Question

What does it take to be both authentic and effective as a leader? Can a leader be effective but not be authentic? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Authentic Leadership (AL) is a pattern of leader behavior that draws upon and promotes both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, in order to foster a higher self-awareness, an internalized moral perspective, unbiased processing of information, and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with the followers, creating a positive self-development (Walumbwa et al., 2008). On the other hand, the effectiveness of a leader depends on the follower attitudes and perceptions of the leader and leader’s contribution to the quality of group processes, as perceived by followers or by outside observers (Yukl, 2011). This is distinctly different from managerial effectiveness which is measured predominantly by the objective measures such as productivity, cost, quality, and other parameters.

The description of Authentic Leadership (AL) and Effective leadership (EL) simply suggests that the former contributes to promoting the later. When an authentic leader creates an environment of positive capability, ethics, self-awareness, growth, and motivation, it is expected that the followers will perceive that the leader is contributing positively for their individual and group development and this will necessarily increase the effectiveness of the leader. It is very difficult to imagine a leader who is not authentic but effective. Such leaders will be mistrusted by their followers and will never like, respect, and admire the leader. Such leaders will not be able to satisfy the needs and expectations of the followers and will remain ineffective.

Reference

Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., & Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34(1), 89-126.

Yukl, G. (2011). Leadership in organizations. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley (India)