When I was sitting in my Sunday lecture, my teacher brought home what it meant to be hypocritical when discussing Jesus’ interaction with the leaders of his time, The Pharisees. Jesus openly criticized their actions to his followers in Matthew 23:2: “Therefore, whatever they [Pharisees] tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do their works. For they speak, but do nothing.4 They fasten heavy loads that are hard to carry and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger.”
Sadly, many workers face some less than genuine managers that fail to inspire them for greater performance. In this blog discussion, we will explore the the concept of authentic leadership in today’s society.
Competition is fierce across the globe. Managers are often forced to act genuine with their employees because financial circumstances force them to behave in ways that are in the best interest of shareholders and investors, not their employees. Yet, organizations need talented and inspired employees who go beyond the basic requirements to excellence. Yet, employees are reluctant to give this type of performance to self-serving leaders who do not care about them.
Forbes contributing writer Victor Lipman, in his article “The Foundational Importance of Trust in Management,” notes the alarming levels of distrust among workers. According to a Gallup survey, 70% of workers are disengaged in the organization.[1] Lipman found several contributing factors to this problem, which were: disingenuous communication, lack of modeling behavior, and financial pressure. Lipman explains, “As a manager myself, I recognized it was critical for my employees to trust me if I expected them to be fully productive on my watch.” With trust on the downturn with numerous layoffs and higher unemployment, managers must be sincere and genuine with their workforce if they want a different type of performance.
Organizations must foster authentic leadership in today’s environment. Leadership denotes the ability to influence others. When the adjective of authentic is modified on the word, something special emerges. The adjective authentic conveys “something that is real or genuine and not counterfeit.” In the case of the Pharisees, they were influencers of their followers. However, the reality of the matter was that their type of leadership was not genuine or sincere. Authentic leadership defines the leader’s ability to have honest relationships with followers through transparent relationships. In this mode, the leader may leave himself/herself vulnerable to others.
Bill George, author of Authentic Leadership, describes authentic leadership as ‘a leadership style that is consistent with a leader’s personality and core values, and that is honest, ethical and practical.’[2] Dr. Richard Daft, author of Management, further outlines the following key characteristics of authentic leadership: (a) Authentic leaders pursue their purpose with passion; (b) Authentic leaders practice solid values; (c) Authentic leaders lead with their hearts as well as their heads; (d) Authentic leaders establish connected relationships; and Authentic leaders demonstrate self-discipline.[3] With these traits, authentic leadership would be synonymous with an unselfish leadership approach.
In closing, today’s workers want managers who can inspire them for higher performance. However, workers are not looking for managers who are not genuine in their relationships with them. By utilizing authentic leadership in their organizations, managers will be better able to build these types of positive relationships with workers. Start today!
Please explain the concept of authentic leadership from your professional or personal experience.
© 2016 by Daryl D. Green
[1] “The Foundational importance of Trust in Management” by Victor Lipman
[2] Authentic Leadership by Bill George
[3] Management by Richard Daft
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August 23, 2016 at 3:46 pm
Ranganathan,
I agree with the two points you have made. To be authentic a person must back up their words with actions, and be able to compromise while still holding their values. It all boils down to these two points. Without this at the foundation everything will come crashing down.
I do feel that in order to compromise while holding fast to values, it takes a considerable amount of trust. The more trust that the leader shares with their employees, the less manipulative the leader will appear. It is important to avoid this characteristic, even being accused of being manipulative can result in a train wreck. Long (2015) says it well, “If your company is running on manipulation, you’ll face roadblock after roadblock to doing good work. You’ll be slowed down at every opportunity by personality issues, drama, dissent, pettiness, and politics” (para. 5). Being authentic will make the organization run smoother and keep everyone happy.
[WC – 156]
Works Cited:
Long, D. (2015). How to Stop Manipulating People Around You. Retrieved August 23, 2016, from http://fiercegentleman.com/manipulating-people/
August 18, 2016 at 4:57 am
The Pharisees were inauthentic because they were too obsessed with following the rules of the law and never reflected on the reason for those rules. When I read that, I thought of Kierkegaard, an existentialist. Kierkegard’s argument was that how we relate to the truth is as important as the truth itself, so to be authentic we must examine the truth and examine ourselves. Fusco et al (2015) posit that authentic leadership is similar. To become an authentic leader, first you must examine yourself and determine your values, goals, beliefs and purpose. There is also the problem of freedom – in that we are free to make our choices, but we face external demands that may pull us toward inauthentic choices, or “bad faith.” Authentic leadership means being true to yourself, even when it’s difficult.
In my job now, authenticity is a real challenge. My wife caught a student plagiarizing, but the committee decided it wasn’t plagiarism and awarded 95% to the student. My wife fought it all the way up the chain, irritating management the whole way. She had to. It was an issue of being true to herself and I admire her for it. [WC – 195]
References
Fusco, T., O’Riordan, S., & Palmer, S. (2015, December 1). An existential approach to Authentic Leadership Development. Coaching Psychologist, 11(2), 61-71. Retrieved August 18, 2016, from http://ezproxy.okbu.edu:2092/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3126069f-3d36-4190-81f7-0f0a309be53b@sessionmgr4007&vid=7&hid=4103
August 18, 2016 at 1:04 pm
Hello Thomas,
Thanks for your erudite comments! Authenticity is not easy. I love your example with your wife cheating a student cheating and the student getting away with it..
