Authentic leadership is a new idea in leadership studies, and it is an interesting and useful way to think about leadership that some people might not be aware of. According to Northouse (2021), authentic leadership “focuses on whether leadership is genuine and ‘real’” (Northouse, 2021, p. 401). However, defining what is genuine or real is not easy to do. This makes applying authentic leadership a challenge, but trying it could be very rewarding.

One approach to defining authentic leadership is using intrapersonal characteristics, such as the leader’s “self-knowledge, self-regulation, and self-concept” (Northouse, 2021, p. 402). An alternative is focusing on interpersonal characteristics, such as the relationship between a leader’s behavior and the followers’ responses (Northouse, 2021, p. 402). Finally, there is a developmental approach to defining authentic leadership, which focuses on “self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency” (Northouse, 2021, p. 403). When applying these definitions, people can use a practical approach based on real-life observations or a theoretical approach using academic research (Northouse, 2021, p. 403).

The practical approach might be more familiar to people who read about leadership, but the theoretical approach is interesting. One version of tis approach is by Walumbwa (2008), who identified the following aspects of authentic leadership: promoting positive psychological responses, developing good self-awareness, having a consistent moral outlook, processing information in a balanced way, and finally engaging in effort toward self-improvement (Northouse, 2021, p. 410).

An example of authentic leadership that helps to illustrate these ideas is Martin Luther King, Jr. King was a Civil Rights leader who became the symbol of the movement (Kanter, 2010). He came from a background as an African American Christian minister, but many other followers found him to be authentic and inspiring (Kanter, 2010). He promoted positive psychological responses in himself and in others by talking about his dream for what America could be (Kanter, 2010). He understood himself and his limits, and so he realized that he needed to work together with coalitions to achieve his goals (Kanter, 2010). His moral outlook was strong and consistent in the sense that he consistently took the position that all people deserved equality but that hatred was not the answer to unequal conditions (Kanter, 2010). He risked his own well-being and ultimately his life, showing commitment (Kanter, 2010). While he was not a perfect person and had some moral flaws, most people responded to him by feeling he was genuine and authentic, at least about the issues that he worked on (Kanter, 2010).

References

Kanter, R.M. (2010) Leadership and Martin Luther King’s dream. Harvard Business Review,

Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Northouse (2022) states that rather than leaders directing followers, inclusive approaches establish norms of active consultation and participation, which drive shared decision making within a team or organization (Northouse, 2022, p. 324). I would consider myself to be an inclusive leader as I was a manager within a store and had direct actions of establishing inclusion and promoting and value all types of differences amongst employees (Northouse, 2022, p. 322). Inclusive leaders have the ability to show characteristics of genuinely caring about their employees and are open to any change (Rawe, n.d.). There are 6 traits of an inclusive leader that help employees feel comfortable which include, commitment, courage, awareness, curiosity, cultural intelligence, and collaboration (Rawe, n.d.) Having these characteristics gives an inclusive leader the ability to have characteristics that include, cognitive complexity, pro-diversity beliefs, and leader personality factors (Northouse, 2022, p. 329). 

In a workplace, employees’ trust must be earned and to build a truly inclusive workplace, leaders need to show personal commitment and take responsibility for making it happen (Rawe, n.d.).  Commitment has been proven to improve diversity and inclusion by treating all team members the same, holding yourself accountable for improving diversity and Inclusion, and understanding what makes individuals unique, and ensuring they feel connected to the team (Rawe, n.d.). Northouse (2022), views inclusion as the focus point of the relationship between a leader and a follower that is characterized by high levels of both belonging and uniqueness (Northouse, 2022, p. 327). Knowing this, when I was a manager in my workplace it was difficult for me to adjust to not always being right and learn to be open to change. I knew I had to show commitment to my team if I wanted to create not only effective employees, but a team. There were instances where there was exclusion and inclusion. After seeing these actions come from my employees I made an immediate change by creating groups of different races, religions, and cultures. By doing this, it improved diversity by embracing and advocating the differences from person to person within the workplace and also proving to other employees that having a variety of people doesn’t change the value of them or the uniqueness they bring to the team (Northouse, 2022, 326).

