Eleanor Roosevelt Beliefs

Throughout history, in the wake of many terrorist attacks, corporate and political scandals, a lot of people began to crave for trustworthy leaders who delivered on what they promised and stayed true to their goals. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt is an example of an inspirational and authentic leader. Authentic leadership is about being real and genuine. Throughout her life she stayed true to what she believed in and never strayed from her values; she always did what she felt was morally right and let her followers know of her true intentions.

Eleanor Roosevelt was the former First Lady of the United States and wife to former president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was an active politician and civil rights activist. Some of her ideals for the United

States were expanded roles for women in the workplace, civil rights for African and Asian Americans, and rights for World War II refugees (Biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, n.d.). She remained in politics after her time in the White House and served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She would then chair John F. Kennedy administration's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. She has been regarded as one of the most esteemed women in the world (Biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, n.d.).
One of the main reasons Eleanor Roosevelt is categorized, as an authentic leader is her internalized moral perspective in which she acts based on her values, but doesn’t let others dictate her actions.

One of the main components of authentic leadership is internalized moral perspective, which means people let their values guide their behavior instead of allowing for any outside influence to control them (Northouse, 2015). She demonstrates this process throughout her career because she was constantly going against the status quo and norms expected of a lady in her position, but her conviction on her values kept her motivated. Roosevelt didn’t go about her views alone she had her husband, close friends and colleagues to turn to for support and help her throughout her journey. (Biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, n.d.). This demonstrates one of the main qualities of an authentic leader; being able to build support teams (George, Sims, McLean, & Mayer,

2007).
When Eleanor became First Lady of the United States many Americans didn’t know what to expect so they criticized how she should act as First Lady.

In authentic leadership it states leaders should be honest to their followers and let them know what to expect. So Roosevelt was able to publically state, that the public “should not expect their new first lady to be a symbol of elegance, but rather plain, ordinary Mrs. Roosevelt” (Biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, n.d., para. 38). She found herself in a position where she can make a difference and raise awareness on issues such as women’s involvement in politics. Eleanor even stated that she’d “just have to go on being myself, as much as I can. I'm just not the sort of person who would be any good at any job. I dare say I shall be criticized, whatever I do" (Biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, n.d., para. 39). This is the intrapersonal quality of an authentic leader as she is being herself. She was aware of the criticism, but she didn’t want to give up on what she believed in due to outside influence for her to change. Authentic leaders don’t fake their leadership they stay true to themselves and don’t adhere to the expectations of others (Avolio & Gardner,

2005).
During her time, Eleanor was the leading face of feminism. She was outspoken on her views of women equality. Being able to listen to the heart, meaning that leaders are more open, genuinely interested, and willing to share themselves fully with us (George, 2004). She was highly criticized on her views due to it being a “man’s world” and the current views of women where that their place is at home and away from politics. Through the use of their experiences, authentic leaders are able to give meaning to their lives and see their experiences as challenges that need conquering (George et al., 2007). Eleanor didn’t let the views on women stop her, even though she was in a position of power and under a lot of scrutiny; she wanted to make a difference for others. She published her views on her newspaper column titled, My Way, in which she expressed her views on women equality. According to Northouse (2015), authentic leaders know themselves and lead through their values, which they use to help guide/help others. Eleanor had a desire to help women and believed that women had innate qualities that extend beyond that of a mother and that they had the ability to be great professionals and politicians.