Authentic Leadership Literature & Language Essay Paper

Discovering Authentic Leadership
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Discovering Authentic Leadership
Leadership in any community or organization determines the stability and existence of such entities. As a result, leadership remains essential for scholars, especially in the era of globalization. Over the years, several theories on positive leadership have been proposed, including; servant, ethical, transactional, and transformational leadership. Authentic leadership differs from these in its fundamental tenets, varying only on the concept of authenticity (Makhmoor, 2018). According to George et al. (2007), authentic leaders demonstrate their passion for their purpose, have consistent values, and use both head and heart to lead others. They further argue that authentic leaders establish meaningful, long-lasting relationships and are driven by self-discipline to realize results.
Authenticity in leaders occurs when their words and actions are consistent with the values and beliefs they hold. The term 'know you,' used by both Socrates and Shakespeare, is based on what authentic leadership has developed (Covelli & Mason, 2017). Thus, the first core characteristic of an authentic leader is self-awareness. It involves being aware of one’s limitations, emotions, and limitations. It requires one to show their real selves to those they lead. Thus, authentic leaders do not hide weaknesses or mistakes because they are not afraid of appearing weak. With this characteristic, such leaders ponder on their decisions by weighing strengths against weakness without being bias. In my first experience in leadership, I lead a class group on a community art project. Theoretically, my role was to compile and present the findings of each group member as the group's findings.
However, when the project began, considering that we had taken it lightly, we realized that there was much to plan for the team to practical because we only had 36 hours. Our task was to capture pieces of art and cultural items available in the community. To this day, I was not aware that I could not speak freely at a group like the one facing me. Since it was clear that we needed a plan, my inability to express myself failed me on this day. Later that day, I could see in my head how the task would have been easy if I had articulated the plan I had in mind. However, I found it interesting that my group members were willing to contribute with different suggestions and ideas. It was like an open session, each explaining what they thought until we came to a plan that 'made sense' to the majority in the group. Even though the final plan was inefficient, I learned that listening skills are also crucial in this kind of leadership.
Another key trait of authentic leaders is the ability to stay mission-driven even in hard times. Such leaders do not allow personal interests to distract the goals and mission of the organization they lead (Lange & Hernandez-Bark, 2020). ...