Discussion: Authentic Leadership. Management Essay

Authentic Leadership
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Institutional Affiliation
Authentic Leadership
In the reading, the authors suggest that the various stressors facing modern organizations such as terrorism, disruptive technologies, ever-changing market demands, and ethical meltdowns are the reasons for the renewed interest into genuine leadership as a way of restoring confidence and optimism. To achieve this, the authors emphasize on the need of leaders who lead with integrity, values, and purpose to build a long-lasting organization as well as motivate the employees to become the best versions of themselves (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). That is what they define as authentic leadership. Positive moral perspective, as well as positive psychological capital, are noted as some of the components of the development of this form of leadership.
The importance of creating authenticity among followers also stands out. The authors advance positive modeling, self-awareness, and self-regulation as some of the ways authentic leaders can use to create authenticity among followers. Though authentic leadership can incorporate various characteristics of other styles of leadership such as charismatic leadership and transformational leadership, it is more generic (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). Authentic leadership may not be as charismatic as transformational leadership, but its core components such as self-awareness form the foundation of all forms of positive leadership.
The authors define authentic leadership as a form of leadership, whereby the leader leads with integrity, purpose, and values, and is a motivating factor for the employees to become better. I believe an authentic leader is one who seeks to build honest relationships with followers on an ethical foundation. These relationships help improve the performance of teams as well as that of the organization (Leroy, Anseel, Gardner, & Sels, 2015). To a large extent, this definition agrees with that advanced by the authors.
The better relational management that arises from the honest relationships created by authentic leadership is the biggest benefit of authentic leadership. Cohesive teams that show consistent improvement in engagement are also formed. Ultimately, authentic leadership leads to improved productivity and performance, especially in a diverse setting. This leadership also sets high moral and ethical standards (Wang, Yang, Luthans, Wang, &...