You hit home an excellent point. If you are an authentic person, this reality may cost you in the short run.
Thus, you see a lot of phony folks leading and telling followers what they want to hear.
All,
Does it really cost something to be an authentic leader?
Professor Green
August 20, 2016 at 4:51 am
Hello Professor Green,
It is often said that many leaders have read The Prince. Machiavelli states that, “those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft, and in the end have overcome those who have relied on their word” (Machiavelli, 2016).
If this is the kind of book our leaders read, then should we be surprised that they are phony? If we go by Machiavelli, the appearance of virtue is better than being virtuous.
Sulphey and Jnaneswar (2013) found that only 44% of business students had high standards of academic honesty. Previous research showed that graduate business school students cheated more than other majors. Academic dishonesty is linked to later unethical business practices. Cheating is easier than real success, so short term it costs a lot to be authentic. Long term, cheaters get caught. Ask Enron or WorldCom.
[WC -200]
References
Machiavelli, N. (1532). The Prince. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h.htm
Sulphey, M., & Jnaneswar, K. (2013, September 1). A study on the Academic dishonesty, Anomia and Unethical Behaviour among Business Graduates. Journal of Contemporary Management Research, 8(2), 57-72. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.okbu.edu:2101/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=e28491b9-2e32-4027-bc92-e31a33b13bb6@sessionmgr106&hid=122
August 21, 2016 at 8:26 am
Dr. Green
From my personal experiences I would say yes, One may have to lose somethings in the interim to be an authentic leader. I have seen very few people who have been honest in their careers and suffered humiliations and criticism from their own families and of course others as well, just for being honest. It is ironic that people have to suffer, to be what they are expected to be. I personally think, to be honest you would need both honesty and courage to face the consequences of being honest. But being honest can make you a better person and may be the happiest as well. Rich (2011) says “We must be willing to go through the fire of our own denial in order to reach liberation” (para. 5).
[WC-150]
References
Rich, J. (2011, July 27). Can You Be Honest and Still Have Friends? Retrieved August 21, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-judith-rich/value-of-honesty_b_908025.html
August 20, 2016 at 1:12 pm
Dr. Green,
I appreciate that you brought up authenticity and how important it is to being a good leader. I could not agree more. Nothing bothers me more than listening to the vision of someone who truly does not care. Seeing that a leader is being real allows me to buy into their vision easily.
Zander et al. write about the subject in a different light. They point out that the authentic aspects of a leader can be bad ones (2011). Some people will use it as an excuse to be rude or abrasive just because it’s the way they are. Zander et al. then provide tips to overcome these bad habits in order to become a better leader. I both your blog and their post hit on the importance of understanding yourself as a leader. I think it is important to truly understand where to stand on a certain matter and ask how you could improve. Ultimately, you will have to be authentic about it, but in the best way possible.
References:
Zander, Lauren and Gruenfeld, Deborah. (2011). Want to Change the World? Be resilient. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/02/authentic-leadership-can-be-ba
[WC-189]
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Rob Goffee et al. (2005) in his article in the Harvard Business Review, Managing Authenticity, said “No leader can look into a mirror and say, “I am authentic”. A person cannot be authentic on his or her own”. I found this quote extremely insightful to this blog topic. True Authenticity is a two part process: one part consists of backing up your words with actions so your followers can respect and trust in your leadership, the other consists of getting the support of your followers by compromising without jeopardizing some of your values so as to align with theirs. Herein lays the biggest authenticity challenge for a leader, staying true to his or her core values while at the same time genuinely relating and adjusting to the values of his followers without seeming manipulative.
I have found managers to be extremely aggressive with their leadership style forcing their employees to submit or leave. This approach, although authentic to their values and style, may not work with all of your followers. Recently, I witnessed an instance where the resistance to adapt to leading older long-term employees differently from leading younger, more motivated ones, cost the organization some valuable knowledge and experience.
References:
Goffee, Rob, and Jones, Gareth., “Managing authenticity: the paradox of great leadership”, Harvard Business Review, December 2005, pp 87-94
WC-200
Hi Kapil,
I appreciate your thoughts on the topic. You talk about what takes to be authentic and how your true authenticity may not be best matched for the team you are working with. Zander et al. touch on this subject and talk about how your true self can be abrasive at times (2011). It can be important to understand where you are coming from in order to present your thoughts in the best light possible.
Keeping with your core values is also very important to me. Not much bothers me more than a person who will drop their identity in order to make themselves look better. At times, it can be a fine line between bettering yourself and changing who you are. Zander et al.’s points are important, but they also focus a lot on character traits as opposed to core values. When we are improving ourselves, we need to focus on the differences. Characteristics can change, but we should all stay true to our core.
References:
Zander, Lauren and Gruenfeld, Deborah. (2011). Want to Change the World? Be resilient. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/02/authentic-leadership-can-be-ba
[WC-184]