En octobre prochain, j'aurais le plaisir d'animer une session à l'ILA avec mes collègues Joanne Ciula, Alice Eagly et Sarah-Saint-Michel, sur l'éthique du leadership authentique (le paradigme et modèle dominant actuellement le champ des leadership studies) à travers ses relations problématiques avec le genre et la diversité des leaders
GENDER, DIVERSITY, AND THE ETHICS OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
Facing the growing
interest of both practitioners and scholars in authenticity and authentic
leadership, this panel would like to focus on the ethics of authentic
leadership and more specifically on the nature and consequences of this (sometimes)
paradoxical injunction of authenticity received by leaders, especially for
female and minority leaders. The 4 presenters will explore both theoretically
and empirically the promises as well as the pitfalls of authentic leadership emphasizing
the ambivalent role played by values.
Authentic leadership
Authenticity can be
traced back to ancient Greek philosophy and is defined by Greek aphorism “Know
Thyself” (Gardner et al., 2011). Based on the concept of authenticity a new
paradigm has emerged in leadership literature through authentic leadership
theory. There are numerous definitions of authentic leadership (see Gardner et
al., 2011), but we can distinguish four primary components of AL – self based
constructs (e.g., self-awareness, self-regulation, self-knowledge, self-esteem,
self-congruence); balance processing, relational transparency, and an
internalized moral perspective (Walumba et al., 2008). As Avolio, Luthans et
al., (2004) suggest authentic leaders are “those
individuals who know who they are, what they think and behave and are perceived
by others as being aware of their own and others’ values” (p.4) and authentic
leaders promote goals and values that are grounded in shared values of larger
community (Price, 2003).
The ethics of authentic leadership
Although important
work has been carried out in the field of leadership (Avolio, 2005; Gardner et
al., 2011; Wallumbwa et al., 2008), research on the relationship between
authentic leadership and gender and more largely with diversity remain
neglected issues in the field (Chin, 2010). This limits calls for greater
discussion of the ethics of authentic leadership and especially the role played
by values (Ciulla, 1999).
Authentic leadership and gender
Eagly (2005, p.460)
suggests that authentic leadership is a process whereby the leader produces
positive outcomes in followers’ attitudes, behavior, and performance by acting
through meditional processes that involve followers’ trust, hope and other
positive emotions (Avolio et al., 2004). Through this dyadic relationship
between leader and followers emerges a specific process of persuasion and
negotiation. Leader communicates values and goals to followers. In return,
followers internalize leader’s legitimacy by personal and social identification
with the leader. As suggested by Eagly (2005) achieving relational authenticity
is particularly challenging for female leader because they could suffer a “lack
of fit” between leadership role and gender role (Heilman, 2001) which in turn
conduct them to suffer from a lack of legitimacy.
The purpose of this panel is therefore to explore how gender affects the
development of authentic leadership, what role is played by values in this
process and what are the implications for authentic leadership theory as well
as for leadership practice.
This panel is composed of 3 contributions originating from various fields (business ethics
leadership studies, gender studies) and disciplines (psychology, philosophy, management)
and exploring the issue both theoretically and empirically.
After a general
introduction of authentic leadership (presenter 1), we will have 3 presentations
that will provide the audience with a journey into authentic leadership, gender
and diversity through the following stages:
1) THE ETHICS OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP (Joanne Ciulla, Richamon University)
Joanne will
examine some of the philosophic problems with authentic leadership by using her
analysis of Nelson Mandela to show why the theory fails to describe the moral
behavior of iconic leaders.
2) THE IMPLICATIONS OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP FOR WOMEN (Alice Eagly, Northwestern University)
Alice will
provide an overview of the theoretical implications of authentic leadership for
women: experts on leadership who have defined authenticity generally don’t
consider the situation of members of groups who have had little access to
leader roles. Because of the social position of such individuals, their
attitudes and values may differ from those of the traditional holders of power.
For example, value and attitudinal differences between women and men are well
established. Therefore, when women or members of other underrepresented groups
express and act on their value, they may find themselves somewhat at odds with
many of their colleagues and followers. Moreover, it may be difficult for
people to identify with nontraditional leaders and to regard their values as
suitable for the community within which the leader has authority. Therefore,
establishing trust and authority in leadership roles offers special challenges
for women and other “outsider” leaders. Understanding these nuances of
authenticity can be helpful in assisting members of underrepresented groups to
become effective leaders.
3) AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP, GENDER AND DIVERSITY: AN
EMPIRICAL STUDY
Valerie and Sarah will present and discuss an empirical research on authentic leadership, gender and
diversity at a large French company knows for its true and effective investment
in promoting equality and diversity. They will explore the following question:
does diversity climate improve the development of authentic leadership among
managers and especially female managers? This will helps us to put forward some
practical recommendations for leaders and their organizations.
