Authentic Leadership; A role to play in Emotional Commitment and Organizational Culture

Were we ever in doubt of how true we are to ourselves and to others? Have we ever asked why we do what we do? Witnessing the history of great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Walt Disney, Steve Jobs and Sam Walton – they all believed in a cause and took actions to realize that belief which resulted in trust and loyalty. But, how come people with great ideas often fail to create an image? The cause is not that the ideas are faulty but rather the absent sense of purpose. And the purpose is realized when we have a clear sense of “Why”. Having a purpose translates to being true to oneself and eventually to others – being authentic. We wholeheartedly believe that, the hierarchical management structure is no more ideal in the contemporary world since it limits the freedom of creativity. Due to the changing and competitive nature of the world, the recognition of individual effort is crucial. When we believe in something that people can relate to, they will follow us. The followership results in increased commitment and the organizational culture is the embraced behavior. To understand the role of authentic leadership with regard to employee emotional commitment and organizational culture, we conducted a qualitative descriptive study involving 8 participants from around the world and using 3 case studies. The findings revealed some interesting insights in developing authentic leadership in organizations. One of the results unfolded that despite the cultural and geographical magnitude, the word authenticity has a common understanding “being true to oneself and to others”. The results also highlighted that, authentic leadership plays a major role in fostering organizational commitment unlike the financial incentives. Moreover, depending on the context, the rigidity of organizational culture may change. As a final finding, the organizational emotional commitment shapes the organizational culture as the leader pictures it. Do your actions meet your words or is it perhaps time to change?“ Your actions and your words should always agree with each other. Do not say one, then do another