What is Authentic Leadership?
by Sueños on 03/01/17
Authentic leadership is one of the most recently conceptualized leadership styles. While many conceptualizations exist, I found the most most accurate conceptualization comes from a 2008 study where the authors define authentic leadership 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.What it boils down to, for me, is a leader that is consistently oscillating between high and low positive energy states and acting in an ethical fashion, to bring about the same behavior in their employees.
Most exciting is that when the authors conducted a study relating authentic leadership to employee productivity and satisfaction, they found a positive correlation. Meaning authentic leaders tend to have employees who are more productive and more satisfied with their positions. This was true even when controlled for company culture overall.
We are just beginning to scratch the surface on this leadership style; however, it is already looking to be a very promising one. We've always encouraged our clients to find what gives them purpose, and to pursue it with all their might. I'm glad to see that science agrees.
This is a guest post by one of our coaches Diego-Andreas. If you like this post, and want to see more like it, check out his blog at www.wonderingintomyself.com
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