Description

Scales were developed and validated for four dimensions of authentic leadership: self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing.

Definition

The authors define authentic leadership as "a pattern of leader behavior that draws upon and promotes both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, to foster greater self-awareness, an internalized moral perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with followers, fostering positive self-development".

Balanced processing refers to "leaders who show that they objectively analyze all relevant data before coming to a decision".

Items

• Solicits views that challenge his or her deeply held positions.
• Listens carefully to different points of view before coming to conclusions.

The authors reported two sample items of this scale only.

Source

• Walumbwa et al. (2008): Authentic Leadership: Development and Validation of a Theory-Based Measure? Journal of Management, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 89–126

Related Scales

• Self-awareness
• Relational transparency
• Internalized moral perspective