What Is Authentic Leadership?

There are many definitions of leadership. I believe leadership is defined by

Leadership Theories
The three leadership theories that have the most influenced on my thinking on leadership and leaders are: the leadership grid, servant leadership, and authentic leadership. Below I will discuss the major components and importance of the selected theories.
Leadership Grid
The Leadership Grid (formerly The Managerial Grid) is a style leadership model developed by Robert R. Blake and Jane Mouton in the 1960’s (Northouse, 2013). It is predicted on the assumption that leadership effectiveness is based on two factors with intersecting axes: concern for production (horizontal axis) and concern for people (vertical axis). Each of the axes is drawn

The first way of defining authentic leadership is the intrapersonal perspective. This perspective focuses on the leader’s life experiences and the importance he or she appends to those encounters as being critical to the development of an authentic leader. It incorporates the leader’s “self-knowledge, self-regulation, and self-control” (Northouse, 2013, p. 254). Another way to characterize authentic leadership is when a leader maintains an open and honest relationship with his or her followers. In return, this kind of action will help build a solid foundation of trust and transparency. The last way to define authentic leadership is the development process. Avolio and Gardner (2005) views this perspective as a development process overtime and triggered by major life

A practical approach is “evolved from real-life examples and training and development literature” (Northouse, 2013, p. 255). The two practical approaches are Robert Terry’s Authentic Leadership Approach and Bill George’s Authentic Leadership Approach. Terry’s approach is an action-centered model that centers on the actions of the leader, team, and organization. Terry developed the Authentic Action Wheel to help identify and analyze problems in organizations. In addition, this approach help leaders to frame problems. According to Terry’s wheel, once a problem is found there are two questions that must be answered: “what is really, really going on?” and “what are we going to do about it?” (Northouse, 2013, p. 255). The Authentic Action Wheel is comprised of six components. Starting from the top and going clockwise, the components are meaning, mission, power, structure, resources, and existence. In the center of the wheel is the sixth component, fulfillment which completes the process. The first step to diagnose problems in the organization using the wheel is to locate the problem. To do so, employees will have to complete assessments regarding their concerns towards their organization. The second step is to find the response within the wheel. Once the problem is identified, the wheel is used for leaders to explore alternatives for problem