What Is Authentic?

The notion of authenticity is one of self-fulfillment and Charles Taylor recognizes that there are dangers in accepting modernity's drive toward self-realization. However, he is not willing to give up on this idea of "authenticity." In The Ethics of Authenticity, Taylor lays out a system of thought and morals that connect our search for self-realization with our desire towards self-creation. He is attempting to keep a form of individualism while still operating under objectivism. He will point out the good and damaging aspects of the modern development of an authentic self and mention the importance of some moral measurement system.

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.

In the book True to Life, Michael Lynch defines authenticity as being the kind of person you want to be, which is found in your deep self or second volitions (Lynch). Your deep self or second order volitions revel what you care about and what kind of person you want to be (Lynch). Thus, Lynch explains that to live an authentic life, you must live in accordance with the desires that effectively guide your actions. To understand your authentic self, you must first know your sense of self. To be self-aware is to know your desires and the truth about yourself (Lynch). Authenticity and self-knowledge are connected because in order to know what matters to you, you must be self-aware. Without self-knowledge, you do not know what you desire or how to turn desires into action (Lynch). When you are living authentically, you are living in accordance with your desires by creating actions. To clarify, knowing your sense of self is to know the person you want to be and by being authentic, you are being that person. Therefore,

“Being authentic means something like living in accordance with one’s own unique values and ideals,” but it is greater than simply being oneself, it is “resisting the imposition of the values and ideals of others” (Pierce 441) as well. Therefore, authenticity is also neglecting to succumb to the beliefs of others to stay true to one’s own beliefs. However, this does not mean that authenticity is static, “an individual should engage in a process of constructing his personhood…. His task in life becomes searching for his true personhood” (381). Personhood should be a journey of finding oneself, figuring out who one is and what one believes in. The act of evolving is part of the discovery, but when “their acts are guided by other people’s ideas of who they should be” (379) it leads to inauthenticity because the change is made solely to fit in. All in all, authenticity is based heavily on truth, because “[it]

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)

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,

In The Ethics of Authenticity, Charles Taylor explores how we and others should go about in reaching the truth about who we really are as a person. A few terms that he uses interchangeably are “authenticity” and “individualism”. He states that these two words correlates with each other because authenticity means to be true to yourself and this is achieved by listening to your own thoughts and ideals. When finding who we are as a person, our inner voice is extremely important. It helps us become more in touch with our feelings and how we justify how we live our life and make righteous decisions.

Herminia Ibarra’s article in the Harvard Business review titled “The Authenticity Paradox” presents an interesting perspective on leadership. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity as an effective leadership tool, but cautions against an oversimplified understanding of the term. Authenticity is often associated with integrity and being honest and true to oneself, which according to Ibarra, should not be interpreted so rigidly in the workplace as it may “hinder [one’s] growth and limit [one’s] impact” (Ibarra. 55). The author defines an authentic manager as one who, while remaining true to his core values, is able to adapt to various situations, play politics when required; someone who is able to wear different hats and alter their behaviors and actions to the situation that demands it. He is someone who is not afraid to step outside of his comfort zone, is willing to try different ideas, admit his mistakes and move on to the next project or activity. Furthermore, the authentic manager is able to find a proper balance between closeness and detachment with his employee.

Furthermore they begin to explain the 5 genres of authenticity which are if you’re authentic then you shouldn’t have to remind people that you’re authentic, if you claim to be authentic, then stick to your word, it’s easier to be authentic if you don’t advertise that you are, it’s easier to render offerings authentic, if you are aware of their inauthentic traits and finally you don’t have to say that your offerings are inauthentic if you acknowledge that they’re inauthentic. In today’s contemporary society, very little if anything at all is deemed as being truly

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).

The definition of authentic is fitting because the people who are authentic are accepting of themselves as well as others. Authenticity within people is a process to find and those who find it know how hard the journey is. Jennifer Twardski from the Huffington Post speaks about authenticity, saying some qualities are, “truly listening to other” along with, “ express their thoughts, feelings, and views unapologetically”. This supports the definition of authenticity by showing that authentic people are accepting of themselves. When people learn to accept themselves, they in turn accept others because they understand that they are just trying to be themselves too.

What defines authenticity and why do we question the variety of views of authenticity? Is there a correct answer or is it just based on conceptual studies? It has been one of the

Authenticity is about generalizing and typifying people in a unique way (sounds self-contradictory but therein lies the skill of the writer. Without the uniqueness, we get stereotypes.).