2.1 Attributes of authentic leadership

This idea of the naturally ethical leader was operationalised by Walumbwa et al. (2008) into a definition of authentic leadership that could be tested through a psychometric questionnaire. The authors (2008, p. 94) define authentic leadership as ‘a pattern of behaviour that draws upon both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, to foster’ four key attributes:

1. Greater self-awareness. Leaders should be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and correct themselves accordingly.
2. An internalised moral perspective. Leaders should be driven by a strong sense of their morality and stay true to this.
3. Balanced processing of information. Leaders should try to see beyond the limits of their own and others’ worldviews by offering balanced interpretations of the world before acting.
4. Relational transparency. Leaders should be open and honest about their values and what informs their decision-making.

As with many of these person-based theories, there is value that you can extract from it. Such value can be assessed through considering the opposite – or deficits – in all of these four categories. Imagine working in a place that awarded a lack of self-awareness, incentivised immoral actions, only cared about the views of senior executives and that maintained strict secrecy around decision-making – it would be disempowering, to say the least. Clearly these attributes of authentic leadership do have some value. However, you also need to consider some serious defects associated with the theory.