Northouse (2021) describes authentic leadership as “leadership that is transparent, morally grounded, and responsive to people’s needs and values” (p. 221). However, there is not one true definition of authentic leadership as it can be defined through an intrapersonal perspective, interpersonal process, and a developmental perspective (Northouse, 2021). In my personal experience as a female tennis coach, I have had many challenges in a mostly male dominant profession. To help navigate through this, I have a mentor, Mary, who leads myself and other female coaches through these challenges and help provide advice and strong leadership skills to help us succeed. Mary, to me, is a true authentic leader. Northouse (2021) outlines four components of authentic leadership: self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency (p. 227).

Self-awareness is about understanding one’s self, which can be strengths, weaknesses, emotions, identity, and this can reflect positively on their followers (Northouse, 2021). Mary’s experience in this business brought her through many ups and downs and challenging situations. She describes her weaknesses when handling these challenging situations, dealing with things too personally, too emotional of a response. In order to help us succeed, she is open and honest about herself and does not want us to make the same mistakes. This vulnerability is helpful and motivates me to do better and be better.

Northouse (2021) explains internalized moral perspective as a “self-regulatory process whereby individuals use their internal moral standards and values to guide their behavior rather than allow outside pressures to control them” (p. 227). Mary provided examples as to how her superiors would dismiss her ideas, even dismiss her and interrupting her when she was trying to lead while instructing lessons which was truly demoralizing to her. This constant pressure made her feel unable to do her job and deflated her motivation to continue. This raw honesty resonated with me, as I have felt the same many times. However, looking at her now and what she has accomplished, it is enough motivation for me to push forward under her mentorship.

Balanced processing is mostly about taking viewpoints from those who oppose you, analyzing objectively their opinions, and remaining unbiased before making a decision (Northouse, 2021). I am guilty of always thinking the worst and being sometimes too emotional in decision making and reacting. Mary’s mentorship has helped me understand that in this industry it will be a consistent battle to change views of female leaders in this sport, however progress has been made. So to help combat this, she has allowed myself and her other followers to feel as though we are pioneers who will pave the way for future female leaders in our sport.

Northouse (2021) describes relational transparency when “individuals share their core feelings, motives, and inclinations with others in an appropriate manner” (p. 229). Mary’s authentic leadership truly shines through her relational transparency. I have never had a mentor who leads with brutal honesty about themselves, their experiences, and even the mistakes that they have made in order to learn from them. I never feel mislead regarding her motivation to help myself and her followers try and navigate through this profession. In fact, Mary’s feelings and past negative experiences motivate me to improve so it won’t happen again to another female in the industry.

Overall, Mary’s authentic leadership has guided me through good times and bad in my career. Not only has her guidance helped me professionally, but it has helped me in my personal life as well. Her morals and transparency are inspiring and I hope to one day be of guidance to another.

Referenes:

Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory & Practice (9th e.d.). SAGE Publishing.

Inclusive leadership, when implemented effectively, can be a powerful force for positive change within corporate America. However when lacking or misapplied, it can have detrimental consequences that hinder organizational growth and sustainability. Without inclusive leadership, companies risk perpetuating consistency in their leadership ranks. This can cause a lack of diverse perspectives and experiences at the decision making table. This also can result in a narrow focus on certain market segments or customer demographics, overlooking opportunities for innovation and growth in untapped markets. A lack of diversity in leadership can contribute to a disconnect between leadership and the broader employee base, leading to low morale, decreased engagement, and ultimately, higher turnover rates.

Without inclusive leadership, organizations may struggle to attract and retain top talent from diverse backgrounds. In today’s increasingly globalized and interconnected world, diversity is not only a moral imperative, but also a strategic advantage. Companies that fail to prioritize diversity and inclusion risk losing out on the wealth of talent and creativity that diverse perspectives bring to the table. In an era where corporate social responsibility and ethical leadership are under scrutiny, companies that lack inclusive leadership may face reputational damage and loss of consumer trust.

