Modeling the Way
Employees operate under growing
conditions of uncertainty and stress
…as such it is critical that leaders step in to
‘model the way’
Values are a critical aspect of leaders’
ability to model the way
As a first step, leaders need to determine
what is important to them and what their
own values are…the path that they wish to
take
A critical aspect of this is discovering
what they care about, finding their
voice
Knowing your “inner territory,” what you
value, makes you a stronger leader
because it allows you to act with integrity
as your values guide your actions
When a leader’s actions are guided by
values s/he is able to achieve
authenticity as a leader
When leaders have clarity on their
personal values they experience and
demonstrate a greater sense of
commitment to value-aligned action
and those with whom they work
An equally important step is to create a
sense of shared values among employees
Values need to be forged, not
forced
Effective leaders do not impose their
values on employees, they find a way
to integrate their personal values with
those of their employees to forge a
common value system
Leaders need to model the shared
values….
Leaders illustrate what the values
‘look like’ in the organizational
context
Leaders model values by:
 How they spend their time
 The language they use
 The types of questions they ask
 The types of feedback they seek
Leaders teach values by:
 Confronting critical incidents
Telling stories that exemplify values
Visibly demonstrating valueconsistent behavior
Storytelling is one of the most effective
tools at a leaders disposal…
Why?
Storytelling is one of the most effective
tools at a leaders disposal…
Why?
 Stories are easy to remember
 People relate to stories
 Stories demonstrate values in a way that is
meaningful
 People learn more effectively through stories
What questions should you be asking if you want people to
focus on
……
• Continuous
Improvement
• Quality
• Innovation
• Integrity
• Teamwork
• Collaboration
• Personal Responsibility
• Customer /Client
Satisfaction
• Trust
• Growth
• Communication
Authentic Leadership
Authentic Leadership Description
• Authentic Leadership – focuses on whether
leadership is genuine
• Interest in Authentic Leadership
– Increasing in recent times due to social upheavals
– People longing for trustworthy leaders
– Identified earlier in transformational leadership
research but not studied separately
– Needed evidence-based research of construct
Definition of Authentic Leadership
“A pattern that draws upon and promotes both
positive psychological capacities and a
positive ethical climate, to foster greater selfawareness, an internalized moral perspective,
balanced processing of information, and
relational transparency on the part of leaders
working with followers, fostering positive
self-development.”
Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing & Peterson, 2008
Basic Model of Authentic Leadership
• FOUR COMPONENTS:
– Self-awareness
• Reflecting on one’s core values, identity, emotions, motives
• Being aware of and trusting your own feelings
– Internalized moral perspective
• Self-regulatory process using internal moral standards to guide behavior
– Balanced processing
• Ability to analyze informational objectively and explore other people’s
opinions before making a decision
- Relational transparency
• Being open and honest in presenting one’s true self to others
Practical Approaches to Authentic Leadership
• Bill George (2003, 2007)
– Leader characteristic model
– Leaders have genuine desire to serve others
– Five characteristics of Authentic Leaders
• Understand their purpose
• Strong values
• Trusting relationships
• Self-discipline
• Act from the heart (mission)
Practical Approaches to Authentic Leadership
• Robert Terry (1993)
– Action-centered model
– Leaders should strive to do what is right
– Two core leadership questions:
• What is really, really going on?
• What are we going to do about it?
– Developed Authentic Action Wheel to help leaders
frame problems
• Locate the problem on the diagnostic wheel
• Strategically select an appropriate response to the problem
Strengths
• Fulfills society’s expressed need for trustworthy
leadership. Fills a void in an uncertain world.
• Provides broad guidelines for those who want to
become authentic leaders. Both practical and
theoretical approaches provide a map.
• Like transformational and servant leadership, AL has an
explicit moral dimension.
• Unlike traits that only some people exhibit, everyone
can learn to be more authentic.
• Can be measured using an established instrument
(ALQ).
Criticisms
• The theory is still in the formative stages, so some concepts
in the practical approaches are not fully developed or
substantiated.
• The moral component of AL is not fully explained. It’s unclear
how higher values such as justice inform authentic
leadership.
• The rationale for including positive psychological capacities as
a part of AL has not been clearly explained by researchers.
• The link between authentic leadership and positive
organizational outcomes is unclear. It is also not clear
whether AL is sufficient to achieve organizational goals.
Application
• People have the capacity to become authentic
leaders. It is a lifelong learning process.
• Human Resource departments may be able to foster
authentic leadership behaviors in employees who
move into leadership positions.
• Leaders are always trying to do the “right” thing, to
be honest with themselves and others, and to work
for the common good.
• Leaders are shaped by critical life events that lead to
growth and greater authenticity.
Reflection Question
• What similarities do you see between Kouzes’ and
Posner’s Exemplary Leadership Model and Authentic
Leadership?
• What differences do you see between these two
models?
• If you had to choose one as the basis for your
leadership development, which would you choose?
Why?