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The benefit of authentic leadership in organizations
Review of the article Authentic Leadership
Potential advantages of authentic leadership
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According to Dr. Karlene Kerfoot, “research tells us that the leadership traits of the person in charge work either as a magnet to attract, retain, and inspire or as a force that repels” (Kerfoot 2006, p. 25) and in support of this statement she makes reference to the fact that many persons go to work for a specific company with enthusiasm and eagerness and ultimately leave disappointed because of the management. “People are generally hungry for personalized leadership that speaks to their hearts”, says Dr.Kerfoot and this type of leadership motivates them to accomplish task and complete projects they deem difficult or impossible (Kerfoot 2006, p. 25) Authentic leadership is a management style that promotes excellence among staff and management …show more content…
in a work environment that is extremely supportive. Authenticity of this magnitude is a character trait as Goffee & Jones 2005 makes the point that a leader cannot “define them-selves as an authentic leader” because it is a quality that can only be ascribed by persons who have the experience of working along side these types of individuals (Goffee & Jones 2005, Kerfoot 2006). An authentic leader “bring love, hope, relationship-centered principles” to any organization and the perception of these individuals is that they are “real, sincere and defined by honesty and integrity” (Kefoot 2006).
They have profound convictions for for their leadership; Their behavior always reflect their core values and they view themselves as individuals that “lead with their hearts as well as their heads while also building enduring organizations” (George 2003). Leaders are encouraged to maintain the perception of authenticity but making sure that their words are consistent and reflect their action or intentions. They should not be so pompous and arrogant that they cannot relate to or find mutual and common ground with their staff. (Goffee & Jones 2005) Dr. Kerfoot (2006) suggests that there are leaders who are genuine and supportive with regard to frontline employees and can identify with their needs and then there are those that are self-motivated and self-loathing that they neglect the important needs of the staff and are pre-occupied with the managerial tasks at hand as they deem employee needs less important but Farber (2004) purports that leaders must prove their leadership by their actions of doing what is moral and ethical, “demonstrating progress and literally changing the
world.” The authentic leader fully embraces the concept of a wholesome work environment and display behaviors motivated by the need to create a greater quality of work life for front line employees everyday challenging their staff to realize and achieve goals they thought impossible.
One may wonder exactly what it is that qualities a strong leader possesses. A strong leader is determined, and strong willed. They must be of good judgment, and without bias. They cannot easily be persuaded, and they are firm, yet at the same time, a good lead must also empathize with his subordinates, and have the best interest at heart for said subordinates, at all times. However, with that being said, a good leader cannot be afraid to discipline his subordinates when necessary. Unmistakably, being a leader is a very difficult feat – one which not everyone can accomplish. A leader must be an authority, a friend and a counsellor, all at once. They must be responsible, and always take into account the disadvantages of a situation. Not everyone is suitable to be a leader, whereas, just about anybody can be a good role model.
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
Chapter 12.3 discusses approaches to leadership. The leadership theory of Leader-Member Exchange suggests that “leaders adopt different behaviors with individual subordinates and that the particular behavior pattern of the leader develops over time and depends, to a large extent, on the quality of the leader-subordinate relationship” (Landy & Conte, 2013, p. 494). In essence, this leadership theory references how close the leader is with the staff member. Is there a feeling of trust? Is the staff member one that holds expertise in their role that the leader can rely on? Building a relationship with a staff member doesn’t happen instantly. The relationship grows over time which can result in staff members being a close confidante to the
In Leadership Theory, Application & Skill Development, transformational leadership is defined as “seeking to change the status quo by articulating to followers the problems in the current system and presenting a compelling vision of what a new organization could be” (Lussier & Achua, 2013, p.331). This theory, in combination with the exercise regimen, CrossFit, is the focus of the book Transformational Leadership and High-Intensity Interval Training by Carol R. Himelhoch, PhD. Himelhoch illustrates a correlation between a leader’s ability to tap into the transformational leadership style and their consistent participation in intense workout sessions. A transformational leadership style benefits from High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) via challenging the participant, which imparts a sense of achievement when they complete a demanding Workout of the Day (WOD). HIIT encourages the individual to push themselves and take risks, not only during the workout, but also in their leadership roles at work.
