Mental health rehabilitation utilizes authentic leadership in various careers, especially peer support services. Peer support services are intended for those undergoing mental health and/or substance abuse recovery, and they provide those in recovery with a mentor that has had similar experiences. A peer support specialist works directly with the impacted individual, and they formulate goals, offer mentorship, implement recovery empowerment, and serve as an advocate for not only their clients, but the entire affected population (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). The peer support mission, and core competencies that define the function of peer support services, can be explained and achieved through the attributes within the practical approach of authentic leadership, such as, purpose, values, relationships, self-discipline, and compassion (George, 2003; George & Sims, 2007, as cited in Northouse, 2021).

What exactly is the mission of peer support services? Peer support services strive to ensure that affected individuals, with mental health or substance abuse related disorders, do not relapse, but rather continue to grow through their recovery journey (Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). Similar to this mission, George (2003) claimed that “authentic leaders have a genuine desire to serve others, they know themselves, and they feel free to lead from their core values” (As cited in Northouse, 2021, p. 223). Authentic leadership focuses on values, service, growth, and genuineness, just as peer support services does. Peer support services introduces a leadership dynamic between client and peer support specialist, and it appears that peer support services utilizes authentic leadership principles to function and promote rehabilitation.

The practical approach of authentic leadership highlights leaders’ attributes (George, 2003; George & Sims, 2007, as cited in Northouse, 2021). The first attribute found in authentic leaders is purpose, where leaders can identify and understand their plan, often developing passion in the process (Northouse, 2021). Similarly, peer support specialists are recovery oriented, one of the core competencies, where the goal is to assist clients with reaching their full potential. Peer support specialists identify their purpose through their own recovery, and this leads to passionate work that empowers others who are faced with similar barriers (Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). Another attribute of authentic leaders is holding important values, where their actions translate and reflect such values (Northouse, 2021). Peer support specialists hold important values, because a core competency that they implement is person-centered thinking. Person-centered thinking is the belief that clients drive their own rehabilitation processes, where peer supports accompany them and offer insight to their recovery (Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). Moreover, a third attribute of authentic leadership is relationships, where leaders exhibit close ties with those around them, which allows them to gain strong rapport with followers (Northouse, 2021). A core competency of peer support services is being relationship-focused, where the client and peer support specialist are able to come together and formulate appropriate and effective rehabilitation practices (Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). Additionally, self-discipline is essential for authentic leaders, where leaders engage in motivated behaviors that lead to consistent leadership tendencies (Northouse, 2021). Similar to self-discipline practices, peer support specialists utilize trauma informed methods. Trauma informed methods promote the well-being of an individual in every aspect of their life in order to grow (Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). Finally, compassion is a key attribute of authentic leadership, where leaders can demonstrate responsiveness toward their followers, and this allows them to be vulnerable and assist their followers accordingly (Northouse, 2021). While there is not a specific core competency within peer support services that directly functions based on the compassion attribute, it is reasonable to believe that such compassion stems from the peers’ experience with similar struggles.

In summary, authentic leadership is essential within mental health rehabilitation. Through the practical approach to authentic leadership, one can understand the core competencies and primary mission of peer support services. Attributes, such as, purpose, values, relationships, self-discipline, and compassion are integrated into the frame work of peer support services, and thus authentic leaders are able to promote effective rehabilitation.

References

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2022, February 23). Peers. SAMHSA. Retrieved April 18, 2022, from https://www.samhsa.gov/brss-tacs/recovery-support-tools/peers

Northouse defines Authentic Leadership as the “focus on whether leadership is genuine and real” (Northouse, 2022, p.401). Yet, this definition indicates a vagueness in what behaviors truly describe an authentic leader. Even Northouse acknowledges that “Among leadership scholars, there is no single accepted definition of authentic leadership” (Northouse, 2022, p.402). However, that does not mean that they have not determined some behaviors of authentic leaders. Primarily what the public is looking for in an authentic leader is a leader that “they can trust and (…) who [is] honest and good” (Northouse, 2022, p.401). Looking at that statement then, authentic leaders at least need to be trustworthy and morally righteous. However, as I mentioned before, there is no universal definition for authentic leadership and as a result each definition is “written from a different viewpoint and with a different emphasis” (Chan, 2005; Northouse, 2022, p.402). With that in mind, we will try to focus our analytical approach down by analyzing the famous leader Warren Buffett using George’s take on authentic leadership as described by the Northouse text.

