Authentic Leadership Description

Authentic Leadership Defined

Approaches to Authentic Leadership

Practical

Theoretical

How does Authentic Leadership Theory Work?

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Authentic Leadership (video 4:58)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5go-mT_1QvA

Unprecedented global challenges

Sustainability

Social Issues

Business Competitiveness

Economic Uncertainty

Difficult to motivate people

Work Life Balance

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Robust Leaders

Innovation and Creativity

Empowering Others

Self Motivated

Self Knowledge

Purpose, Passion

Let go of control

Love

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Authentic Leadership – focuses on whether leadership is genuine

Interest in Authentic Leadership Increasing in recent times due to social

upheavalsPeople longing for trustworthy leadersIdentified earlier in transformational

leadership research but not studied separately

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Three Authentic Leadership Characteristics: ALs exhibit genuine leadershipALs lead from convictionALs are originals, not copies

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“A pattern that draws upon and promotes

both positive psychological capacities and a

positive ethical climate, to foster greater self-

awareness, an internalized moral perspective,

balanced processing of information, and

relational transparency on the part of leaders

working with followers, fostering positive self-

development.”

Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, & Peterson, 2008

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FOUR COMPONENTS

Self-awarenessReflecting on one’s core values, identity, emotions, motivesBeing aware of and trusting your own feelings

Internalized moral perspectiveSelf-regulatory process using internal

moral standards to guide behavior Balanced processing

Ability to analyze information objectively and explore other people’s opinions before making a decision

Relational transparencyBeing open and honest in presenting

one’s true self to others

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Positive psychological capacities Confidence

- Hope

- Optimism

- Resilience Moral Reasoning Capacities- Deciding right and wrong

- Promoting justice, greater good of the organization or community

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Critical Life Events

- Positive or negative

Act as a catalyst for change

People attach insights to their life experiences

When people tell life stories they gain clarity about who they are

Stimulate personal growth

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Strengths Criticisms Application

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Fulfills society’s expressed need for trustworthy leadership. Fills a void in an uncertain world.

Provides broad guidelines for those who want to become authentic leaders. Both practical and theoretical approaches provide a map.

Like transformational and servant leadership, AL has an explicit moral dimension.

Unlike traits that only some people exhibit, everyone can learn to be more authentic.

Can be measured using an established instrument (ALQ). 12

The theory is still in the formative stages, so some concepts in the practical approaches are not fully developed or substantiated.

The moral component of AL is not fully explained. It’s unclear how higher values such as justice inform authentic leadership.

The rationale for including positive psychological capacities as a part of AL has not been clearly explained by researchers.

The link between authentic leadership and positive organizational outcomes is unclear. It is also not clear whether AL is sufficient to achieve organizational goals.

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People have the capacity to become authentic leaders. It is a lifelong learning process.

Human Resource departments may be able to foster authentic leadership behaviors in employees who move into leadership positions.

Leaders are always trying to do the “right” thing, to be honest with themselves and others, and to work for the common good.

Leaders are shaped by critical life events that lead to growth and greater authenticity.

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Women and Leadership Perspective

Gender, Leadership Styles, and Leadership Effectiveness

The Glass Ceiling Turned Labyrinth

Understanding the Labyrinth

Women and Leadership Approach

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People have the capacity to become authentic leaders. It is a lifelong learning process.

Human Resource departments may be able to foster authentic leadership behaviors in employees who move into leadership positions.

Leaders are always trying to do the “right” thing, to be honest with themselves and others, and to work for the common good.

Leaders are shaped by critical life events that lead to growth and greater authenticity.

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Gender and LeadershipPopular press reported differences

between women and men … Women inferior to men (1977)

Women lacked skills & traits necessary for managerial success

Superiority of women in leadership positions (1990)

Researchers ignored issues related to gender & leadership until the 1970s

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Gender and LeadershipScholars started by asking “Can women lead?”

Changed by women in leadership Presence of women in corporate & political

leadership Highly effective female leaders – PepsiCo’s

CEO, Avon’s CEO, General Ann Dunwoody, etc.

Current research primary questions “What are the leadership style and

effectiveness differences between women and men?”

“Why are women starkly underrepresented in elite leadership roles?”