Systematic research on leadership began in the early 1930s (House & Aditya, 1997). Researchers were interested in identifying leadership traits that might differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Despite of devoting so much effort to this area, only a few leader traits were found to be positively related to leadership effectiveness such as intelligence and Self-confidence.(Mann, 1959).After this leadership researchers turned their attention to leaders’ behavior. Two types of leadership behavior were identified in different studies (1) Initiating structure that includes task related behaviors such as organizing work, defining role responsibilities, and setting up work activities. (2) Consideration includes relationship oriented behaviors such as building trust, respect, and liking between leaders and followers. The University of Michigan group also identified two types of leadership behaviours. (1)Production orientation means that how much leader is concerned with achieving organizational goals and tasks and (2) employee orientation means that how much followers’ needs are important to leader (House & Aditya, 1997). (Song Heyi and Mao Na Guo Dan, 2007) inspect the relationship between the traits and the performance of the leader in different organizational cultures and found that in today’s dynamic world the negative traits are directly related to the performance, leaders play significant role in every organization. As the competition between the service oriented organizations is very high and continuous change is needed here and growth of these organizations where the only possibility to survive successfully is due to the effective and productive leadership. Leadership is process of social interaction where leaders try...
In an effort to understand the questionnaire, one must first understand the definition of an Authentic Leader. Genuine, trustworthy and reliable are a few words that are interchangeable with the term authentic. Authentic leaders exhibit qualities of confidence, transparency, and high moral standard and are usually very confident (Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May and Walumbwa, 2005). A person that is considered to be authentic is one who taking account for their behavior and a person who is true to themselves and what they think. A quality of an authentic leader is that he/she exudes the level of authenticity through their actions that encourage others to want to behave the same way. The leader who acts in this manner believes that all individuals have something to contribute to a goal and
To be an authentic leader one must discover their True North and the purpose of leadership. Leadership decides the success or failure of organizations. The chief cause of organizational failure for the last decade has been failed leadership. A leader’s
Describe the role of leadership types within teams. What are some of the primary reasons teams fail? What can be done to ensure team success? Give a personal example of team success. Support your discussion with appropriate leadership theories that apply.
Lussier and Achua (2004) define the leadership styles as a combination of traits, skills, and behaviours leaders use as they interact with employees. In order for one to understand and decide on a certain leadership styles, one must know the characteristics of the favourable leadership style. Over the years researchers have been debating on the topic of leadership, as conducting different studies the styles have different output.
Leadership can be shown through any person in any type of situation. In a classroom discussion, on the playing field, or in public a sign of a leader is evident. A person is born a leader. Certain humans know what to do when the time calls for it. Many people in positions can be entitled a leader such as basketball players. Even a famous movie star can be given this title. These people are not true leaders. True leaders are the belaboring teachers and the intellectual speakers. These are the people who show that leadership is an action, not a position.
I have had the opportunity to work with leaders of different styles, and by just watching them, listening to them and seeing how the staff reacts; I can gauge what is productive with their staff. I try not to copy or mimic their style and ensure my own style comes through in being consistent, authentic and genuine. I feel by following these traits they give me necessary foundation and help me towards achieving leadership excellence.
When a leader finds their inner voice, they enjoy discovering what they care about as well as what defines them as a leader, essentially what pushes their buttons and excites their passions. Authenticity is a central theme to clarifying of values and Kouzes & Posner (2012) explain that “You can be authentic only when you lead according to the principles that matter most to you” (p. 46). Kouzes and Posner (2012) also remind us that the leader’s values must guide actions. When leaders are value driven, and they articulate those values using their true voice, they are able to establish a culture of moral authority for their
The authenticity of a leader acting from a place of passion cannot be questioned. With the prioritization of a group’s objective over one’s own selfish needs, a person can make decisions that in turn benefit the majority. This sense of service is something effective leaders have been able to master and a trait people easily observe. The need to serve others in this way cannot be forced and must come from genuine compassion for others. The authenticity of a leader and their purpose is transparent to the followers and can be what determines their belief in that leader.
Leadership is a capacity; which lead others for the accomplishment of common goal and regulates the system and structure in a manner that makes it more reasonable and coherent. Authentic leadership can affect the beliefs, values and behaviour of their followers. Rodd, (1998) described effective leadership is to “provide vision and communicate it; develop a team culture; set goals and objectives; monitor and communicate achievements; and facilitate and encourage the development of individuals” (cited in Thornton, Wansbrough, Clarkin-Phillips, Aitken & Tamati, 2009, p.3).In early childhood setting, leadership is in charge to ensure the advantages and prosperity of young children, their families and the community. In present stage of early childhood centre, leaders understand the complex roles
Leadership, without doubt, is a significantly important function of management. It helps to aggrandize efficiency and to fulfil an organization’s goals. Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with confidence, determination, courage and zeal. It is also defined as ability to influence a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders should have the capability of developing future visions, and to drive the organizational members to want to attain the visions. This paper states my points in which I duly believe, justifies the importance of an outstanding leader in any organization.