Introduction
Authenticity is defined as “the quality of being real or true. Authenticity requires self-awareness and the ability to act in accordance with one’s true self. Authentic leadership style is a complex style that applies authentic and humanistic principles to leadership theory with the belief that being true to one’s own self will yield more positive results. “Authentic leadership […] is rooted in humanism that can be used in conjunction with other leadership styles (Johnson, 2019, para 2.)
Authentic Leader Example
A vivid example of an authentic leader is Steve Jobs. Early in his career Jobs bought an unprofitable animation studio and renamed it into the well-known Pixar. Jobs moved the studio to the building of a former cannery. The designers offered him to place different departments (computer scientists, animators and management) in separate rooms, as was customary in other companies, but Jobs rejected the project. Instead, he created one large space with an atrium in the center. Jobs’ main value has always been people and their ideas. He believed that the creation of truly innovative ideas occurs when employees of different departments can communicate with each other and freely exchange thoughts. Thus, unexpected solutions arise that make it possible to develop the product much more efficiently. This is especially important in the era of narrow specialization and separation of competencies.
In order to create a zone of free exchange of ideas, he came up with the atrium. However, this was not enough, it was necessary to attract people there. Therefore, Jobs moved mailboxes, meeting rooms, a cafeteria, a bar and a souvenir shop to the atrium (Bhattacharyya, 2020).
Initially, his idea was not supported by the rest of the leadership. The atrium seemed like a useless place, which only complicated logistics and forced employees to get distracted from work and waste time. However, Jobs was true to his values. He understood that ideas are not born in e-mail correspondence or in a telephone conversation. They appear when people meet in person, look into each other’s eyes and talk. Therefore, he insisted and created conditions in which people could communicate as often as possible.
Another key feature of an authentic leader is involvement in the process. Leaders who focus only on management, sooner or later lose touch with the needs of both their team and customers. An authentic leader is always involved in the creation process, is the main ambassador of his brand, and therefore must sincerely love the products he or she offers to consumers. Without the real involvement of the leader and other employees, it is impossible to show the love of products to customers. That is why Steve Jobs always personally presented new models of devices and continued to do so even when he was deeply ill.
Conclusion
Summing up, it should be noted that authentic leadership is not an innate skill that cannot be learned, and not something that can be copied. Each leader independently searches for his or her path, based on his or her values, making mistakes and taking into account any experience he or she gets in the process, for introspection and constant development. This is what ultimately allows authentic leaders not just to be financially successful, but to be engaged in the business that fills their lives with deep meaning and benefits other people. And this is the leadership that seems to be the best choice in the conditions of the new time.
References
Bhattacharyya, A. K. (2020). Authentic Leadership: Gold Standard For Leading Through Disruption. Available at SSRN 3668718.
Johnson, S. L. (2019). Authentic leadership theory and practical applications in nuclear medicine. Journal of nuclear medicine technology, 47(3), 181-188.