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The growing transparency brought on by the digital transformation
is enhancing the importance of credibility even more.
But in order to project credibility outwardly, it is first of all essential
to have inward credibility – and authentic behaviour
and leadership, as the study shows, provide strong leverage
in this regard. Companies can achieve this only by setting the
right organisational and cultural coordinates.
A glance at the recent literature on organisation and leadership
reveals understandably strong arguments for an
alternative type of organisational structure (e.g. Pfläging,
2014; Pläging, 2015 and Robertson, 2015. Laloux (2014), too,
cites a series of promising examples from organisations
that have pursued an alternative structural and management
logic. In an analysis of 12 quite different organisations,
he describes three “breakthroughs” that all these organisations
have in common: self-management, wholeness and
evolutionary purpose. This suggests numerous parallels
with the present study. In general, authenticity has parallels
with Laloux’s dimension of ‘wholeness’. The results of
the study also indicate that autonomy – similar to Laloux’s
term of ‘self-management’ – is strongly correlated with authenticity
or wholeness. What is more, the fact that affirming
hierarchies and power distance tend to correlate negatively
with authentic behaviour and that surface acting
diminishes authenticity also supports Laloux’s statements
as regards wholeness and self-management.
The obstacles to authentic behaviour and leadership mentioned
earlier can be mitigated by means of appropriate organisational
measures, new ideas in organisational design
and a more open corporate culture. Companies are thus
well advised to closely examine their organisation and culture
for potential obstacles and to take targeted action to
overcome them.
Specifically, companies can make the following organisational
and cultural CHANGES in order to achieve greater authenticity
and credibility:
New models for collaboration and involvement,
and new hierarchical forms
A new understanding of transparency and
participation that neutralises fears and anxieties
at all levels
A discussion of the organisation’s function for
society and what social need it fulfils, as well as
an analysis of meaningfulness as a task of
organisational development
Relationship-building as a key leadershipculture
tool for engendering loyalty, enthusiasm
and passion.
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