i.e. high trait emotional irritation and low trait work engagement) or inconsistency in authentic leadership may attenuate the relation between authentic leadership and follower well-being (i.e. emotional irritation and work engagement). We tested these assumptions using a daily diary study design over five consecutive working days with a sample of 64 leaders and 162 followers. We found partial support for the cross-level moderation of authentic leadership inconsistency across these five days, as daily authentic leadership was related to daily work engagement (but not emotional irritation) of followers, when authentic leadership inconsistency was low. Contrary to our predictions, neither high leader trait emotional irritation nor low leader trait work engagement attenuated the relation between daily authentic leadership and daily follower well-being. The results point out to the importance of consistency in authentic leadership behaviour. However, leaders do not need to be overly concerned about negative consequences for followers when they lead authentically while having a reduced trait well-being.

Harnessing authentic leadership to transform an academic health system: Tampa General Hospital case study

The US healthcare industry is changing faster than ever before, and its evolution should be expected to continue — and at an even more accelerated rate. Research shows that to adapt and thrive in this ever-changing landscape and best meet the needs of patients, healthcare leaders must be prepared to navigate present-day challenges, including unprecedented levels of burnout and turnover, talent shortages and cost pressures while simultaneously anticipating future needs such as digital transformation, new care models and strategic growth initiatives. To act on this framework, healthcare leaders must also lead their organisations with authenticity, transparency, kindness and vulnerability to unite and activate their teams around a common vision and realistic expectations for how it will be achieved. This paper, in case study format, defines the enterprise leadership and AKTiVe leadership models; details how this authentic leadership framework was deployed at Tampa General Hospital to accelerate growth and innovation; and provides an overview of outcomes, influence and lessons learned through implementation.

Determinants of Performance of Private Schools: the Mediating Role of Education and Reformation in Jiangxi, China

This study investigates the determinants of performance failure in private schools and proposes strategies for improvement, focusing on the mediating role of education modernization in Jiangxi, China. Grounded in a positivism research philosophy and employing a deductive approach, the study adopts an explanatory research design to explore causal relationships. Primary data is collected through surveys from 250 educational leaders, with a population of 5000 stakeholders. Statistical and descriptive analyses are conducted using SPSS. Findings reveal academic underachievement, financial instability, and stakeholder dissatisfaction as key facets of performance failure. Authentic leadership, knowledge management strategies, and technology advancement emerge as critical drivers of performance enhancement. Moreover, education modernization acts as a mediator, bridging challenges and performance outcomes. The study proposes a model for addressing these challenges and improving performance in Jiangxi's private schools.

Effect of Organizational Politics on Job Insecurity in Hotels and Travel Agencies: The Moderating Role of Authentic Leadership

Effect of Organizational Politics on Job Insecurity in Hotels and Travel Agencies: The Moderating Role of Authentic Leadership

Developing Dance Artists as Authentic Leaders through the Cultivation of Creativity

Developing Dance Artists as Authentic Leaders through the Cultivation of Creativity

Empowering leadership, employee organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior: the roles of leader authenticity and trust

PurposeDrawing on the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory, we examine the role of empowering leadership in employee organizational commitment and the organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, we examine if these relationships are explained by factors such as follower trust in the leader and leader authenticity.Design/methodology/approachWe draw on survey data from 153 individuals serving the hospitality industry sector. The data are analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsResults show that trust in a leader positively mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and organizational citizenship behavior as well as organizational commitment. We also find a direct association between empowering leadership and the two organizational outcomes. However, we do not find evidence of the moderating role of leader authenticity in empowering leadership and trust in leader–leader relationship.Originality/valueThis paper brings to light the significance of empowering leadership, especially for hospitality workers who often operate in stressful and deeply hierarchical organizational environments. Our study findings provide a pathway for how supervisors should follow an empowering form of leadership annculcate trust in employees for better organizational outcomes. The findings indicate significant theoretical and practical implications and offer recommendations for future research.

What we ask of authenticity: How LGBQ experiences illuminate the possibilities, constraints, and expectations of being an authentic leader

This essay draws on ethnographic work with minority leaders to problematize the reification of how people with privilege experience authenticity on the one hand, and the romanticization of authentic leadership on the other. Whilst the literature on authentic leadership critically engages the concept of authenticity itself, research on lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer (LGBQ) leadership offers empirical insights from the lived experiences of minority leaders. Drawing on both literatures, this essay addresses the challenge of critically engaging minority individuals’ accounts of their lived experiences relating to authentic leadership. The diverse LGBQ people in leadership roles in this UK study articulated struggles around being their “true selves” in leadership roles, as both bodies of literature suggest. Their accounts also raise concerns about how others romanticized LGBQ authenticity, creating expectations about how these minority individuals would perform authenticity for the sake of diversity, inclusion, and transformation. LGBQ leaders seem to develop a pragmatic sense about how and when they do or do not bring their sexualities into their leadership roles. In conclusion, this essay argues for an acknowledgment of how sexuality impacts the conditions for enacting authentic leadership whilst resisting the romanticism of authenticity for the sake of organization goals.

보육교사가 인식한 원장의 진성리더십과 조직공정성이 직무만족도에 미치는 영향

보육교사가 인식한 원장의 진성리더십과 조직공정성이 직무만족도에 미치는 영향

보육교사가 인식한 원장의 진성리더십과 조직공정성이 직무만족도에 미치는 영향

보육교사가 인식한 원장의 진성리더십과 조직공정성이 직무만족도에 미치는 영향

A Narrative Study on Authentic Leadership and Dual Credit Administration in Texas Community Colleges

ABSTRACT Community colleges play an integral role in early access to college via dual credit programs. Dual credit programs have grown exponentially in Texas, thus warranting further investigation into how these programs are led and administered at the district level. Authentic leadership is needed to ensure programs, students, families, and faculty members achieve success. Using authentic leadership and life-stories as a conceptual framework, this study focused on three community college administrators’ narratives, approaches to interpersonal relationships, and perspectives on dual credit challenges and priorities. The findings of the study indicated community college administrators lead these programs with a variety of leadership experiences. Furthermore, they must navigate relationships with multiple key stakeholders and respond to competing demands. This study also highlights the challenges of equity, lack of administrative infrastructure, and communication and compromise. Administrators shared their priorities in being “student ready,” strategic planning, and training and professional development. This study could assist researchers, educators, and policymakers in better understanding dual credit implementation by offering insights into the necessary training needed for district-level administrators to implement a dual credit program.