Authentic Leadership - CIPD

Authentic Leadership Fiona Beddoes-Jones The Cognitive Fitness Consultancy

“Achieve outstanding results – just by being yourself”

©The Cognitive Fitness Consultancy, 2009. All rights reserved.

www.cognitivefitness.co.uk

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Fiona Beddoes-Jones •

Background in training & development

• Business psychologist • Executive coach • Author of Thinking Styles® & Cognitive Team Roles® • Member of CIPD, IoD, BPS & ABP • Currently undertaking a PhD in Authentic Leadership



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Objectives of today’s interactive workshop To briefly explore the concept of Authentic Leadership and its relevance to you in your own leadership roles in today’s complex business environment: • To review the characteristics of Authentic Leaders • To complete an authenticity check and map your own position • To explore how becoming an Authentic Leader would transform your Leadership role • To identify and develop a route map for your own leadership development



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“There is a crisis in the quality of our leadership. Followers have lost faith in the moral and ethical integrity of their leaders”.



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How many different ‘types’ of leadership or leadership models can you think of? Can you describe each in one sentence?



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So what exactly is ‘Authentic Leadership’ and how is it different to all of the other kinds of leadership and leadership models which exist?



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What defines an “Authentic Leader”? • A review of the literature reveals lengthy descriptors of authentic leaders rather than neat definitions • “The best leaders will be transparent with their intentions, having a seamless link between their espoused values, actions and behaviours” (Luthans & Avolio, 2003) • Someone who is ‘themselves’ (George 2003) • “Leaders who are both psychologically self-aware and philosophically ethically sound” (Fiona Beddoes-Jones, 2007) ©The Cognitive Fitness Consultancy, 2009. All rights reserved.


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The ‘historical’ concept of Authentic Leadership: • Leadership is an emergent quality of character, leaders must be role models of exemplary conduct. ‘Perfection’ requires ‘careful thinking, careful speaking and careful acting’ (Confucius) • Ancient Greek Stoic philosophy of a steadfast moral response to declining civic and religious values (Novicevic et al 2006) • “Know thyself”

(Socrates)

(written over the temple at Delphi)

•To thine own (true) self be true

(A body of 16th century writings, Harter,

2003. e.g. William Shakespeare)



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The ‘modern’ concept of Authentic Leadership: • The making of ethical choices (Novicevic et al. 2006) • Authentic Leaders are characterised by trust and integrity (Iles at al. 2005, Avolio et al. 2004, Chan et al. 2005)

• Being ‘genuine’. They are ‘their own leaders’ (Shamir & Eilam, 2005) •

Possessing very high levels of self-awareness

• Therefore, it seems as if the concept and construct of Authentic Leadership has remained consistent over time



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The historical desire for Authentic Leaders: • The desire and search for leaders who are psychologically self aware and philosophically ethical goes back thousands of years and is evident across cultural boundaries • Arguably, one of the first historical figures who could be considered to be an authentic leader is Marcus Aurelius Emperor of Rome, General of the Roman legions and Stoic philosopher. His daily reflections and writings to himself; his ‘Meditations’ are still used in leadership development today



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The modern desire for Authentic Leaders: • Post 9/11 in 2001 • Post the demise of the Clinton Presidency • Post Enron in 2001 and Arthur Andersen in 2002 (and more recently Lehman Brothers in 2008) ………… or are we just becoming more demanding?



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The benefits of Authentic Leadership • Interventions made by Authentic Leaders are more favourably received by followers • Outcomes are more influential and resultant impact increased • Authentic Leadership is therefore a ‘leadership multiplier’ • Positive outcomes such as trust, optimism and the quality of relationships are all magnified by the lens of Authentic Leadership (Chan et al. 2005)



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The Characteristics of Authentic Leaders (1): • A higher ethical capacity • Honesty and integrity • Humility and modesty (Link to Level 5 Leaders, Good to Great) • The ability to judge ethical dilemmas and other issues from multiple perspectives



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The Characteristics of Authentic Leaders (2): • They are very self-aware, they have the discipline and capacity to regulate their internal self-talk and resultant leadership behaviours. They have greater levels of self-clarity and are more aware of their core beliefs and values than most other leaders (Chan et al. 2005, May et al. 2003, Luthans & Avolio 2003, Eigel & Kuhnert 2005)

• They are ‘themselves’, rather than mimicking someone else’s conception of a leader (Shamir & Eilam 2005) • They possess greater courage to act in accordance with their deeply held values than simply decent people (Verbos et al. 2007) ©The Cognitive Fitness Consultancy, 2009. All rights reserved.


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The Authentic Leadership ‘Scale’ A leader is ‘more’ or ‘less’ authentic at any given time X

Less Authentic



More Authentic

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The Authentic Leadership ‘Scale’ – 2 critical characteristics

Self-Awareness Ethical / moral integrity



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What next? 1. Complete the Authentic Leadership survey that has been distributed and discuss your results (if you choose to do so) with a colleague 2. Begin to consider the implications of what becoming an ‘Authentic’ Leader could be for you and your organisation (e.g. “If all organisations were ethical & moral and if all leaders were Authentic Leaders, there would be no need for ‘whistle blowers’” - discuss) If you would like more information on Authentic Leadership or if you would like to be kept up to date with future research as it unfolds, please contact me, Fiona Beddoes-Jones on [email protected]



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