The Authenticity Paradox By Herminia Ibarra

The concept of effective leadership is a topic that has been widely debated by individuals and professional leaders in many societies. In Kevin Cashman’s book, Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for life, the author reveals that leadership is defined through a person’s understanding of their internal nature, rather than the values, beliefs, and morals a society claims that a leader should possess. Even though Cashman does acknowledge the importance of the societal view of leadership, he argues that true leadership is defined by an individual’s understanding of their internal essence. In each chapter Cashman strongly debates that leaders lead by virtue of who they are. He defines this outlook on leadership as the Inside-Out Leadership Method. This is a method that allows an authoritative figure to develop a strong understanding of their physical, mental, and spiritual essence to lead others towards a mutual goal.

Authentic” in its original sense means “genuine, original, not a fake” (Shamir & Eilam). Authenticity is also understood as the alignment of one’s behavior with one’s inner values, beliefs, convictions whether they good or bad. Authenticity does not imply that it is concerned with positive, ethical, or moral behavior, it is more concerned that you are passionate and are true to yourself and knowing who you are (Cooper, Scandrua, & Schriesheim, 2005). This is a pretty accurate description of the leadership style of Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky. Brian has proven to be a leader in today’s world and this paper will give some insight as to he got to where he is now.

The essays that comprise Traditional Classics on Leadership present varying notions of authority and of challenging authority. This is largely due to the fact that this manuscript is comprised of essays from 31 contributors, ranging from well-known political theorists to some of the more salient voices for individuality that the world has known. Still, there are some points of commonalities in these essays that present a synthesized viewpoint of the concept of challenging authority.

Authentic leadership is a real and genuine leadership. (Yoder-Wise, 2015, p. 195) According to the Journal of Nursing Management, (2015) an authentic leader gathers others viewpoints, as well as opinions, before making decisions that are important while having a balanced process. (Regan, Laschinger, & Wong, 2015)(p. 2) In the Volume 18 of that same journal Wong, Laschinger, and Cummings (2010) described authentic leadership as a leadership that built trust making the work environment healthier, retained staff, as well as promoted patient safety and satisfaction. (p. 890) Servant leadership is one that puts others first. (Yoder-Wise, 2015, p. 225) Servant leadership is described as putting the desires to serve others before personal gain. (Reed, 2015, p. 73)

Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.

1. Bauman, David C., Leadership and the three faces of integrity, The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 24, Issue 3, June 2013, Pages 414-426, ISSN 1048-9843, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.01.005.

Authentic leadership emphasizes that leaders must practice self-awareness, optimism, resiliency, balanced processing (valuing others’ input and all relevant information prior to making decisions), and relational transparency (being one’s self in all interactions). The authentic leader values bringing out the best in others and continually ensures that his/her behavior is both ethical and moral at all times (Laschinger, Borgogni, Consiglio, & Read, 2015). In order to be an authentic leader, a person must request and receive feedback with an open mind and take advantage of opportunities to explore one’s self, which often results in the individual feeling vulnerable (Kerfoot, 2006). Vulnerability is uncomfortable for many due to our society’s emphasis on being autonomous

Inscribed on the entry-wall at the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi are the words “know thyself”. Can a leader be truly effective without knowing one’s self? Although it has roots in previous times Authentic Leadership is a concept that began to emerge in its modern form in the 1960s. It wasn’t until 2003 when Bill George wrote about authentic leadership and its connection to ancient Greece that it became a popular leadership concept (Clark, 2014). Bill George is senior fellow at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership since 2004. He is the author of four best-selling books: 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, True North, Finding Your True North, and Authentic Leadership, as well True North Groups. His newest book, Discover Your True North, was published in August of 2015 along with its companion workbook, The Discover Your True North Fieldbook. He describes authentic leadership as a style of leading that is consistent with the core values and personality of the leader and one who leads from an honest, ethical and practical perspective. It is through the leaders authentic self, and not just the concept of self but more importantly the actions of the leader and how that is perceived by others that determines whether they believe the leader is authentic. It is through honest relationships and ethical actions that help to maximize the efforts of others in achieving the goal (George, 2016).

In brief, authentic leadership is defined as a “leadership that emphasizes building the leader 's legitimacy through honest relationships with followers which value their input and are built on an ethical foundation” (Authentic Leadership, n.d.). As leaders, they create close, trusting bonds with their followers through their transparency and their drive to serve their followers (Northouse, 2016). Practical approaches to authentic leadership are linked to a set of five initial characteristics that individuals need to possess. These include motivation, well developed values, strong relational connections, self-control and passion (Northouse,

Christopher Newport UniversityThis paper will serve several key principles: to summarize my past, to explain which theories of development I find most applicable to my life today and to discuss my values and how they affect my style of leadership. Firstly, after analyzing the Leadership Identity Development Model, I find myself within the Exploration/Engagement stage; I am becoming involved with many new organizations, identifying my strengths and weaknesses, and developing my skills, while viewing where leadership takes place and considering my role within the process. Herein lies my life story, and the beginnings of the search for my leadership identity.

The theory of authentic leadership has continued to develop since 1966 (Gardner, Cogliser, Davis, & Dickens, 2011). This is a relative new leadership theory and there is no single accepted definition of authentic leadership (Northouse, 2010). Authentic leadership can be defined using three different perspectives to include intrapersonal, interpersonal, and developmental (Chan, 2005). These perspectives include looking at the authenticity of the leader, the relationship between the leader and the follower, as well as the impact of the leader on the follower. For purposes of this study “Authentic leadership” is defined as

Authentic leaders create healthy enterprises for the long term and almost without exception, emerging leaders have solid values and a sense of purpose. We are looking to make a difference, to contribute to a worthwhile cause through our work and to find a reasonable balance between our work and home lives. In addition, to work where we trust the leaders and share a common set of values is essential to the chemistry involved in organizational leadership. “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:6-8, 1984, NIV).

My thoughts, assumptions and personal values on leadership have developed over many years, simply holding the title as leader or manager is much more than being able to actually lead, and this ability is not a quality that everyone has, good bad or indifferent. Over the past seven weeks I have developed and grown in my own leadership philosophies.

James Kouzes and Barry Posner wrote a leadership book entitled “Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it” (“Credibility”). It was written specifically for managers because, while academia had a wealth of research regarding credibility, little had been directed toward managers (Kouzes & Posner, 2003, p. 276). The edition selected for review was published in 2003. The purpose of this paper is to examine the leadership theories it contains, both explicit and implicit.

When reflecting on my experience as both a student and a life learner, I never would have considered myself a leader. In fact, I have always been the shy kid who hides in the back of the class and panics whenever it is their turn to respond to a question. College however provided me with an opportunity to develop myself as a leader. I became more active in school activities and actively sought out leadership roles. As I’ve progressed in my professional life, I’ve become more interested in what it takes to make a strong leader. When assuming leadership roles, I’ve always considered myself an authentic leader but I know I’ve often struggled in detailing clear goals for my group or organization. Thankfully, Enrolling in the effective