Reference Articles

Authenticity

Human Rights Leadership

Journal Articles

Article 1: Nyberg, D. and Sveningsson, S. (2014). Paradoxes of authentic leadership: Leader identity struggles. Leadership 10(4), 437-455.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Caza and Jackson (2011) share three authentic leadership themes (self-awareness, self-consistency, relational transparency) in the article.  How are the leader behaviors or characteristics described in the text similar to these themes?
2. How does the article describe the social constructivist view of leadership?
3. Describe the paradoxes some leaders face when they try to be authentic but followers do not respond in a way the leader anticipated.

*a. Answers vary.

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Article 2: Peterson, S. J., Walumbwa, F. O., Byron, K. and Myrowitz, J. (2009). CEO Positive psychological traits, transformational leadership and firm performance in high-technology start-up and established firms.  Journal of Management 35(2): 348-368.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Describe the relationship between optimism and transformational leadership.
2. How are the positive psychological traits of hope, optimism, and resiliency mediated by transformational leadership?
3. Why is transformational leadership more strongly related to start-up companies than established companies?

*a. Answers vary.

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Article 3: Walumbwa, F.O., Avolio, B.J., Gardner, W.L., Wernsing, T.S. and Peterson, S.J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management 34(1), 89-126.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Describe the sample populations used to validate the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire. What is the significance of using these multiple and diverse subjects?
2. Describe the three reasons the authors chose to use Avolio, Gardner and colleagues and Ilies et al.’s perspectives on authentic leadership as the conceptual underpinning for this research. How are these reasons significant to the establishment and validation of the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire?
3. There were three studies reported in this article all designed to determine many different factors of authentic leadership and distinguish it from other leadership orientations. What were the overall findings in this study related to the construct validity of the ALQ?

*a. Answers vary.

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Article 4: Woolley, L., Caza, A. and Levy, L. (2011). Authentic leadership and follower development: Psychological capital, positive work climate, and gender. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 18(4), 438-448.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Describe/define follower psychological capital (PsyCap).
2. How strongly did this research support the relationship between authentic leadership and follower PsyCap and positive work climate (Hypothesis 2)? What is the significance of these results on your understanding of authentic leadership?
3. What were the unique findings related the role gender plays in the authentic leadership process?  What were the similarities and differences between males and females?

*a. Answers vary.

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Article 5: Adolescent leadership development: Building a case for an authenticity framework. Educational Management Administration & Leadership 37(6), 847-872.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. What is unique about the subjects used in this study?
2. Compare and contrast pro-social and anti-social leaders.
3. How can an authentic leadership framework potentially help develop leadership skills and attitudes to benefit future leadership roles?

*a. Answers vary.