Inclusive leadership is also essential for fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability within corporate America. Without diverse voices and perspectives at all levels of the organization, companies may become stagnant and resistant to change, unable to keep pace with evolving market trends and consumer preferences. “Since the beginning of the millennium, the concept of inclusion has emerged as a key psychological construct for realizing the benefits that diversity can bring to the workplace. Ferdman contends that a focus on inclusion not only promotes the reduction of negative and problematic processes grounded in discrimination and oppression, but also fosters a positive vision on what might replace these undesired behaviors, policies and systems” (Northouse, 2021 p. 323). Inclusive leaders embrace diversity as a catalyst for innovation, actively seeking out and valuing different viewpoints and ideas. By creating an environment where all employees feel empowered to contribute their unique insights and experiences, inclusive leadership fosters creativity, agility, resilience, and positioning companies for long-term success in today’s dynamic business landscape.

Inclusive leadership is critical for promoting employee well-being and organizational effectiveness. Research has consistently shown that diverse and inclusive workplaces are associated with higher levels of employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity. Companies that lack inclusive leadership may experience higher rates of absenteeism, presenteeism, and burnout among employees, leading to decreased overall performance and profitability. Without inclusive leadership, organizations may struggle to effectively leverage the full potential of their diverse workforce, missing out on the myriad benefits that come from harnessing the talents and contributions of all employees.

Reference:

Northouse, P. (2021). Culture and Leadership. In Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE.

When I look at my own experience and leadership roles through the analytical lens of servant leadership one of the most rewarding aspects is helping followers grow and succeed.  I have worked with many bosses and some of them did more than manage over the years.  Servant leadership was hidden in their behaviors and became part of mine as a result of the positive behaviors I learned and outcomes I experienced.

Those who demonstrated leadership always had at least one aspect of servant leadership that stood out for me, they would take dedicated time to help followers grow and succeed.  “At its core, helping followers grow and succeed is about aiding these individuals to become self-actualized, reaching their fullest human potential” (Northouse, 2021).  I would not be a leader today if a few of my leaders hadn’t taken the time to get to know me, my own personal goals, and helped me identify ways to accomplish those aspirations.  Those leaders that were the best took time to meet one on one, review urgent work and discuss strategy, but these meetings also became opportunities to build personal relationships, coach, or ask for advice.

The best leaders also looked for feedback from me on what they were doing and how to deal with certain situations which had the effect of empowering me to speak up and think for myself rather than just doing what the ‘boss’ said. Northouse (2021) identifies empowerment as building followers confidence to think for themselves, and be confident in taking action based on their own judgement.  These one-on-one sessions were great opportunities for developing that judgement and thinking capability.  Often this would become a collaborative effort leading to greater shared outcomes for both of us and our teams.

As a developing leader I began to have one on one meetings with team members, both those who formally reported to me and those who I just worked with on a regular basis. I began to see my coworkers/followers improve their performance which is also one outcome predicted by Meuser et al. (2011) for receptive followers to servant leadership.  I began to see project managers develop greater confidence and proactively beginning to address obstacles to their projects on their own which is also predicted by studies done by Bande, Fernández-Ferrín, Varela-Neira, & Otero-Neira, (2016)on servant leadership.  Working with one of our key partner organizations I began meeting one on one with their primary team leads and coaching them in similar ways, and I saw the same empowerment and autonomy with improved task performance and helping their coworkers in their organization and across our organizations.

It seems servant leadership is infectious or can be passed through organizations and relationships. Hu and Linden (2011) found that through servant leadership the effectiveness of teams was promoted through shared confidence and improved group process clarity.  In my own cross functional teams, they started continuous improvement meetings, tracked undesirable outcomes, began root cause analysis and worked together without blaming each other to improve shared processes and develop stronger processes.  This was really just an extension of one-on-one coaching and development taken to a group level with each team member participating in the improvements.  The overall outcome was better processes, fewer delays and failures, more time for improvements, happier workers, shared success.  Northouse (2021)  says “Initial research has shown that in addition to positively affecting followers and their performance, servant leadership has an influence on organizational performance” which I can confirm.  Northouse goes on to explore societal impact which I can’t comment on directly, but I will say one of our companies’ core values is to make the world a better place for everyone, and I see that occurring incrementally as a result of my experience applying servant leadership in the workplace.

References

Bande, B., Frenandez-Ferrin, P., Varela-Neira, C., & Otero-Neira, C. (2016). Exploring the relationship among servant leadership, intrinsic motivation and performance in an industrial sales setting. Exploring the relationship among servant leadership, intrinsic motivation and performance in an industrial sales setting., 2(31), 219-231.

Hu, J., & Linden, R. C. (2011). Antecedents of team potency and team effectiveness: An examination of goal and process clarity and servant leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(96), 851-862.

