Developing authentic leadership in organizations: some insights and observations

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the emerging concept of authentic leadership and provide some insights into its domain and development in organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper sees that authentic leadership has become a recent buzzword finding its way into scientific journals, popular press, and newspaper columns.

Findings

The paper finds that the study of authentic leadership is relatively new; a working definition, a method of measurement, and criterion‐based studies do not yet exist. As such, attempting to develop authentic leaders may only result in leaders who are trained to superficially exhibit authentic leadership behaviors.

Originality/value

The paper shows that when authentic leadership has been defined and is measurable, development of this type of leadership can begin. Until then, attempting to develop authentic leadership may result in negative outcomes.

Citation

Garger, J. (2008), "Developing authentic leadership in organizations: some insights and observations", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 14-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777280810840058