Identifying Elements of Authentic Leadership

This essay shall identify elements of authentic leadership, which are considered applicable to the professional footballing career of Liverpool FC captain, Steven Gerrard. Whilst Gerrard is widely recognised for his leadership role as captain for both club and country, some might argue that several of his authentic leadership traits and attributes are deemed more effective than others. The intrapersonal perspective for authentic leadership described by Shamir & Eilam (2005) is applied. The essay shall explore Gerrard’s achievements, attributes and behaviour, by applying the “four components to authentic leadership” developed by Avolio, Luthans, and Walumbwa (2004). As a result, this will highlight strengths to his leadership along with areas of improvement.

In order to consider Steven Gerrard as an effective leader, an interpretation for the term “effectiveness” must first be reached. “Effective leadership” is widely challenged by scholars, and can vary according to the three dimensions of leadership, which depend on the person, the context and the process. For the purposes of this essay, the definition by Northouse (2012) for the term “effectiveness” shall be used. This states, in order for a leader to be considered effective; they must create compelling visions that guides follower’s behaviour irrespective of their type of leadership (Northouse, 2012:198).

There are a variety of different leadership theories that have been developed over the years; however, the wide majority of scholars agree that it is a “concept that is both current and timeless” (Manning & Curtis, 2007, pg 1). This implies that it is on going and is a highly complex, developmental process, which considers people who can be both leaders as well as follower...

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...y and his historic achievements. On the other hand, some might argue there is more to his effectiveness as a leader than just a vision that guides the followers, and therefore other definitions for the term “effectiveness” could be considered. Others may choose to measure his effectiveness based on his level of positive influence towards both players and fans including the achievement of others along with his ability to improve reputation of the football club and create organisational success. Although there may be questions over which type of leadership is most applicable in his approach, evidence presented, demonstrates how he continues to effectively, create inspiration, motivate his followers and communicate a strong set of positive values, all of which are central to the many theoretical aspects for both leadership and authentic leaders.

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