Toward a New Approach to Authentic Leadership: The Practice of Embodied Dialogical “Thinking” and the Promise of Shared Power

Abstract

The Problem

Traditional descriptions of authentic leadership are highly individualistic and based on rational processes. Unfortunately, this view of authentic leadership reproduces the power and privilege of the all-knowing individual as uniquely situated as the problem solver. Such conceptions do not facilitate collaboration, a dynamic in which shared power plays a critical role. While recent critiques of authentic leadership consider the relational aspects of authentic leadership, they do not go far enough to help us understand how to navigate these power differentials.

The Solution

This article presents an embodied, dialogical approach to authentic leadership that attends to how shared power can be developed within the context of authenticity. Drawing from the experiences of students enrolled in a graduate leadership development course, this case study provides insights into how individual power is relinquished and rational thinking is subordinated to embodied dialogue. Findings are promising and show enhanced performance via these approaches.

Stakeholders

Leadership development practitioners and human resource development (HRD) specialists can benefit from this relational approach to authentic leadership because it enables diverse understandings of authentic leadership such that all individuals can feel empowered to be authentic leaders. Further, this case study offers insights into a relational understanding of authentic leadership.