Authentic leadership is one of the original leadership theories but was never formalized or taken seriously. Obviously there are aspects in this theory that are vital to leadership if this theory is still referred to. As Hamel (2021) describes, authentic leadership is comprised of three important components: interpersonal, intrapersonal, and developmental. Each of these perspectives looks at a different point within the theory. The interpersonal perspective explains how this form of leadership develops from the relationship between leaders and followers. This perspective further emphasizes the importance of the leader-follower relationship. The intrapersonal component looks at how the leader is thinking, which stresses why it is crucial that the leader is true to themself. Lastly, the developmental component highlights this theory as a learning process rather than a trait to be had.
The intrapersonal aspect of authentic leadership is important. The leader needs to have their thoughts in order and it is important to be self-confident. Jeff Bezos is an example of a leader that comes to mind. The man behind Amazon has gone through many ups and downs through the course of his career while remaining true to himself. He has once said “Be stubborn on the long-term vision, but flexible on the details. This shows his personal example of the intrapersonal perspective because he remains true to himself and knows what he wants out of his subordinates in a project. When the leader is taking their own ideas into account and holding to them, the subordinates will follow. It is important for the leader to set some boundaries regarding the achievement of goals but leaving room for negotiation with subordinates. Steve Jobs is another name that comes to mind in regards to Authentic Leadership. With the ups and downs he faced as a result of being the co-founder Apple, he has remained true to himself as well when taking into account the intrapersonal component of this theory. He knew his passion and stuck with it.
The developmental perspective is the interesting side of the Authentic Leadership theory. The two perspectives of interpersonal and intrapersonal are both taking into account the traits that a leader may hold already. The developmental side is interesting because it explains how these traits can be taught. An experience, good or bad, may teach the individual to be more authentic.
References:
Hamel, R. (2021). Lesson 12: Authentic Leadership, 2021
Hey there!
I enjoyed reading your blog post. I agree with your statement that the intrapersonal aspect of authentic leadership is important. I think it’s really important for a leader to remain true to themselves, due to the fact that there will always be people giving your their opinions and advice on what to do. While advice is nice, it’s important to be able to stay true to yourself and not be swayed easily. I like your example of Jeff Bezos being an authentic leader, due to the fact that he has a strong intrapersonal component because he can “remain true to himself and knows what he wants out of his subordinates in a project.” Although, since authentic leadership does deal with three viewpoints, do you think that Jeff Bezos also fits the definition of the interpersonal and developmental perspectives? The interpersonal perspective deals a lot about the interactions between a leader and the follower, but since Bezos owns such a giant company, it must be hard for him to interact with many of his followers! I think this question can be applied to any CEO of a large company, such as Steve Jobs. So overall, I guess my question is do you think there is a place for authentic leadership in large companies such as Amazon or Apple?
Hello!
Thank you for sharing your blog post. I found it very interesting to read about your perspective on authentic leadership. This week’s lesson was very interesting for me and I agree that it is a leadership theory that often goes unannounced and is not given much attention. I really enjoyed reading about your interpretations in regards to the three approaches to authentic leadership, however, I do think that you could have expanded a bit on the developmental approach. This definition of authentic leadership is thought to be the most relevant and important, and it combines intrapersonal and interpersonal approaches as well. Just a thought! Great job overall.