Authentic Leadership

Effective leadership cannot be merely attained by possessing the traits of an authentic leader. We should also put into consideration a healthy environment to work in. A leader should also have good followers for his decisions and actions to be effective.

Probably the weakness of an authentic leader arises when there are cultural differences and if his personality is weak, not influencing his followers well enough. Looking at the Philippine hospital seeting, I can see that authentic leadership will be very useful in the field. The focus of the leaders is transferred from “ME” to “THEM” first.

for such leadership to be effective, i think their should be a good agreement and collaboration among the members. things external (resources, structure of organization etc) to individuals are also significant to consider because they facilitate how such action would be carried out.

based from the reading, achieving all the qualities at the same time requires a great effort from an individual. i think it is quite hard to be someone like that, having all the traits just to become effective in leadership...

i must say that authentic leadership model would be effective and appropriate if we all take the best effort in achieving it. but then, like what I've said, it is hard to be someone like that... bit it's not what matters, what is important is for us to try and help one another for a common goal....

As Stated in the article of Wong and Cummings, Authentic leaders may exhibit any leadership trait as long as the purpose is to impress upon others his willingness to serve and get the confidence of the people through transparency and trust building. The kind of leadership that you show makes you an authentic leader because your experiences and beliefs defined who you are and while you may find others having gone through the same experience as you have, we are all different in many ways.

Authenticity is the "State of being committed to the truth."

An authentic leader is a person who chooses to live a life of integrity. They are not only honest in relationship with others but most importantly they are honest and true to themselves.

It is easy to describe what an authentic leader is, but to be one is a great challenge. Something that you cannot become overnight. Through experiences we learn , we develop, we adjust and evolve. By studying and consciously making an effort to practice in various environments anyone can improve their leadership skills and grow as an effective leader.

http://www.ahigherself.com.au

In my opinion, being an authentic leader is not enough to become an effective leader since not all people has this characteristic of being authentic and each person are different from one another. Therefore in order to be an effective leader we have to balance different leadership style that is appropriate to a situation

I think the weakness of being an authentic leader is that it focuses more on the good qualities that a leaders has and that may affect his/her followers in the process.

I think authentic leadership is useful one way or another but not be all the time. There are other leadership models that can be applied in the health care setting depending on what the situation is. that may be helpful in creating and sustaining a healthy environment for health care professionals and patients as well

chel_calvelo wrote:
For me the weakness of being an authentic leader is that it focuses on the positive traits of the leader. Maybe they should also address the negative ones to make it more realistic. Nobody’s perfect. Every human being can commit a mistake which is out of their control. And this mistake can be a tool to learn more and become a better person.

Thanks for response Ms. Calvelo, "I agree with your response that every human being can commit a mistake which is out of their control. And this mistake can be a tool to learn more and become a better person." In your own point of view what is biggest mistake of an authentic leader could commit to make him not authentic?

I think it depends on the person of what kind of leadership he/she will use that will fits him/her in a specific situation. It’s not necessary to just follow the authentic leadership style even if you’re not comfortable with it. Anyway you can lead even in your own simple ways.
For me the weakness of being an authentic leader is that it focuses on the positive traits of the leader. Maybe they should also address the negative ones to make it more realistic. Nobody’s perfect. Every human being can commit a mistake which is out of their control. And this mistake can be a tool to learn more and become a better person.
As a future nurse leader, I can see that authentic leadership can be useful in hospital setting. It addresses the interpersonal relationship between the leader and its followers that I think can contribute to a healthy work environment that recipients’ of care can benefit from.

carlo_0829 wrote:AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
Is it enough to become an authentic leader to become effective in terms leadership?

Yes. As what I have said in my previous discussion authenticity can be the sole criteria of being an effective leader. It means offering yourself, caring with your whole heart.

What do you think is the possible weakness of being an authentic leader?

I you are talking about the person being authentic, I guess there is no weakness at all. However if you would apply it to research, you could find weaknesses. Because of its subjectivity, you can only feel it and never see it with your eyes. That will make it hard to measure.

As a future nurse leader, seeing health care system and health care workforce scenario in the Philippines, is authentic leadership model useful in hospital setting?

Definitely yes. The literature proved that health care is in constant search for an effective leadership style that would respond to the call for strong, positive nursing leadership. Authentic leadership is giving us hope that we can possibly find the ideal nursing leadership style that would help the health care system a better working environment for all.

