Leadership Theories: Authentic Leadership, Servant Leadership And Leader-Member Exchange

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Throughout the semester we discussed multiple focal leadership theories. This included Authentic Leadership, Transformational Leadership, Servant Leadership and Leader-Member Exchange. After spending some time on each style of leadership I felt there was one type of leadership that stood out to me; Authentic Leadership.
Authentic Leadership is defined as “a pattern that draws upon and promotes both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, to foster greater self-awareness, an internalized moral perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with followers, fostering positive self-development” (Walumba, Avolio, Gardner, & Peterson 2008, 94). An authentic leader is someone who is very self-aware, has a clear moral center, is transparent, and is fair or balanced decision maker (Avolio 2009, 727). Authentic is defined as “of disputed origin and not a copy; genuine” Authentic leaders are coaches and mentors, inspiring others and empowering their teammates to lead through the most important tasks without a great deal of supervision. However, at times they have to make tough decisions to go against the group to stay true to their values. Being authentic ultimately means being true to yourself, open to others and being honest (Connell n.d.). …show more content…

The four components are Self-Awareness, Internalized Moral Perspective, Balanced Processing, and Relational Transparency.
Self-Awareness: Revolved around being aware of and understanding your own feelings. One must reflect on their core values, identify, emotions and motives.
Internalized Moral Perspective: Self-regulatory process using internal moral standards to guide behavior
Balanced Processing: Ability to analyze information objectively and explore other people’s opinions before making a decision. THE BEST LEADERS ARE HUMBLE

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