Meuser, J. D., Linden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., & Hendersn, D. J. (2011, August). Is servant leadership always a good thing? The moderating influence of servant leadership prototype. Paper presented at the meeting of the Academy of Management.

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory & Practice (9 ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.

Authentic leadership brought about some personal thoughts and feelings. The word authentic often runs through my mind but more so in its meaning, genuine. Being a father has never been more important to me than it is now. I know that sounds a bit odd as if it should have always been vital, and it has, but recently it became a whole new perspective. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, and watching my son grow is teaching me a few things. The biggest one has been the finitude of time. It’s a commodity I wish I had an infinite amount of, but I don’t. Nobody does. So as I thought about my son and the kind of leader I need to be for him, the word genuine came to mind.

Our text mentions four key psychological capacities that impact authentic leadership. The four capacities are confidence, hope, optimism, and resilience (Northouse, 2021). Northouse states”Confidence refers to having self-efficacy—the belief that one has the ability to successfully accomplish a specified task. Leaders who have confidence are more likely to be motivated to succeed, to be persistent when obstacles arise, and to welcome a challenge” (Northouse, 2021). As the leader of my family, I realized my confidence was lacking in some areas. We have faced some difficult situations as many families have, and in some cases, my confidence was shaken. I could visibly see the change in my wife when she saw that my confidence had taken a hit. It did not instill in her the confidence that everything would be ok, it instilled worry. Like any leader who lacks confidence in taking on an obstacle, the followers will lose faith and confidence in their ability to rise to the occasion and lead confidently. My son and wife both deserve a confident husband and father to lead them through the good times and the especially bad. The areas in which I lack this confidence are mostly due to my knowledge of the issue. So as I have noticed this, I began educating myself on certain topics to build that confidence that I can handle any situation that arises.

“Resilience is the capacity to recover from and adjust to adverse situations. It includes the ability to positively adapt to hardships and suffering. During difficult times, resilient people are able to bounce back from challenging situations and feel strengthened and more resourceful as a result of them” (Northouse, 2021). This is something I am proud of, I probably don’t tell myself that enough. As a parent,  sometimes I think we don’t realize how resilient we are, or anyone for that matter. While my confidence gets rocked on occasion, as the text stated, I can bounce back from challenging situations strengthened and more resourceful. I could not take the worry on my wife’s face as I mentioned, so I knew I needed to come away from the obstacle more knowledgeable than I went in. My resiliency directly affects my confidence as I am noticing. This also directly affects how my family views me as a leader. I also noticed how hope and optimism are strongly related to resiliency. This also became apparent during the reading of the chapter. The chapter states, “Their hope inspires followers to trust them and believe in their goals” (Northouse, 2021). I want the trust of my wife and my son. I want them to know that I can and will lead them in the right direction and they can trust that the goals I set for myself and our family are attainable.

One of the components of authentic leadership is relational transparency. While this component is certainly applicable with both my wife and son, I really want this between my son and I. Relational transparency is defined as “being open and honest in presenting one’s true self to others. It is self-regulating because individuals can control their transparency with others. Relational transparency occurs when individuals share their core feelings, motives, and inclinations with others in an appropriate manner (Kernis, 2003). It includes the individuals showing both positive and negative aspects of themselves to others. In short, relational transparency is about communicating openly and being real in relationships with others” (Northouse, 2021). It is my opinion that many parent-child relationships do not contain relational transparency, and I believe this is where many of these relationships become strained. More than anything I want my son to have a father and leader whom he can openly communicate with. One of my greatest fears is that I made my son feel as though he could not confide in me. Like he could not talk to me and open up. I want to lead my son in a positive direction at all times, and I feel having relational transparency is key.

This has been a really important chapter for me. I want to be the authentic leader my son and wife both deserve. This blog is more so directed at my son though as my wife and I have our relationship. While my wife seeing me as the leader I want to be is important, my son will one day have his own family, and I want to instill so much in him that will help him thrive. He is only 2 years old, and some may say he is so young and I have time. The thing is, we don’t know just how much of that we have. That is why setting an example for this type of leader is vital. One day, that will surely come faster than I want it to, he will walk out my door and into a life that I only hope I have prepared him for—a life where I am not a constant physical presence and where he is his own man and he knows he can always call and always has a home.