The Northouse text highlights the view of authentic leadership created by George (2003) which focuses on “the characteristics of authentic leaders” (George, 2003; George & Sims, 2007; Northouse, 2022, p.404). Throughout his research and experience in a corporate setting he derived that authentic leaders exhibit five base character traits that define their authentic leadership style. The first character trait that George talks about is that authentic leaders “have a strong sense of purpose” (George, 2003; George & Sims, 2007; Northouse, 2022, p.404). Upon researching some of Warren Buffett’s personal achievements I stumbled upon an article talking about his escapades as a teenager making money. In the article, it mentions that Buffett used to sell packs of gum and Coca-Cola to houses in the neighborhood (Guzman & Stevens, 2017) and how by doing that he was able to save up enough money to buy a business. I can think of no better example of a strong sense of purpose. His purpose was to make money and he directly performed behaviors from childhood that facilitated that purpose. Likewise, his sense of purpose was strong as the article mentions that during his job working as a newspaper delivery boy he consistently challenged himself to finish routes faster and even went so far as to create a way of tracking when magazine subscriptions expired for people on his route so he could sell to them (Guzman & Stevens, 2017). These behaviors ultimately culminated in him becoming one of the richest people alive and an owner of one of the most successful Fortune 500 companies.

The second characteristic that George (2003) highlights is that authentic leaders “have strong values about the right thing to do” (George, 2003; George & Sims; 2007; Northouse, 2022, p.404) and they behave in a way that represents their values. In the context of Warren Buffett, an article by the Insider indicates that “Berkshire can make acquisitions cheaper than other companies can because when they’re buying a family business, the family can trust that Berkshire isn’t going to plunder the assets, lay off workers, and chop it up” (Weisenthal, 2014). To simplify the context, Buffett maintains that these family-owned business that are acquired by Berkshire are able to let go easier because they implicitly trust that their life’s work won’t be torn to shreds. In this way, Buffett emphasizes his strong values and his righteous moral compass. Many corporate mergers come with downsizing, restructuring, etc. that completely shifts the dynamic of the company being acquired. In the case of Berkshire and Buffett, these companies are able to function in the same way they did before but under the wing of Berkshire’s name and guidance. In the same article, Buffett enthusiastically speaks about a furniture store in Texas that he had acquired from a family-business that was set to expand store locations. He indicated that the opening of the store location poses absolutely no economic change to Berkshire’s bottom line but regardless he was incredibly happy for the family to be expanding their business (Weisenthal, 2014). While this may not seem like much, this happiness for a small business that he is partnered with indicates his strong value towards building family-owned businesses. He does not seek to tear down his competitors but rather build them up under his guidance to be better than they were before.

The third characteristic mentioned in the text is that authentic leaders “establish trusting relationships with others” (George 2003; George & Sims, 2007; Northouse, 2022, p.404). They are able to be open with themselves and express their opinions while also establishing relationships with other people. My previous point works very well here. When Buffett acquires these family-owned businesses he is able to do so easier than other companies. The primary factor for this is trust. The family-owned companies that Buffett is looking to acquire have poured a lot of time and effort in their own lives into making these companies work. As such, they are reluctant to give away something they have spent so much effort on only for it to get plundered and wiped from history. When Buffett acquires these companies he promotes a level of mutual trust and understanding between the two parties. Owners of the companies are “often willing, according to Buffett, to accept less money for the promise that their prize possession will be taken care of once sold” (Weisenthal, 2014). This indicates that the level of trust between these small business owners and Buffett is so high that they would be willing to give away their companies for less money purely because they know he is going to treasure their company. In this way, he forms highly trusting relationships with others and delivers on his promises. As I mentioned before, he was extremely enthusiastic about the opening of the new store location for one of his small business partners even though that new store location had absolutely no effect on his overall bottom line. He was just profoundly happy for the family, this level of authenticity, honesty, and kindness has led many to easily form trusting relationships with him.

The fourth characteristic that George (2003) mentions is that authentic leaders “demonstrate self-discipline and act on their values” (George, 2003; George & Sims, 2007; Northouse, 2022, p.404). Warren Buffett is one of the richest people alive and one of the very few to be classified as a billionaire. With that being said, he currently resides in the same house “he bought in 1958 for $31,500” (Garcia, 2022). While this may not seem like much, this indicates that regardless of economic status Buffett maintain an incredibly frugal disposition and lifestyle. He values frugality heavily and disciplines himself to act on those values. Another strong example of this is his car purchases. An article by GOBanking indicates that Buffett frequently buys reduced-price cars such as cars that suffer from hail damage (Garcia, 2022). This again indicates his self-discipline and value of frugality. Cars are a depreciating asset the moment you take them off the lot and as such he makes it a habit not to purchase a new car frequently. Instead he chooses to keep the cars he has as long as he can as he barely even drives (Garcia, 2022). Finally, another great example of his strong values comes in his choice of suits. The article indicates that Buffett does not buy high-end designer suits but rather goes to a custom tailor to get all his suits done. Instead of buying expensive designer suits he chooses to support a small-business. Likewise, he also states that the quality of her suits is very high and as such he is not even sacrificing anything. Finally, the article indicates that we should “Opt for quality goods that will last [us] a long time, rather than buying something just because it has a brand name attached to it” (Garcia, 2022). With these examples, it is clear to see how Buffett exemplifies his values and acts on them in his personal life. As a child, Buffett was not born into a rich family and worked very hard for his wealth so he values quality and affordability even years later when he became rich. Likewise, even after he became rich he still acts with a great degree of self-discipline and control.