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Meta-analysis (Eagly & Johnson, 1990) Women were not found to lead in a more

interpersonally oriented & less task-oriented manner than men in organizations

Only gender difference - women use a more participative or democratic style than men

Additional meta-analysis (van Egen, 2001) examining research between 1987-2000 found similar results

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Meta-analysis of male & female leaders on all characteristics and behaviorsWomen were devalued when they worked in

male-dominated environments and when the evaluators were men

Females evaluated unfavorably when they used a directive or autocratic style (stereotypically male)

Female and male leaders evaluated favorably when they used a democratic leadership style (stereotypically feminine)

Women are adapting by using the style that produces most favorable evaluations

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Meta-analysis of gender differences in transformational leadershipFound small but robust differences between

M and F leaders Women’s styles tend to be more

transformational than men’s Women tend to engage in more contingent

reward behaviors than men Devaluation of women leaders by male

subordinates extends to female transformational leaders

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Meta-analysis comparing effectiveness of female & male leaders

Overall men and women were equally effective leaders

Gender differences

Women and men were more effective in leadership roles congruent with their gender

Women were less effective to the extent that leader role was masculinized

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Gender differences Women were less effective than men in

military positions

Women were somewhat more effective than men in education, government, and social service organizations

Women were substantially more effective than men in middle management positions

Women were less effective when they were supervised or rated by a high number of males

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Women

Currently outnumber men in higher education (57% of bachelor degrees, 60% of master’s degrees, more than 50% of doctorates, nearly half of professional degrees) (Catalyst, 2009)

Make up nearly half of the U.S. labor force - 47.2% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010a)

Still are underrepresented in upper echelons of America’s corporations & political system

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Women Occupy more than half of all management

and professional positions, and a quarter of all CEO positions (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010b)

Hold only 14.4% of highest titles in the Fortune 500

Represent less than 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs (Catalyst, 2011b)

Hold only 15.7% of Fortune 500 board seats

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Women in Politics• 90 of the 535 seats in the U.S. Congress =

16.8%• 17%: Senate; 16.8%: House of

Representatives• Women of color occupy just 24 seats (Center

for Women and Politics, 2011)• World average of women’s representation in

national legislatures or parliaments is 19.4%. The U.S. is ranked 70th out of 188 countries (Inter-Parliamentary Union, March 2009).

• High ranking U.S. women military officers = 6.1% (U.S. Dept. of Defense)

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Human Capital DifferencesPipeline Problem - Women have less

education, training, and work experience than men resulting in a dearth of qualified women.

Pipeline is not empty but leaking – Explanation that women haven’t been in managerial positions long enough for natural career progression to occur (Heilman, 1997) – not supported by research

Division of labor – Explanation that women self-select out of leadership tracks by choosing “mommy track” positions that do not funnel into leadership positions (Belkin, 2003; Ehrlich, 1989; Wadman, 1992); not supported by research (Eagly & Carli, 2004)

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Women

are more likely to quit jobs for family-related reasons and experience more losses

after quitting than men do. (Keith & McWilliams, 1998)

still do most of the childcare and housework (Belkin, 2008; Craig, 2006)

who use flex time and workplace leave are often marginalized; taking time off from

a career makes reentry difficult (Williams, 2010)

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Women Occupy more than half of all management &

professional positions (Catalyst, 2011), but have fewer developmental opportunities

Fewer responsibilities in the same jobs as men Are less likely to receive encouragement, be

included in key networks, and receive formal job training than their male counterparts

Confront greater barriers to establishing informal mentor relationships

Are disproportionately represented in low-visibility positions, e.g. the “velvet ghetto” of HR

Are more likely to be put in precarious leadership situations associated with greater risk and criticism

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Women

Show the same level of identification with & commitment to paid employment roles as men

Are less likely to promote themselves for leadership positions than men

Were less likely than men to emerge as group leaders, more likely to serve as social facilitators

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Women face significant gender biases and social

disincentives when they self-promote are less likely than men to ask for what they want are less likely to negotiate than men

Psychological differences on traits often seen as related to effective leadership However, leadership is marked by androgynous

traits such as intelligence, social skills, initiative, and ability to persuade.

Men are more likely than women to ask for what they want (Babcock & Laschever, 2003).

