Authentic Leadership: Need of the Hour?
I always keep telling my students, literally again and again, that
though a lot of good quality research is going on in almost all the
areas of Organizational Behaviour, probably a lot of work has been done
in two areas more than any other areas: leadership and motivation. One
area, that really interests me, has been the so-called, "Authentic
Leadership".
Luthans and Avolio (2003) defined authentic leadership as "a process that draws from both positive psychological capacities and a highly developed organizational context, which results in both greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviors on the part of leaders and associates, fostering positive self-development" (Source: http://www.le.ac.uk/oerresources/psychology/organising/page_16.htm).
Authentic leaders do not "pretend" anything, they say. They display their "real" self to the others and do not behave differently in public and private lives. They maintain high ethical standards in their conduct and they are ready to sacrifice their own interests for the interests of others. They are honest, deadly honest (honestly speaking!). They can accept their mistakes and are ready to correct them. They are empathetic listeners. One such leader, who could be easily named here, is Mahatma Gandhi.(To read more on authentic leadership, please refer to: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/12/what-is-authentic-leadership/#4e054c592ddd)
If we observe the world politics today, the "personality politics" is on the rise. Be it Narendra Modi or Putin. Or be it Abe or Donald Trump, we are witnessing that the politics is moving towards the personalities. The era of coalitions is getting over. As the US gets ready for one of the most interesting elections (probably in its history), the idea of "Authentic Leadership" finds more relevance.
On one side is a gentleman (!) named - Donald Trump. The list of accusations of his alleged wrongdoings just goes on. His personal integrity has been questioned, more than once. His conduct, especially his views on the women, are not "acceptable" to many American citizens out there. He has also been alleged of not paying due taxes and his allegations against Warren Buffett have fallen flat (about evading tax). His idea of making America great again does have many buyers but his alleged lack of integrity does not really make him a champion. Someone like Lincoln would have definitely be a better choice!! (This is a good read: https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2015/11/11/authentic-leadership-lincoln/)
One the other side is more seasoned and systematic player. On paper, her candidature has always been stronger than that of Mr. Trump (Unless he can find some trump card, you know!). While it is impossible to guess the outcome any democratic election (And that is the beauty of democracy), many polls and media reports indicate that Ms. Clinton seems to have an upper hand, at least, as of now. But then, can she be called an authentic leader? You ask Google, "Scams of Hillary Clinton" or something like that and the words like "Whitewater Scandal", "Travelgate", "Paula Jones Scandal" popup! Her husband's alleged conduct with women is also questioned by those who oppose her. (Read more: http://www.lifedaily.com/16-most-notorious-hillary-clinton-scandals/2/).
Then whom should an American voter chose. Of course, it is her / his own discretion, but, I am afraid the voters do not have a clear choice. Both the candidates have their fair share of alleged unethical past. And it would be very difficult to categorize any of them as an "Authentic Leader."
Even in India, Mr. Modi, who has been elected as the PM through a well established democratic system, did have one advantage. He could successfully create the perception of being "non - corrupt". And though the opposition parties do have a lot of claims to contest his "honesty", we can safely say that no concrete evidence has been found against him, though he has ruled the state of Gujarat for almost fifteen years and a vast country like India for almost two and half years. While it would be very difficult to say that he can be called an "Authentic Leader" or not, the fact of matter is, his public image is that of an honest politician and that did fetch his party the win in the loksabha election of 2014.
So, the point I am trying to drive home, is that, in today's competitive personality politics era, the "Authentic Leadership" can definitely be seen as a very powerful leadership concept.
Luthans and Avolio (2003) defined authentic leadership as "a process that draws from both positive psychological capacities and a highly developed organizational context, which results in both greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviors on the part of leaders and associates, fostering positive self-development" (Source: http://www.le.ac.uk/oerresources/psychology/organising/page_16.htm).
Authentic leaders do not "pretend" anything, they say. They display their "real" self to the others and do not behave differently in public and private lives. They maintain high ethical standards in their conduct and they are ready to sacrifice their own interests for the interests of others. They are honest, deadly honest (honestly speaking!). They can accept their mistakes and are ready to correct them. They are empathetic listeners. One such leader, who could be easily named here, is Mahatma Gandhi.(To read more on authentic leadership, please refer to: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/12/what-is-authentic-leadership/#4e054c592ddd)
If we observe the world politics today, the "personality politics" is on the rise. Be it Narendra Modi or Putin. Or be it Abe or Donald Trump, we are witnessing that the politics is moving towards the personalities. The era of coalitions is getting over. As the US gets ready for one of the most interesting elections (probably in its history), the idea of "Authentic Leadership" finds more relevance.
On one side is a gentleman (!) named - Donald Trump. The list of accusations of his alleged wrongdoings just goes on. His personal integrity has been questioned, more than once. His conduct, especially his views on the women, are not "acceptable" to many American citizens out there. He has also been alleged of not paying due taxes and his allegations against Warren Buffett have fallen flat (about evading tax). His idea of making America great again does have many buyers but his alleged lack of integrity does not really make him a champion. Someone like Lincoln would have definitely be a better choice!! (This is a good read: https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2015/11/11/authentic-leadership-lincoln/)
One the other side is more seasoned and systematic player. On paper, her candidature has always been stronger than that of Mr. Trump (Unless he can find some trump card, you know!). While it is impossible to guess the outcome any democratic election (And that is the beauty of democracy), many polls and media reports indicate that Ms. Clinton seems to have an upper hand, at least, as of now. But then, can she be called an authentic leader? You ask Google, "Scams of Hillary Clinton" or something like that and the words like "Whitewater Scandal", "Travelgate", "Paula Jones Scandal" popup! Her husband's alleged conduct with women is also questioned by those who oppose her. (Read more: http://www.lifedaily.com/16-most-notorious-hillary-clinton-scandals/2/).
Then whom should an American voter chose. Of course, it is her / his own discretion, but, I am afraid the voters do not have a clear choice. Both the candidates have their fair share of alleged unethical past. And it would be very difficult to categorize any of them as an "Authentic Leader."
Even in India, Mr. Modi, who has been elected as the PM through a well established democratic system, did have one advantage. He could successfully create the perception of being "non - corrupt". And though the opposition parties do have a lot of claims to contest his "honesty", we can safely say that no concrete evidence has been found against him, though he has ruled the state of Gujarat for almost fifteen years and a vast country like India for almost two and half years. While it would be very difficult to say that he can be called an "Authentic Leader" or not, the fact of matter is, his public image is that of an honest politician and that did fetch his party the win in the loksabha election of 2014.
So, the point I am trying to drive home, is that, in today's competitive personality politics era, the "Authentic Leadership" can definitely be seen as a very powerful leadership concept.
