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10
DEMOGRAPHIC
DATA AND
METHODOLOGY
Observations from daily practice show that the environment
for authenticity remains adverse in many companies. But a
number of encouraging examples to the contrary demonstrate
that a management that is seriously interested in values
such as uprightness and honesty can be truly powerful
and highly effective at implementing new strategies and processes.
The most visible outward sign of this is in companies
opting for a new type of manager as their CEO. For instance,
Lars Sørensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, has a reputation
for being consensus-oriented and unpretentious – Harvard
Business Manager named him the world’s best-performing
CEO in 2015. Top managers of this kind, who focus on longterm
growth, sustainability and integrity rather than on the
outward symbols of power and short-term profits, are one of
numerous indicators that a management rethink is taking
place. It is important to keep an eye out for such examples
– and to learn from them. After all, corporate management
needs a new LEADERSHIP PARADIGM in order to steer organisations
efficiently and effectively in future. ||
Authenticity
can provide strong
leverage for this new
leadership and
organisation
paradigm.
For the study, goetzpartners, Förster und Netzwerk and Prof.
Matthias Spitzmüller (Smith School of Business, Queen’s University,
Ontario, Canada) surveyed a total of 571 managers in
Germany, the UK and Russia in November 2015 using an online
questionnaire. Around 40 percent of those surveyed were
from Germany, and just under 30 percent each from the UK
and Russia.
The questionnaire was developed based on the results of 20
qualitative, one-hour interviews with managers who have responsibility
for up to 1,000 employees. Building on the interviews,
the authors of the study developed the questionnaire
for the major data collection that utilized pre-validated scales
to capture relevant constructs.
The managers who took part in the study came from a wide
range of different industries; at 14 percent, the manufacturing
industry constituted the largest single group, followed by trade
and retail (10 percent). Around two-third of the respondents
(64 percent) were men and roughly one third (36 percent) women.
The age and work experience of the participants varied
across a broad spectrum, with more than half (54 percent) having
11 to 30 years’ professional experience (medium range).
The study employed the psychological construct of authenticity,
which can be broken down into three dimensions: living
an authentic life, (low levels of) self-alienation and (low levels
of) acceptance of external factors influencing the self. Correlations
of this measure of experienced authenticity with work
processes, work-family conflict, experience of power, relationships
with others, cultural values, relationship with line
manager, etc. were examined in the study. This correlational
design does not permit any valid statements about causal relationships
between the study variables. However, based on
the relative strength of the correlation coefficients, the authors
drew inferences regarding the relative importance of the
study variables for the experience of authenticity at work. ||