Sensing as a Leadership Competence: Determining Situational Authenticity in the Academic World

Abstract

This chapter offers a dynamic model of authentic leadership that links authentic leadership to situational leadership theory and shows how dynamics in the academic environment, one of the most difficult settings that leaders face, can be addressed. Kindsiko and Vadi detail the concept of situational authenticity, which reveals how authentic leadership takes place via forms of sensing – sense-giving, sense-making, sense-breaking and sense-keeping – in work-related situations. The authors highlight questions for future research: Is sensing the key to success? Are situational ethics valid if they adapt to evolving circumstances? Are situational ethics, in effect, just another way of expressing relativism? If so, can that be reconciled with authentic leadership theory?

Citation

Kindsiko, E. and Vadi, M. (2023), "Sensing as a Leadership Competence: Determining Situational Authenticity in the Academic World", Turcan, R.V., Reilly, J.E., Jørgensen, K.M., Taran, Y. and Bujac, A.I. (Ed.) The Emerald Handbook of Authentic Leadership, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 395-416. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-013-920231018