Authentic leadership: development of a new three pillar model
| Published date | 08 June 2015 |
| Date | 08 June 2015 |
| Pages | 94-99 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-04-2015-0032 |
| Author | Fiona Beddoes-Jones,Stephen Swailes |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Authentic leadership: development of a
new three pillar model
Fiona Beddoes-Jones and Stephen Swailes
Fiona Beddoes-Jones is
based at The Cognitive
Fitness Consultancy,
Stainby, UK.
Stephen Swailes is a
Professor of HRM at The
Business School,
University of
Huddersfield, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to summarise a new model of authentic leadership derived from research
with senior leaders in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach –The model was developed and tested using three independent
samples: 140 business leaders, 54 senior military officers with 390 independent raters and 303 business
leaders.
Findings –A 15-item, self-report, three-component measure of authentic leadership was obtained
from testing across samples. The three components measure an individual’s capacity for
self-awareness, self-regulation and ethical behaviour.
Originality/value –The paper contributes to the authentic leadership literature through the creation of
a short authentic leadership scale that could be used in leadership research and which simplifies and
unifies previous conceptualisations of authentic leadership. The three-pillar model offers guidance to
HR practitioners looking to design leadership development interventions.
Keywords Organisation development, Leadership
Paper type Research paper
Authentic leadership
Corporate ethical malpractice and concern about improper executive behaviour regularly
make the media headlines. Public trust in business leaders is low (CIPD, 2012;Ipsos Mori,
2011), and the inadequacies of classic models of leadership have been exposed. Perhaps
stimulated by these background changes, interest in a new kind of leadership has
emerged – “authentic leadership” (Avolio et al., 2004;Gardner et al., 2005a;George, 2003).
Authentic leadership encompasses personal beliefs and values and how they are aligned
and lived in one’s everyday leadership experience (Avolio and Gardner, 2005;Cooper
et al., 2005;Luthans and Avolio, 2003). However, whilst the literature surrounding it is
ever-increasing, the concept and construct of authentic leadership is fragmented,
complicated by different perspectives and compounded by a lack of empirical research,
particularly in the UK (Gardner et al., 2011).
The most well-known and widely researched model of authentic leadership (Walumbwa
et al., 2008) has recently attracted criticism concerning its published empirical data. The
present paper contributes to the work on authentic leadership by offering an alternative
model developed from research with British organisations. Critically, the model was
developed and tested using “real” leaders rather than students, which has been the case
in some other studies. Participants in this study worked in business contexts or were senior
serving officers in one of the armed forces. We suggest, therefore, that the resulting model
has greater validity and relevance to leadership situations than other comparative research
in the field derived from student populations with little or no real-world leadership
experience.
PAGE 94 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW VOL. 14 NO. 3 2015, pp. 94-99, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/SHR-04-2015-0032
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