Authentic leadership: An approach to leadership that emphasises building the leader’s legitimacy through honest relationships with followers which value their input and are built on an ethical foundation. Authentic leaders are positive people with truthful self-concepts who promote openness.
Authenticity has been at the centre of the leadership conversation for some time now. So much so, that the Harvard Business Review (HBR) dubbed it ‘the gold standard for leadership.’ However, HBR notes that when we simplify our understanding of authentic leadership we can reduce it to something that is counterproductive.