Management has been highlighted as an authority relationship to maintain the status quo through coordinating and controlling subordinate activities. This is where scholars part ways as once the status quo is mentioned, it appears that management is stagnant and overly consuming in nature. It is not, as management and leadership are one and the same. To be a good manager, a person has to be a good leader.
This article raises vital questions on how executives can effectively lead companies with authenticity in today’s hypercompetitive business environment. It portrays a more detailed picture of the authentic leadership within organizations that have been mentioned but not placed in a set of practices based on acting and doing in the past.
The distinction between leadership and management
The following table summarizes some distinctions between leadership and management that have been posited by scholars and prominent academics over the past ten years. The table indicates a dichotomy of management and leadership but anyone can see that being both is much more important than being one or the other.
| Leadership | Management |
| Doing the right things | Doing things right |
| Coaching | Evaluating |
| Taking a proactive approach | Taking a reactive approach |
| Having a long-term perspective | Having a short-term perspective |
| Enhancing trust | Controlling subordinates |
| Innovating | Performing functions |
| Focusing on people | Focusing on structure |
| Challenging norms | Maintaining the status quo |
Let us now define leadership as “influenced interactions with groups of followers to implement changes and achieve the determined goals”. It sounds a lot like management and it should be because as mentioned earlier, leadership is a function of management.
This controversy among academics has taken on new form. Scholars are experts in management or leadership but very few take pride in being experts of both, the exception being Henri Fayol who would fall into the category of a management historian.
The seven practices of authentic leadership
Let us look at what authentic leaders are and determine the competencies they need to become better at what they do and promote satisfaction across organizations. Below are seven practices to help executives understand authentic leadership and enable it in their organization.
Positive psychological capital
It is important for executives to develop a positive work climate in which employees more effectively contribute to a company’s performance and competitive advantage.
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Organizational context
It is important for executives to develop effective workplaces that promote the depth and range of knowledge access. They must share and provide equal opportunity for all employees at various levels of the company in order to actively respond to the constant changes occurring in external environment.
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Positive moral perspective
Executives must have the desirable expertise about the authentic decision-making process which identifies moral dilemmas. They must then evaluate and select the best available alternatives to implement.
Self-awareness
Executives need to understand that authentic leaders continually understand their own beliefs, strengths, desires, values and aspirations.
Self-regulation
Executives should be aware of self-awareness and self-regulation by which authentic leaders effectively align their core values and individual interests with institutional interests and their practices. In fact, a strong alignment can be achieved by using a transparent process between leaders and followers.
Leadership processes
Authentic leaders can distinguish the processes and mechanisms whereby they can effectively influence their followers through various processes such as positive social exchange.
Follower development
Executives need to be aware that an authentic leader takes a coaching role for transforming and developing people.
The key takeaway for executives is that authentic leadership has increasingly become one of the most dominant paradigms today and will be used by many companies around the globe.
How do you enable authentic leadership in your organization? Let us know in the comments below.