Negotiations for higher level positions are often unstructured, ambiguous, and rife with gender triggers, which disadvantages women (Bowles & McGinn, 2005).

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Explanation for the leadership gap

gender bias stemming from stereotyped expectations – “women take care and men take charge”

Stereotypes = cognitive shortcuts that influence the way people process information regarding groups and group members.

Gender stereotypes include beliefs about the attributes of men and women and prescribe how men and women ought to be.

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Gender Stereotypes

pervasive, well documented, and highly resistant to change (Dodge, Gilroy, & Fenzel, 1995; Heilman, 2001)

men are stereotyped with agentic characteristics confidence, assertiveness, independence,

rationality, & decisivenessStereotypical attributes of women include

communal characteristics concern for others, sensitivity, warmth,

helpfulness, & nurturance (Deaux & Kite, 1993; Heilman, 2001)

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Gender Stereotypes

Pervasive, well documented, and highly resistant to change (Dodge, Gilroy, & Fenzel, 1995; Heilman,

2001)Men are stereotyped with agentic

characteristics Confidence, assertiveness, independence,

rationality, & decisivenessStereotypical attributes of women include

communal characteristics Concern for others, sensitivity, warmth,

helpfulness, & nurturance (Deaux & Kite, 1993; Heilman, 2001)

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Gender stereotypes explain numerous findings

Women facing cross pressures to be tough but not too “manly”

Greater difficulty for women to be viewed as effective in top leadership roles (Eagly & Karau, 2002)

Penalties for women who violate gender stereotypes (Ex.Price Waterhouse vs. Ann Hopkins; media coverage of 2008 Hillary Clinton presidental run)

Decision-makers influenced by homosocial reproduction, a tendency for a group to reproduce itself in its own image (Ex. Male leaders choosing male successors)

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How stereotypes affect women themselves

Pressure of tokenism (Kanter, 1977) and being scrutinized.

Women may assimilate to stereotype OR may counter the stereotype. Depends on:

• Leader’s self-efficacy• Explicitness of the stereotype• Type of task• Gender composition of the group• Power of the leader• Whether stereotype threats are combined

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Factors contributing to leadership effectiveness & rise of female leaders

Culture of many organizations is changing

Gendered work assumptions are being challenged

Organizations valuing flexible workers & diversity of top managers & leaders

Developing effective & supportive mentoring relationships

Increasing parity in domestic responsibilities

Negotiating for valued positions and resources

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Factors contributing to leadership effectiveness & rise of female leaders

Women’s foray into entrepreneurship

Improving perceptions of women’s leadership by combining communal and agentic qualities

Adopting transformational leadership style

Becoming more assertive without losing their femininity

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Labyrinth encompasses other non-dominant groups such as ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities.

Fulfill promise of equal opportunity by allowing everyone to take on leadership roles.

Promoting diverse women into leadership roles contributes to more ethical, innovative, and financially successful organizations.

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Strengths

Criticisms

Application

Developing a more androgynous conception of leadership will enhance leadership effectiveness by giving people opportunity to engage in the best leadership practices

Research on gender and leadership is productive in both dispelling myths about the gender gap and shining a light on aspects of the gender barrier that are difficult to see and therefore are overlooked

Understanding many components of the labyrinth will give us the tools necessary to combat this inequality from many perspectives

Research addresses larger, more significant considerations about gender and social systems

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Leadership researchers should put a greater emphasis on understanding the role of race and ethnicity (and other types of diversity) in leadership processes

Researchers should examine the differences in the impact of race or ethnicity and gender on leadership

Research into gender issues and leadership is predominantly in Western contexts and should be expanded into other global regions

Research on gender and leadership should be expanded to include closing the gender gap at home

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Make it easier for women to reach top positions by Understanding obstacles that make up the

labyrinth Initiating tactics to eradicate inequality

Prejudice still a factor and needs to be addressed with awareness

Women can manage biased perceptions of their leadership by enacting individualized consideration and inspirational motivation

Using effective negotiation techniques can enhance leadership advancement

Changes in organizational culture, women’s career development, mentoring opportunities, and increased numbers of women in strategic positions will increase presence of women in prominent leadership roles.

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