Authentic Leadership

Presentation by
Prof. D. Frear
Wilkes University
 Leadership
• 1834 introduced to characterize positional
power in a political context

• The ability to influence others – 1930’s

(Terry, 1993).
 Leadership Qualities- Greeks
• Justice and Judgment
• Wisdom and Council
• Shrewdness and Cunning
• Valor and Action (Terry, 1993).
 Leadership (Bennis)
• Leadership is all about innovating and
initiating.
• Management is about copying and
managing the status quo.
• Leadership is creative, adaptive, and agile.
• Leadership looks at the horizon, not just at
the bottom line.
 Leadership (Bennis)
• A good manager does things right.
• A leader does the right things.
• Doing the right things implies a goal,
• a direction, an objective, a vision,
• a dream, a path, a reach.
 Leadership (Bennis)
• Managing is about efficiency.
• Leading is about effectiveness.
• Managing is about how.
• Leading is about what and why.
• Management is about systems, controls,
procedures, policies, structure.
• Leadership is about trust and about people.
 Personal Leadership
• Personal Leadership – Possesses the
characteristics necessary to lead others
(Terry, 1993).
 Team Leadership
• Ability to develop teams of others
• Ability to improve team’s performance by
matching leadership style to individual team
members (Terry, 1993).
 Positional Leadership
• Granted by organization
• Worked through the ranks (Terry, 1993).
 Functional Leadership
• Attentive to change
• Leadership shaped by context – not traits
• Adapts to survive (Terry, 1993).
 Transactional Leadership

• Involves contingent reinforcement.

Followers are motivated by the leaders'
promises, praise, and reward
• Or, they are corrected by negative feedback,
reproof, threats, or disciplinary actions
(Bass, 1985).
 Transformational Leadership

• Four components:
• Charisma or idealized influence (attributed
or behavioral)
• Inspirational motivation
• Intellectual stimulation
• Individualized consideration (Bass, 1985).
 Ethical Leadership
• How does the leader use power?
• Ethics is a guiding philosophy
• Ethics is a set of principles of conduct
governing an individual or group
• Ethics involves moral approval or
disapproval (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, 1998).
 Ethical Leadership
Kohlberg’s Framework
• Liberty
• Equality
• Dignity
• Justice
• Human Rights (Terry, 1993).
Ethical Leadership must learn to apply these
concepts to followers
 Leaders as Facilitators
• Add meaning
• Give direction
• Help others achieve goals
 Leaders take Action
• Mission – a purpose, goal, vision, intention
• Power – decision, commitment, passion,
and volition that energizes mission
• Structure – Plans that order mission
accomplishment
• Resources – Anything useful to accomplish
the mission (Terry, 1993).
 Leaders take Action
• Existence – Ecological and historical setting
of the action
• Meaning – Values, reasons, and
rationalizations that justify a particular
action
• Fulfillment – The completed act (Terry,
1993).
The Action Wheel (Terry, 1993).

Fulfillment
 Authentic - Defined
• From the Greek meaning one who
accomplishes
• To act, to embody, to engage, and to
participate in life
• Fidelity, actuality and fact, compatibility
with a certain source or usage, a complete
sincerity without feigning hypocrisy.
(Webster’s New International Unabridged
Dictionary)
 Authentic - Defined
• Guided and judged by genuineness and
trustworthiness; sincerity by purity of intent
 Authentic Leadership
• Upholds formal decision making versus
secret pacts
• Upholds ethical foundations
• Open agendas versus hidden agendas
• Resists oppression vs terrorizing the
innocent
• Do not intentionally mislead followers
• Maintains common purpose
 Authentic Leadership
• Show up
• Engage
Authenticity & Ethical Principles Framed by the Action Wheel (Terry, 1993)
Ethical Principles
Generic Features Lived Authenticity Lived Authenticity Affirmations and Denials
of Prerequisite Prerequisite in Showing Up
Action for self for Community and Engaging
Meaning Possess wise judgment Build an enduring and Responsibility
thriving future Affirms accountability to
and for authentic action
Mission Understand self and others Discover and support Love
knowledge, mutuality, Affirms attention, caring and
regard, and respect forgiveness - Denies apathy,
self-righteousness, indifference
Power Possess Empowerment Share power dialogue Participation
& Consent Affirms engagement
Denies aggression and
deviousness
Structure Exhibit personal growth Possess equitable and Justice
and development adequate distribution Affirms fairness
systems Denies promise breaking,
underdevelopment, and
rigidity
Resources Possess necessities of Produce and distribute Freedom
living adequate resources Affirms potential and possibility
Denies arbitrary discrimination,
exclusion, and lack of
information
Existence Possess life - physical Promote ecological Dwelling
development diversity and survival Affirms dwelling as necessary
place, space, and time
Denies murder and genocide
 Leadership Skills (Terry, 1993)
Leadership School
(Feature of Action) Essential Skills

Personal (Existence) Understanding and using the Myers-

Briggs type indicator and other tools
For knowing oneself and others
Team (Resources) Diagnosing team needs with situational
Model, understanding small-group
Management techniques
Positional/Functional (Structure) Strategic planning, leading from the
middle, promoting growth, managing
Retrenchment during organizational
change, possessing system savvy
Political (Power) Managing and utilizing conflict,
Community organizing and encouraging
collective leadership
Visionary (Mission) Using intuition, storytelling, understanding
and using myths, symbols and metaphors
Ethical (Meaning) Identifying and defining critical ethical
categories, performing ethical analysis,
practicing clarity
 Five Touchstones of Authentic Leadership

• Touchstone One: Know Yourself Authentically

• Touchstone Two: Listen Authentically.
• Touchstone Three: Express Authentically.
• Touchstone Four: Appreciate Authentically.
• Touchstone Five: Serve Authentically. (Cashman 1998).
 Touchstone One: Know Yourself Authentically

• “Know thyself,” appears in the writings of Ovid,

Cicero, and Socrates, in the sayings of the Seven
Sages of Greece, on the entrance to the temple of
Apollo, in Christian writings and in Eastern texts.
• If we want to be more effective with others, we
first need to become more effective with
ourselves.
• Practice being what you wish others to become.
 Touchstone Two: Listen Authentically.

• Listening authentically is centered in the principle of

psychological reciprocity:
• to influence others, we must first be open to their
influence.
• Authentic listening is about being generous—listening
with a giving attitude that seeks to bring forth the
contribution in someone, versus listening with our
limiting assessments, opinions and judgments.
• Authentic listening is about being open to the purpose
and learning coming to us through the other person.
 Touchstone Three: Express Authentically

• Authentic expression is a delicate subject for

many leaders. Integrity goes far beyond telling the
truth. Integrity means total congruence between
who we are and what we do.
• Authentic expression is the true voice of the
leader. We speak from our character and it creates
trust, synergy and connection with everyone
around us.
Touchstone Four: Appreciate Authentically.

• As leaders we tend to do too much and appreciate

too little. Love is an extreme case of appreciation.

• Appreciation is one type of self-expression that

creates value.
• It energizes people and makes people want to
exceed their goals and perceived limits.
• Criticism may get short-term results but usually
doesn’t add long-term value. What it does add is
fear and insecurity.
 Touchstone Five: Serve Authentically

• Ultimately, a leader is not judged by how well he

or she leads, but by how well he or she serves.
• We serve our organization. We serve our people.
We serve our customers. We serve our
marketplace. We serve our community. We serve
our family. We serve our relationships.
The real job is to serve all the constituencies and to
appreciate genuinely the fact the only through our
interdependence with others do we create value.