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PREFACE
»
Two roads diverged in
a wood, and I – I took the one
less traveled by, and that has
«
made all the difference.
ROBERT L. FROST
poet
Many companies stress authenticity as an important element
of their leadership models: they expect their managers
to act authentically and to be honest and reliable. On
an intuitive level, that appears to be right: if you can rely
on your line manager because (s)he is honest, open and
acts and communicates in a clear and sensible manner,
you can work effectively because you have been given a
clear framework and have no reason to fear unpleasant
surprises.
At the same time, in discussions of authenticity, this
much-touted quality arouses a lot of cynicism. Many tend
to smirk when someone claims to be acting genuinely or
authentically. After all, managers are always urged to live
up to their intended ROLE – otherwise they would not be
good managers. According to a much-cited example – those
who openly express their volatile temper or aggression
in the company are far more likely to do damage than to
benefit themselves and others.
In view of this, the present study deals with the question
of what authentic leadership actually is and whether it can
contribute to “good leadership”. Proceeding from that, we
answer the following questions: