Analysis: Seizing The Moment: Empowering Women To Become Leaders

Seizing the Moment: Empowering Women to Become Leaders

Introduction

It is now 2016 and the majority of Americans would agree that women are every bit as capable of being good leaders as men. Many would even go as far as saying that women are better suited for leadership roles due to their ability to build nurturing relationships while inspiring and motivating others. To group all women into this category however, would only be fueling the idea that a gender discrepancy does exist when discussing the ability for women to maintain leadership roles both in a political and business arena. The question we should be asking is, despite people’s recognition of a woman’s ability to successfully inspire and lead, why are women still in short supply at the top of businesses and political positions in the United States? The reality? When it comes to management, women are still having to prove themselves

60). Although the concept of authenticity has been around for many centuries, authentic leadership was a theory made popular by Luthans & Avolio (2003). In order to become an authentic leader, one must demonstrate five distinguishing characteristics that not only inspire their subordinates, but also encourage oneself to use their moral compass to make appropriate decisions. According to Marquis and Huston (2015), the five distinguishing characteristics of the authentic leader are as follows:

Purpose: Authentic leaders understand their own purposes and passions as a result of ongoing self-reflection and self awareness.

Values: Authentic leaders link between purpose and passion by having congruence in beliefs and their actions.

Heart: Authentic leaders care for themselves and the people they lead, and their compassion is