Having the qualities of an inclusive leader also has its downsides but through courage, it can be improved if not corrected. Having the courage to admit you don’t have all the answers on what needs to be changed (Rawe, n.d.). There are a couple actions that can be taken to ensure a manager is not thinking they are the only wise in the group, this includes, seeking feedback from employees, showing humanity and admitting when wrong actions were taken (Rawe, n.d.). Personally it was difficult at first for me to realize if I had made a mistake because my followers were too scared and ashamed to stand up to me. There was an instance one day at work where I noticed a change in my employees attitudes towards me. I had made the effort to call each of them into my office and seek feedback as to if I had done anything wrong. I came to the conclusion that the list I provided them to complete was felt to be unfair to them as different shifts had different amounts of work. I admitted my fault as the list indeed was not even, which made this current shift feel excluded and they felt they were being punished. After having these conversations and feedback, I redid the list and apologized to each employee for the inconvenience. My employees knew something needed to be changed within this list, and it is my duty as an inclusive leader to admit I don’t know everything when it comes to how to change something effectively (Northouse, 2022, p. 328).  Showing these steps also showed awareness of bias as I learned to carefully split the list to ensure fair play and develop an understanding of different kinds of personal biases (Rawe, n.d.).  Having the employees come into my office also showed a sense of curiosity as I was open to any suggestions they had as to how to make the list fair. Most of them reported that the morning shift is the most busy so the list should be limited, and others reported that the evening shift and morning shift should be split, regardless of how busy. I was trying to show a desire for continuous learning and improvement as I wanted their feedback because I want them to have trust in me to show them that I can accept my own limitations and seek diverse perspectives (Rawe, n.d.).

When having the ability to show an increase in diversity and inclusion by splitting them into different groups of races, religions, and cultures, It had the ability to show confidence in lead- cultural teams, which can be defined as cultural intelligence (Rawe, n.d.). This could include, valuing cultural differences and seeking opportunities to learn about other cultures, and accepting that people might need to change their behavior to navigate cross- cultural interactions (Rawe, n.d.).  By having this characteristic, I have the ability to understand the different cultures that can help me better understand employees from different backgrounds and help interact more effectively. I have many different backgrounds that come to work for me and I have done my homework to ensure I make them comfortable. It is important to focus on how individuals can relate and work across cultures (Northouse, 2022, p. 330). When I first hired them, I made it a priority to ask questions about their backgrounds and culture, so I could better understand them. Also, by putting them in groups for different work assignments, it gives my employees the ability to learn from each other and truly share where they come from that has a value to them. When having a characteristic of cultural intelligence, hiring all forms of backgrounds to create more diversity, and understanding how I can relate to them, provides a sense of comfort to the employees that I could possibly need to make adjustments to ensure I further understand cross- cultural intelligence (Rawe, n.d.).  

This also takes me to collaboration as it empowers people to challenge and build on each other’s ideas. By splitting them up into these groups, it avoided the appearance of favoritism amongst members, and built trust so everyone feels comfortable speaking (Rawe, n.d.). I try to build trust with my employees as much as possible, even when I am trying to deal with difficult situations in a manager’s position. I like to do activities with them when we are free that focuses on collaboration by including everyone and celebrating any wins/ rewards we receive, because we are not individuals working together, we are a team. As a team, we have set goals and objections and when we reach our goal, I celebrate with them because everyone provided and this also creates a sense of inclusion because everyone is valued for their unique as and contributions (Northouse, 2022, p. 327). When teams engage in inclusive collaboration, it means that team members align on common goals and also on interpersonal norms that ensure success for both individuals and the group as a whole (Rawe, n.d.).  I will always encourage collaboration by seeking diversity in my workplace by allowing everyone to contribute, no matter the background and respecting differences by offering employees a variety of ways to contribute opinions and ideas (Rawe, n.d.). 