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP

Authentic leadership is an emerging theoretical model purported to focus on the root component of effective leadership (Wong C., 2009). Being an authentic leader is a cornerstone of building a spiritually intelligent workplace. To be authentic is to be real, to be genuine. If we consider that the opposite of authentic is phony or fake, then most people would vote for authenticity. It's like a counterfeit coin, which doesn't buy us anything once it is discovered, whereas an authentic coin is highly valuable. Personal authenticity breeds trust, commitment and loyalty in a work group. Teams that practice authenticity are stronger, more productive and experience less interpersonal friction than those that are - well, inauthentic (Robertson, K., n.d.).
The notion of authenticity (“know thyself”) has Greek roots, encapsulated by Shakespeare in Hamlet's: “To thine own self be true” (Avolio et al., 2004, p. 801). For authentic leaders to share transparently and act with integrity requires self-awareness (Hughes, 2005). Authentic leadership originated with the work of Kernis (2003), who conceptualized authenticity as important to delineating optimal self-esteem. He described four underlying elements for the authenticity construct:

1. Self-awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses, emotions, and values.
2. Unbiased processing of self relevant information or an objective acceptance of one's attributes.
3. Authentic behavior or “acting in accord with one's true self” (p. 13).
4. Relational authenticity: striving for and attaining openness and honesty in close relationships.

Kernis referenced Carl Rogers (1961) concept of self-actualizing individuals who are tolerant of ambiguity, open to experience, adaptable, and flexible. This definition of authenticity was reinterpreted into four components for authentic leadership on a continuum from more to less authentic rather than and either/or condition (Gardner et al., 2005).

In 2005, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses released a landmark publication specifying 6 standards (skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership) necessary to establish and sustain healthy work environments in healthcare. Authentic leadership was described as the "glue" needed to hold together a healthy work environment. Now, the roles and relationships of authentic leaders in the healthy work environment are clarified as follows: An expanded definition of authentic leadership and its attributes (eg, genuineness, trustworthiness, reliability, compassion, and believability) is presented. Mechanisms by which authentic leaders can create healthy work environments for practice (eg, engaging employees in the work environment to promote positive behaviors) are described. A practical guide on how to become an authentic leader is advanced. A research agenda to advance the study of authentic leadership in nursing practice through collaboration between nursing and business is proposed (Shirey, M., 2006).

In Asia, Reardon (1995) classified leadership styles into four types: Commanding, Logical, Inspirational and Supportive. Leaders with a commanding style tend to ‘take charge and make rapid changes’. Logical are more analytical; carefully formulate plans for incremental changes. Inspirational are creative people who empower others by inviting them to share in their visions. They introduce radical ideas and persuade others by creating trust. Supportive leaders want to please other people. They facilitate work, encourage openness and seek staff consensus in decision-making.

Filipino leadership style doesn't differ from other nationality, since much of what we know of leadership has come from Western and Japanese sources with a smattering of European sources. American and Japanese models of leadership constitute Filipino ideas of what is good leadership. Hence, being a leader has the ability to affect human behaviour so as to accomplish a mission designated by the leader itself. Being effective should encompass a characteristic of an authentic leader since effective leadership reflects on the outcome of the workforce that has been influenced by the attitudes and traits of the leader who directed it.

GUIDE QUESTIONS:

1. Is it enough to become an authentic leader to become effective in terms leadership?
2. What do you think is the possible weakness of being an authentic leader?
3. As a future nurse leader, seeing health care system and health care workforce scenario in the Philippines, is authentic leadership model useful in hospital setting?


REFERENCES:

Robertson, K. (n.d.). Seven Characteristic of an Authentic Leader. Retrieved on October 2010, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Seven-Characteristics-of-an-Authentic-Leader&id=1841038

Shirey, M. (2006). Authentic Leaders Creating Healthy Work Environments for Nursing Practice. Retrieved on October 2010, from http://ajcc.aacnjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/15/3/256

Wong C. (2009). Authentic leadership: a new theory for or back to basics?. Retrieved on October 2010, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1811787&show=abstract

Zhang, W., Tsui, C., Jegede, O., Ng, F. & Kowk, L. (2000). A Comparison of Distance Education in Selected Asian Open Universities. Retrieved on October 2010, from http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/cridal/gdenet/Management/Governance/EAM11A.html