By Tracie Shepherd and Nanette Swarthout
According to Psychology Today, authenticity is the practice of aligning one’s “actions with their core values and beliefs with the hope of discovering, and then acting in sync with, their true selves.” That’s a lofty description and aspiration! What exactly does it mean? What does authenticity look like? Experts don’t readily agree on the meaning or measurement of authenticity, but Kernis and Goldman’s research and Authenticity Inventory provide evidence and objectivity around the concept. Their inventory objectively measures authenticity in terms of four dimensions in order to quantify one’s ability to behave genuinely, transparently and empathetically:
- Self-awareness: Knowledge of and trust in your own motives, emotions, preferences and abilities
- Unbiased processing: Clarity in evaluating your strengths and weaknesses without denial or blame
- Behavior: Acting in ways congruent with your own values and needs, even at the risk of criticism or rejection
- Relational orientation: Close relationships, which inherently require openness and honesty
Leading authentically takes intentionality, time and practice, and even characteristically good leaders struggle with authenticity. Like Kernis and Goldman, Sarkar (2019) defines authentic leadership as “a pattern of leadership behavior that promotes self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing and relational transparency.” Sarkar also seems to suggest that authenticity is not necessarily attainable by every leader. In fact, the presence of certain external precursors may increase the tendency of authentic leadership development and practice:
- Meaningful work – Alignment of purpose, values and work
- Family support – Stability of home life and support of family
- Challenging life events – Times where life becomes difficult and inner strength is challenged
Leaders who can check the boxes for meaningful work, family support and challenging life events are more likely to behave genuinely, transparently and empathetically – that is, they’re more likely to be authentic leaders.
One such leader is Dr. Karen Fisher. After landing her dream job straight out of college, achieving promotions by age 30 that many don’t reach until much later, and earning a doctorate in organizational development, solving problems and achieving success appeared to be routine habits. Karen found purpose and meaning in her work and was grateful for the support of her husband, Todd, as she grew into an accomplished and distinguished leader. Life was complete and fulfilling – until it wasn’t.
Rather than cloaking or disregarding their sense of something’s missing here, Karen and Todd embarked on an adoption journey that would lead them halfway around the world to find their two precious sons. Karen had an idea of how things would go with this new family gig and life would be Norman-Rockwell picture-perfect. However, when one child was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, she faced the most challenging event of her life, and she credits that same hardship with making her a better leader – an authentic leader. Watch her TEDx talk at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyA4-FJybQ.
Impacts of Authentic Leadership
Authentic leadership doesn’t have to be isolated to certain teams or departments, especially given the organization-wide importance of the factors below that are positively impacted:
Individual employee experience: Authentic leaders build diverse teams and cultivate an environment of inclusivity. They invite, respect, listen to and value each team member’s unique contributions. In turn, the employee’s willingness and eagerness to participate grows. They’re more likely to confidently add their voice to the mix and generously share their talents.
Organizational culture: A strong positive culture is powerful, and authentic leaders reinforce this through a people-first philosophy. People are prioritized over profits. Positivity grows as employees are supported and recognized. Regular collaboration, celebration and recalibration (well-being) is a way of life. Followers of an authentic leader are routinely exposed to values-driven attitudes, decisions and motives and are entrusted and expected to behave similarly.
Employer reputation: In this age of lightning-fast communication with the technological ability of one person to promote a message to potentially thousands (or more) of others, organizations must intentionally drive their reputation narrative and measure the impact. Employees are ambassadors of the organization’s reputation, and those led authentically “can share their experiences, opinions and recommendations with their networks, and influence the perception of your organization as a place to work” (LinkedIn article).
Benefits of Authentic Leadership
The synergy produced from a rich employee experience, shared culture and positive employer reputation can yield beneficial results for the organization and its people – even more reasons to appreciate authentic leadership practices.
Builds trust – Leaders who lead from a position of authenticity make routine deposits in their shared trust account with employees. Such relationship-building fosters trust between leader and followers, and when trust is present, leaders can implement change efforts more effectively. Authentic leaders highly value the trust put in them by employees and honor that trust by engaging in transparent communication and reliable behavior (doing what they said they would do) – all of which are key ingredients in a rich and meaningful employee experience.
Drives employee engagement: A Willis Towers Watson survey listed one of the top drivers of employee engagement as “leadership takes a sincere interest in employees’ well-being, behaves consistently with organization’s core values, and is effective at growing the business.” Authentic leaders contribute to engaged employees – those employees who have moved beyond mere satisfaction and now exhibit enthusiasm and passion for their work. Authentic leadership practices – internal processing, values-based behavior, and people-first attitude – build trust between leader and followers.
At a minimum, given the post-pandemic thirst for genuine connection in our broader culture as well as in our organizations, current or aspiring leaders should examine their capacity for leading authentically. Even if leaders stop short of adopting an authentic leadership approach, those who seek to sharpen their skills or develop their careers will benefit from becoming more self-aware, practicing unvarnished introspection, behaving consistent with values, and choosing relationships with people over profits.
Tracie Shepherd, Ph.D., SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Senior Faculty, School of Business
Western Governors University
[email protected]
Nanette Swarthout, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Senior Faculty, School of Business
Western Governors University
nanette.swarthout@wgu.edu