Northouse (2022) states that, “Randel et al. (2018) propose that a leaders pro-diversity beliefs- the degree to which a leader sees diversity in groups as beneficial and is able to recognize each person’s differences as strengths- are influential to the leaders propensity to engage in inclusive leadership.” (Northouse, 2022, p. 328). This belief ensures the idea that diversity has an instrumental value to the group. As an inclusive leader as a manager, Being pro-diversity is essential as it can improve organizational learning through new perspectives and facilitate creative solutions for tasks and improve intergroup attitudes (Northouse, 2022, p. 329). Diversity and inclusion in the workplace allows all employees to feel accepted and valued, having this can cause employees to feel happier in their workplace. This is because there are more people with different perspectives and solutions to problems, allowing for a greater chance of a workable solution to a workplace problem (Northouse, 2022, p. 328). Cognitive complexity is the ability to analyze situations in different ways that can enhance a leader’s ability to recognize member differences as strengths as well as ways to incorporate them into a workplace (Northouse, 2022, p. 329). With me believing I am an inclusive leader, having cognitive complexity is a must as being able to incorporate different values, attitudes, and backgrounds also creates creativity and a sense of inclusion (Northouse, 2022, p. 327). Some leaders may feel there is only one way to compete a task, but inclusive leaders show the ability to incorporate other approaches and releasing my way is not always “right”, which ties into the 6 characteristics that allow employees to feel they have the ability to speak up and fit in (Northouse 2022, p. 327). Finally, leader personality factors such as agreeableness and openness to new experiences have been shown to influence individuals diversity orientation (Northouse, 2022, p. 329). Valuing individuals in a workplace shows they have the correct contributions to the team and emphasizes the groups identity and goals, that will later increase the likelihood that a leader will engage in incisive leadership (Northouse, 2022, p. 330). 

Showing inclusion and diversity in a workplace, as a manager, has the ability to establish norms, which drive shared decision making within a team or organization (Northouse, 2022, p. 324).  I had direct actions of establishing inclusion and promotion of all values of types of differences amongst employees by splitting my teams up in groups by split races, religions, and cultures, and also considered critical feedback that could potentially allow my employees to feel valued and safe within their teams. It is important to show genuine care and openness to any change within my organization to effectively show inclusive leadership (Rawe, n.d.). There are six traits within an inclusive leader that will show the ability if they can effectively make their employees feel comfortable and valued, which include, commitment, courage, awareness, curiosity, cultural intelligence, and collaboration (Rawe, n.d.). By showing these 6 traits, employees will have the ability to open up to you and build a trust that can be used to help better understand different backgrounds and how the workplace can better be run. Also, by showing these 6 traits, it gives an inclusive leader the ability to be more efficient in pro- diversity beliefs, cognitive complexity, and leader personality factors (Northouse, 2022, p. 329). 

Works Cited

Rawe, J. (n.d.). Inclusive leadership – how to build an inclusive workplace. Understood. Retrieved April 17, 2022, from https://www.understood.org/en/articles/what-inclusive-leadership-looks-like-and-how-to-practice-it

Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership: Theory and practice. SAGE Publications, Inc.

 

 

 

Citing Walumbwa et al., Northouse (2022) defines authentic leadership as “a pattern of leader behavior that draws upon and promotes both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, to foster greater self-awareness, an internalized moral perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with followers, fostering positive self-development,” (p. 227). In the United States of America, there is no greater an identifiable leader than the President, and none whose leadership demands authenticity more. Sadly, the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, is not an authentic leader and after the first year of his presidency the country has devolved in chaos and death at the southern border, extreme division, and record-breaking crime and inflation.

Northouse (2022) notes that the research of Walumbwa et al., identified four components of authentic leadership: self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency (p. 227). Critically, self-awareness refers to the process individuals go through in order to understand who they are, at the deepest level of consciousness (Northouse, 2022). Self-awareness requires one to know and truly believe in what they stand for, why they stand for it and how their values and motivations impact their followers. Northouse (2022) explicates, “Self-awareness includes reflecting on your core values, identity, emotions, motives, and goals,” and “being aware of and trusting your own feelings,” (p. 227). At its foundation, self-awareness encompasses emotional intelligence, and one’s ability to reflect on past experiences combined with high emotional intelligence, is essential in developing authenticity (Northouse, 2022). Biden is lacking in self-awareness and does not understand his own motives and goals. Given Biden’s personality characteristics, the research of Griebie and Immelman (2021) found that “When disagreements occur, they attempt to smooth things over, even when they must sacrifice ground, compromise their own desires, or concede important points,” (p. 16).