 

Conan O’Brien is a comedian and TV host, best known for his work on late night television and his early writings at SNL and work on the Simpsons. He has been in the television show business for nearly 30 decades (Karuga, 2023). He’s had three different shows he’s hosted and now hosts his own podcast show called Conan Needs A Friend. As he gets ready to debut his new travel show, there’s been a lot of new talk and interviews with him recently and one notable fact that kept coming up was how despite moving from show to show, or between passion projects, he has employees that have followed him and remained working with him for 20+ years (Karuga, 2023). His leadership could be described as conforming to the transformational style as his charisma, compassion, wit, and humor have been what has allowed him to gain the long-time loyalty of many of his employees.

 As Northouse defines it, transformational leaders are, “… recognized as change agents who are good role models, who can create and articulate a clear vision for an organization, who empower followers to meet higher standards” (Northouse, 2021, p. 191). Leaders who adhere to the transformational leadership style are able to influence their followers by creating a strong connection with them and being able to influence them towards a shared-goal while also contributing to the followers’ fullest potential (Northouse, 2021).  The personality attribute charisma has also been used synonymous with transformational leadership, as per James MacGregor Burns’ charisma theory. This theory means that a leader who exhibits this leadership style is usually someone who can be described as self-confident, influential, positively dominant, and charismati (Northouse, 2021). Normally, a television host would be seen as confident and charismatic, but they’re not usually considered leaders in their own right. Given Conan O’Brien’s history of being deeply involved with his staff and now knowing he leads his writing teams, we can gather that his leadership style could be defined as transformational as he deeply cares about his staff and inspires them to go further than the dutiful roles they’re assigned.

There are a couple of examples of what O’Brien has done that lead me to believe he could be defined as a transformational leader. There are multiple instances where Conan paid his staff, out of his own pocket, when the network refused, or weren’t required to. In 2007, there was a writers’ strike that put many of the staff out of a job for 100 days. He paid for nearly 80% of the staff’s salaries out of his own pocket, whilc many other television hosts got rid of and replaced the staff who striked (Nordyke, 2007). In 2010, O’Brien’s late-night show was cancelled and was replaced by Jay Leno as host, which resulted in a $44 million deal between O’Brien and NBC (Blodget, 2010). While O’Brien was able to get a huge portion of his staff included in the severance pay, the stagehands that worked on the show were set to get nothing, so O’Brien paid for their severance pay for weeks until they could get another job (Blodget, 2010). 

While these are only examples of how Conan O’Brien has been seen as a good boss and why, this post goes to talk about the theoreticals of how he could be described as a transformational leader. The loyalty he receives from his staff goes to hint at how O’Brien may have a leadership style worth mirroring. For example, his producer Jeff Ross has been working with him since 1993 (Karuga, 2023). Another one of his employees, who has shown up in comedy sketches on the show before, Jordan Schlansky has been part of the Conan team since 1994 (Karuga, 2023). His personal assistant, Sona Movesian, who now co-hosts with him on his new podcast, has been working for him since 2009 (Karuga, 2023). While these are only examples of the employees that have been televised alongside him during his shows, there are plenty of other employees, including writers on his team that have been with him since the 90’s and have only moved with him as he moved shows (Karuga, 2023). 

In conclusion, Conan O’Brien’s leadership styles, as depicted by his ability to maintain long-term loyalty among his employees, aligns with the transformational leadership theory. The charisma, compassion, and dedication he carries for his team has clearly led to a work environment where the employees feel valued and motivated enough to stay working alongside him for years and to achieve more than they were originally expected to when first hired. While most of the details of his leadership in the workplace are more covert, or not written about in public media, one can implore the motivation to take a look at O’Brien’s leadership tactics closer, as his effectiveness and the depth of his leadership influence is shown from the long-lasting relationships he has been able to cultivate with employees like Jeff Ross, Jordan Schlansky, and Sona Movesian.

References

Blodget, H. (2010, January 21). Conan and Staff Get $44 Million to Shut Up and Go Away. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-conan-and-staff-get-44-million-to-shut-up-and-go-away-2010-1

Karuga, J. (2023, September 26). Could Goofy Conan O’Brien Be A Leadership and Business Genius? Medium. https://lifeabsurditiesscholar.medium.com/could-goofy-conan-obrien-be-a-leadership-and-business-genius-922483834874

Nordyke, K. (2007, November 30). It Pays to Work For O’Brien. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/pays-work-obrien-156143/

Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory & Practice (9th e.d.). SAGE Publishing.