Professor Bill George who is credited as the creator of Authentic Leadership Theory in 2004 asserted that a leader authentically emphasises building legitimacy through honest relationships and ethical actions that, in turn, maximise the efforts of others to achieve the goals set.
George also noted that there are five dimensions of Authentic Leaders:
Pursue and display purpose and direction with a passion so people want to follow, thus demonstrating the purpose of leadership.
Practice solid values. George asserts that if one is not perceived to have integrity, there will be no basis for trust, adversely affecting followership(1).
Authentic leaders are said to "lead with the heart" and engage the hearts of those they serve, aligning their interests with those of those they lead. An authentic leader requires empathy and compassion for the people they work with and the courage to make difficult decisions.
Authentic leaders establish enduring relationships built on connectedness and a shared purpose of working together towards a common goal.
Demonstrating self-discipline is a key behaviour of authentic leaders. Authentic leaders take full responsibility for outcomes and hold others accountable for their performance.
Interestingly, George and Sims later 2007 refined their description of authentic leaders' behaviour to be consistent with their personality and core values. The core values are honesty, ethicality, and practicality.
Authentic Leadership Principles - What does the literature say?
The literature demonstrates an increasing interest in developing leaders who abandon self-interest while improving employee work experience and organisational performance.
The influence of authentic leaders results from the favourable relationships and referent power built upon followers’ trust, loyalty, respect, and satisfaction with their leaders, which is derived from an employee-centred culture they establish because they have authority over their followership. Therefore, they are non-reliant on formal or institutional power to achieve the outcomes set.
Historically, Authentic Leadership theory was founded in ancient Greek philosophy, which emphasised that authenticity is a construct that embodies being in control of one's life through the Delphic maxim of “know thyself.” Authentic Leadership became known in the literature in the 1960s as describing how an organisation reflects itself authentically through Leadership.
The literature describes Authentic leaders as exhibiting behaviour that defines the Leadership role within an organisation. Others argue that it applies to the entire organisation, meaning that all in the organisation are authentic as if they were a single entity through their responses to responsibilities ascribed within the organisation or their reactions to uncertainty and innate creativity. Authentic leaders are mission-driven and create greater value than those more financially oriented.
The evidence supports there is an increasing interest in developing leaders who abandon self-interest while improving employee work experience and organisational performance.
The influence of authentic leaders results from the favourable relationships and referent power built upon followers’ trust, loyalty, respect, and satisfaction with their leaders. This is derived from an employee-centred culture they establish because they have authority over their followership. Therefore, they are non-reliant on formal or institutional power to achieve the outcomes set.
Historically, Authentic Leadership theory was founded in ancient Greek philosophy, which emphasised that authenticity is a construct that embodies being in control of one’s life through the Delphic maxim of “know thyself.” Authentic Leadership became known in the literature in the 1960s as describing how an organisation reflects itself authentically through Leadership.
The literature describes Authentic leaders as exhibiting behaviour that defines the Leadership role within an organisation. Others argue that it applies to the entire organisation, meaning that all in the organisation are authentic as if they were a single entity through their responses to responsibilities ascribed within the organisation or their reactions to uncertainty and innate creativity. Authentic leaders are mission-driven and create greater value than those more financially oriented.
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Authentic Leaders strive to observe the following principles in their Leadership practice consistently:
- A well-developed self-awareness.
- Openness and transparency in dealing with others.
- A genuine concern for the welfare and development of their team members.
- Feelings of personal accountability and responsibility for the welfare of team members, care recipients and the organisation to which they belong.
Authentic leaders are open, curious, and committed to learning because Authentic Leadership doesn’t come naturally to most people. We must work hard to achieve above-the-line thinking and behaviours characteristic of authentic leaders. But when we do, above-the-line behaviour looks like taking ownership, accountability, and responsibility for one’s actions.
The most important job of an authentic Leader is to recognise their above-the-line and below-the-line thinking so that they know how their behaviour impacts others. This requires great self-awareness. By recognising a lack of above-the-line behaviours, leaders can shift their thinking from below-the-line to above-the-line thinking and, importantly, develop their teams to do similarly. Authentic leaders are committed to furthering the quest for greater authenticity and ethicality of those currently in Leadership roles or aspiring to achieve Leadership roles in healthcare or social care.
At ATL, we strive to make these principles evident in our courses.
Some important additional readings for those who want to know more:
George B. Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value. 1. Aufl.;1st; ed. New York, NY: Jossey-Bass [Imprint]; 2004.
Walumbwa FO, Avolio BJ, Gardner WL, Wernsing TS, Peterson SJ. Authentic Leadership: Development and Validation of a Theory-Based Measure†. Journal of Management. 2007;34(1):89-126.Covey SR. Principle-centered leadership. 1st Free Press trade Ed. London ;New York;: Simon & Schuster; 1992.
Graham JW. Leadership, Moral Development, and Citizenship Behavior. Business Ethics Quarterly. 2015;5(1):43-54.
Novicevic MM, Harvey MG, Ronald M, Brown-Radford JA. Authentic Leadership: A Historical Perspective. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. 2016;13(1):64-76.
Gardner WL, Cogliser CC, Davis KM, Dickens MP. Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly. 2011;22(6):1120-45.
Seeman M. Status and Identity: The Problem of Inauthenticity. The Pacific Sociological Review. 1966;9(2):67-73.
George W. Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value. 1. Aufl.;1st; ed. New York, NY: Jossey-Bass [Imprint]; 2004.
George W, Sims P. True North: discover your authentic leadership. 1st.;1. Aufl.;1; ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; 2007.
George B, Sims P, McLean AN, Mayer D. Discovering your authentic leadership. Harv Bus Rev. 2007;85(2):129-30, 32-8, 57.
Walumbwa FO, Mayer DM, Wang P, Wang H, Workman K, Christensen AL. Linking ethical leadership to employee performance: The roles of leader-member exchange, self-efficacy, and organisational identification. Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes. 2011;115(2):204-13.
Authentic leadership, therefore, is not about being perfect but is really about being TRUE TO YOURSELF and your values.
When you lead with authenticity, you inspire the trust and respect of your team members and create a culture of openness and honesty that fosters growth and innovation.