The alchemy of authenticity: Lessons from the 2016 US Presidential campaign. (2016)

Authenticity has been heralded as the ‘it’ factor of the campaign. But, where did the rise of authentic leadership come from? What responsibility does it entail? What is the role of ‘followers’. And, why is authentic style so difficult to develop ?

Fiona Kennedy, Darl G. Kolb; University of Auckland, New Zealand
Organizational Dynamics (2016) 45, 316—322

From the abstract:

“… the 2016 campaign deserves some thoughtful reflection on what it means to be an ‘authentic’ leader … because the campaign has become a very public stage where ‘authentic’ leadership has played a starring role at both ends of the political spectrum.

“… Authenticity is treated as being integral to the individual candidates, as something that Trump patently has and that Clinton does not. Authenticity has been heralded as the ‘it’ factor of the 2016 US presidential election campaign. But, why and how has the notion of authenticity shifted from leadership buzzword to mandate? In this article, we ask the questions: How did we get here, ie. where did the rise and rise of authentic leadership come from? What is the role that others (‘followers’) play in co-creating authentic leaders? What responsibility does an authentic leader have? And, why is it so difficult to develop our own authentic style?

“In the media’s rendition and in a great deal of the scholarly leadership literature, authentic leadership seems to exist with or without followers. However, authenticity is a quality that matters enormously to followers. Indeed, they (followers) have participated in the campaign process with great gusto, seemingly due to the ‘real’ nature of Trump, and in the earlier stages of the campaign, to the ‘realness’ of Sanders. In this article we suggest that implying leaders are as they are – authentic, or not – completely separate from their relationships with followers is a deceptive idea. We refer to the ‘alchemy of authenticity’ to evoke a different view, taking the focus wider and deeper than the inherent qualities of individual leaders to what can be created, for good or ill, when a relationship with followers is added to the mix. This is the proverbial caldron where the alchemy of authenticity happens.

“We begin with a look back over two decades of authenticity as a construct in the leadership field. Next, we return to the campaign trail. Here we affirm the importance of authenticity.”

The authors then discuss four lessons:

• One: authenticity matters
• Two: it takes two to be authentic
• Three: to be authentic is to be responsible
• Four: the authenticity trial by fire is not going away

Access the full article here: The alchemy of authenticity