The final characteristic that George (2003) highlights is that authentic leaders “are sensitive and empathetic to the plight of others” (George, 2003; George & Sims, 2007; Northouse, 2022, p.404). While I used this example a couple times throughout the post it once again fits well here. Buffett’s business values concerning family-owned businesses highlight his sensitivity and empathy toward others. When he acquires the businesses he makes an effort to have them understand that he has no intention of destroying their life’s work. He is able to acquire top tier companies for cheap prices because he is able to empathize with the plight of the family who put so much time and effort into building this business. The last thing they want to see is it get destroyed when they lose control and by promoting a sense of trust between the two parties that Buffet can assuage their fears and help smoothen the transition. The Insider article mentions a flashback that Buffett has as he “[thinks] back to August 30, 1983 – [his] birthday – when [he] went to see Mrs. B (Rose Blumkin), carrying a 11⁄4-page purchase proposal for NFM that [he] had drafted. (It’s reproduced on pages 114 – 115.) Mrs. B accepted [his] offer without changing a word, and [they] completed the deal without the involvement of investment bankers or lawyers (an experience that can only be described as heavenly)” (Weisenthal, 2014). This kind of situation almost never happens; to not involve lawyers or bankers in the acquisition of a company requires an extremely strong level of trust that can only be gained from the acquiring party being empathetic to the needs of the acquired party.

Overall, George (2003) highlighted many characteristics that authentic leaders demonstrate and helped determine the behaviors that authentic leaders have. Using these characteristics, Warren Buffet is a prime example of authentic leadership. He is able to exhibit all of the characteristics mentioned by George (2003) and is incredibly trustworthy and morally righteous. As I mentioned in the beginning of the post, these two qualities are inherent in authentic leaders and presently show up heavily in Buffett’s style of leadership.

References:

In America today, the words diversity and inclusion are amongst the major topics in the corporate workplace. America is dominated by mainly white male leaders. In today’s society, this brings up a major issue. Where is the Diversity? Why does it seem that leadership still comes from the same group of people? When will everybody finally be included in these organizations’ top brass? These questions pose major problems to top companies across America. Inclusion is a very important part of today’s society and diversity in the workplace is not only important but beneficial to almost all organizations (Northouse, 2022). While some companies have addressed these issues very well, most haven’t. For the companies that have, the first thing that shows the change is their adoption of an inclusive leadership style.

Inclusion is defined as the extent to which individuals can access information and resources, are involved in groups, and have the ability to influence decision-making processes (Northouse, 2022, p.325). Instead of focusing on difference as a commodity, inclusion is focused on the level to which individuals feel they are part of the critical processes within their organization (Northouse, 2022, p.325). When an organization has an inclusive leadership style, it will have employees and leaders that work together to create a better environment for everyone. The leaders will promote and hire people of every background, race, gender, and age and include them in all the important conversations. These people will be properly represented in every level of management and they will truly feel like they are part of the team, rather then just a person on the outside. This will put each member in the quadrant of inclusion, as described in our text (Northouse, 2022, p.326).

A big factor in creating a diverse and inclusive environment is the mindset that CEO’s and higher executives have as they restructure their companies and policies. A major thing that these individuals should be looking for in people they hire and promote is the characteristic of positive diversity cognitions. This is defined as that holding the view that differences in perspectives, experiences, and values can enhance the overall performance of the teams was essential for success (Northouse, 2022, p.330). People with these cognitions will already be accustomed to and looking for ways to work together with others that have different perspectives then them. This will lead to great collaborative projects and a new environment that allows people who were previously considered a “minority” to be involved in major portions of these companies. It will also allow them to be put in positions of recognition where they would raise their chances of promotion. This would eventually lead to a completely diverse and inclusive organization.

If these factors are all combined and utilized synchronously, then all the original questions in this blog could be answered and plans could be developed on how to fix those major issues. I personally believe that if the inclusive leadership style was indoctrinated in all major companies that we would see a rise in diversity levels across America. I also believe most employees would be more satisfied at their jobs knowing they are included in the decision making processes of the company and that their voices were being heard and represented all throughout the company!

References: 

Northouse, P.G. (2022).  Leadership: Theory and Practice.  Los Angeles: Sage Publications.