Internalized moral perspective is a self-regulation process in which individuals hold themselves true to their moral standards, regardless of external influences and attempts to alter their beliefs (Northouse, 2022). However, Biden has proven himself to be easily swayed by external influences on topics such as immigration, energy independence, and foreign relations. Biden’s second most elevated scale on the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC) Scale was Scale 4 (Accommodating), (Griebie & Immelman, 2021). By citing Millon, Griebie and Immelman (2021) note that “Accommodating personalities in the adaptive range of the pattern tend to demand little from others, are relatively uncritical, and are invariably gracious, even to those they may dislike (p. 13). This is evident in Biden’s actions based on his reluctance to supply Ukraine with needed defense weaponry for fear of provoking Russian President Putin, his willingness to have open borders and his willingness to partner with Russia to broker and enter into a new Iranian nuclear deal risking the existence of Israel. Further cause for concern, Griebie and Immelman (2021) explain that given his MDIC scale scores, “President Biden is likely to be overly open to influence, which could render him unduly vulnerable to manipulation by pressure groups in his own party and impede his leadership effectiveness in negotiations or conflicts with foreign adversaries.

Northouse (2022) defines balanced processing, another self-regulation process, as “an individual’s ability to analyze information objectively and explore other people’s opinions before making decisions,” (p. 229). On the MDIC Scale, Biden’s most elevated scale was Scale 3 (Outgoing), (Griebie & Immelman, 2021). Unreflectiveness and avoiding introspective thought is a core diagnostic feature of Outgoing individuals (Griebie & Immelman, 2021). Griebie and Immelman (2021) explicate:

They are not paragons of deep thinking or self-reflection and tend to speak and write in impressionistic generalities; though talkative, they tend to avoid earnest or complex matters and their words may lack detail and substance. In politics, more extreme variants of the Outgoing pattern may be associated with lapses of judgment and flawed decision making (p. 11).

Another self-regulating behavior, relational transparency, refers to an individual’s ability to be open and honest, allowing others to see their feelings, beliefs and motives in an appropriate manner, including both, the positives and negatives (Northouse, 2022). Northouse (2022) notes that “Authentic leaders often express their genuine emotions and values through telling stories about their pasts,” (p. 230). It is clear given all of the lies associated with Biden’s past, that authentic leadership escapes his abilities. For example, during a campaign speech, he claimed he graduated in the top half of his law class yet records clearly indicate that he graduated 76^th in a class of 85 (Associated Press, 2021). Much more dangerous than lies about his academic prowess, in response to confrontation regarding his son Hunter’s laptop, Biden knowingly lied telling the American people that it was just Russian disinformation (Golding, 2022). What Biden was lying to protect were the ties between his son, himself and his families ties to America’s enemies and monies they received from them, indicating a level of corruption never before seen from a sitting American President.

Given the four components of authentic leadership, self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency, and President Joe Biden’s demonstration of these components over the course of his career and more specifically, his presidency, it is clear that Biden has failed as an authentic leader. One of the strengths of authentic leadership is its ability to “fulfill an expressed need for trustworthy leadership in society,” (Northouse, 2022, p. 232). Biden’s lies and failures have done nothing to fulfill this expressed need and the American public is becoming increasingly more dissatisfied with his leadership.  Northouse (2022) explains that there is a moral dimension to authentic leadership – “it requires leaders to do what is ‘right’ and ‘good’ for their followers and society,” (p. 233). President Biden has yet to understand or demonstrate this explicit moral dimension.

References

Associated Press. (2021, April 20). Null. AP NEWS. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/cd977f7ff301993f7976974ba07c5495.

Golding, B. (2022, March 22). Barr: Biden ‘lied to the American people’ about his son Hunter’s emails. New York Post. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2022/03/21/barr-biden-lied-to-the-american-people-about-his-hunters-emails/.

Griebie, A., & Immelman, A. (2021, July). The personality profile and leadership style of U.S. president Joe Biden. Paper presented at the 44th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, July 11–13, 2021 (virtual conference). https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/ 132/

Northouse, P.G. (2022). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1-5443-9756-6.

Transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms people (PSU WC, L10 p. 2). Transformational leadership is concerned with the process of how certain leaders are able to inspire followers to accomplish goals (Northouse, 2021, p. 340). In doing so, transformational leadership focuses on emotions, values, ethics, standard and long-term goals of both the leader and his/her followers (Northouse, 2021, p. 340). Transformational leaders should have the following characteristics: vision; rhetorical skills; image and trust building; and personalized leadership (PSU WC, L10 p. 3). Followers of transformational leaders also have distinct characteristics such as identification with leader and vision; heightened emotional levels; willing subordination to the leader; and feelings of empowerment (PSU WC, L10 p. 3). The last factor involved with transformational leadership is the situation (PSU WC, L10 p. 3). Situational characteristics of transformational leadership consists of crises and task interdependence (PSU WC, L10 p. 3). 

 

Bass (1985) provided a model of transformational leadership that suggested that leadership appears on a continuum (Northouse, 2021, p. 348). He suggested that leaders are either transactional, transformational, laissez-fiare, or somewhere in between (Northouse, 2021, p. 348). As mentioned above, transformational leaders have a strong set of internal values (PSU WC, L10 p. 4). Transformational leaders are charismatic; inspirational; and intellectual (PSU WC, L10 p. 4). Transactional leadership involves the exchange of goods with followers to advance the leaders agenda (PSU WC, L10 p. 4). And laissez-faire leaders do not necessarily lead, instead they leave follows to their own devices (PSU WC, L10 p. 4). Furthermore, Bass (1985) model suggests that transformational leaders should motivate followers to achieve more than what is expected (Northouse, 2021 p. 348). In doing this, leaders should raise followers awareness regarding the importance and value of the specified goal; encourage followers to set aside their own self-interest for the sake of the team or organization; and push followers to address higher-level needs  (Bass, 1985, p. 20 as cited in Northouse, 2021 pp. 348-349). 

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr leadership style is consistent with transformational leadership. He aimed to change and transform the people of the United States. He dreamed of a society in which everyone was considered equal with equal opportunities, and he was not only concerned with the rights of black people, but more inclusively he was focused on the rights of all people. As mentioned above, transformational leadership is a process, one that can be learned and developed, for how leaders inspire followers to accomplish larger than life goals (Northouse, 2021, p. 340). Dr. King is famously known for his persuasive speeches, which is another quality that holds consistent with transformational leadership. Dr. King utilized his rhetorical skills to articulate a vision to the United States. 

 

As mentioned above, followers of transformational leaders also have distinct characteristics to identify with their leader’s and vision; heightened emotional levels; willing subordination to the leader; and feelings of empowerment (PSU WC, L10 p. 3). Dr. King’s followers are consistent with all of these characteristics. His followers definitely had willingness of subordination which is seen through the mere fact that they chose King to lead this movement. The last factor of transformational leadership, the situation, is consistent with the characteristics of Dr. Kings movement. As mentioned above, situational characteristics of transformational leadership consist of crises and task interdependence (PSU WC, L10 p. 3). The crises that the United States was facing at the time was inequality for people of color. And the task interdependence can be seen through Kings followers carrying out his vision. 

 

Transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms people and is concerned with the process of how certain leaders are able to inspire followers to accomplish goals (Northouse, 2021, p. 340). Today we can see, that Dr. King inspired his followers to accomplish the vision he laid out in the 1960s. Dr. King was in fact a transformational leader. King focused on the emotions, values, ethics, standard and long-term goals of his followers and utilized this knowledge to articulate a vision. Dr. Kings leadership is also consistent with all three factors of transformational leadership: leader, followers, and the situation. 

 

References

Northouse, P. G. (2021).  Leadership (9th Edition).  SAGE Publications, Inc (US)

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). Lesson 10: Transformational Leadership. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991759

Authentic leadership has three different definitions: interpersonal, intrapersonal, and developmental (PSU WC, 2022, L. 12). The first two, as stated in the lesson commentary are trait based however, by definition, it’s not taught. The intrapersonal perspective “emphasizes a leader’s life experiences and the meaning that the individual attaches to those experiences as being critical to the development of the authentic leader” (Northouse, 2022, p. 222). The interpersonal perspective examines the “authenticity emerges from the interactions between leaders and followers. It is a reciprocal process because leaders affect followers and followers affect leaders” (Northouse, 2022, p. 222). The developmental perspective focuses on “a pattern of leader behavior that develops from and is grounded in the leader’s positive psychological qualities and strong ethics” (Northouse, 2022, p. 222).

Leaders are never entirely authentic or inauthentic. Instead, they are more described as achieving levels of authenticity (Gardner, Cogliser, Davis, & Dickens, 2011). The role of a leader is challenging, requiring a prominent level of energy, motivation, resolve, and persistence. According to leadership researchers Shamir and Eilam (2005), “To find the motivation to lead and the energy to persist in the face of obstacles and setbacks, leaders need to operate from strong convictions and a high level of self-concept clarity” (p. 399).

Authenticity can involve being true to oneself, and not others, so it can presume that it is too much authenticity can result in self-promoting behavior that can be toxic to organizations. This contradicts the essence of authentic leadership theory, which is to sacrifice personal interests for group goals and interests.

Authentic leadership behavior should flow from the top of the organization down to the most junior subordinate. Authentic leaders view accomplishing tasks and developing subordinates as equally important. They develop themselves, so follower development is genuine and a regular part of the process.

Authentic leadership directs by principles. These are values put into action and represent an orientation toward doing what is right for the organization (George, Sims, McLean, & Mayer, 2007; Northouse, 2022, p. 223). There are five characteristics that authentic leaders make up, there is a sense of purpose that keeps them motivated to be passionate about the work they do and why they are doing it, their values are strong enough to behave towards doing the right thing, thirdly, leaders build a relationship that allows them to make a connection with others, authentic leaders have a control of self-discipline that allows them to have the consistency to remain calm and cool, lastly there is a sensitive characteristic that allows them to be compassion and have a heart to help others (Northouse, 2022, pp. 223-224). A value such as respect can translate into a leadership principle such as creating a work environment where everyone treats others with dignity, also there is respected opinions, and recognized talent.

Authentic leaders remain aware of their vulnerabilities and openly discuss them with seniors and peers, so the leader can be sure they head in the right direction, at the same time becoming more self-aware. Authentic leaders have the moral capacity to judge complex issues seeking multiple solutions without being as dishonest or shifting with popular opinion. Finally, authentic leaders are less likely to feel the need to take center stage or demand anyone’s attention — they are humble (May, Hodges, Chan, & Avolio, 2003).

Since authentic leadership consider a root construct and underlies all positive approaches to leadership, including transformational and servant leadership theories, it could be beneficial to add it to the existing leadership curriculum in both officer and noncommissioned officer education systems. Authentic leadership development is not a learning leadership in a day program; therefore, formal education early in one’s career. In addition to formal education, improving one’s authentic leadership, as well as self-awareness, will require a continuous commitment to development. Soldiers tend to imitate or model leaders they aspire to be like. Team leaders, for example, try to be like their favorite squad leader. Platoon sergeants want to be like the best first sergeant in the battalion, and there on.

In the end, leadership involves modeling the way for others. Followers transform because they believe their leader authentically cares about the development of their subordinates and the success of the organization. Leaders will retain trust so long as they are transparent, predictable, have a clear morality, stay flexible, are willing to comply and make compromises, fulfill role requirements and job expectations, and remain loyal to the group rather than having a strict personal agenda. Authentic leadership can have a fundamental and positive impact not just within an immediate organization, but also future organizations mentor subordinates to become authentic leaders.

Reference:

Gardner, W. L., Cogliser, C. C., Davis, K. M., & Dickens, M. P. (2011). Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(6), 1120-1145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.09.007

May, D. R., Hodges, T. D., Chan, A. Y. L., & Avolio, B. J. (2003). Developing the moral component of authentic leadership. Organizational Dynamics, 32(3), 247–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(03)00032-9

Northouse, P.G. (2022).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 12. Authentic Leadership. Authentic Leadership Defined. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991784

Shamir, B., & Eilam, G. (2005). “What’s your story?” A life-stories approach to authentic leadership development. Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 395–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.005