Dimensions of authentic leadership in the Middle Eastern context: Are these leaders really authentic?

The economic crisis and the various business scandals have placed a call for leaders who are responsible, ethical, do not deceive others,and lead in an authentic way. This article presents the concept of authentic leadership in a particular context that of the Middle East where religion and culture influence the ways we do business and leaders’ behavior. This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted in the Kingdom of Bahrain among 25 companies.It investigates whether leaders in this context are authentic. The findings suggest that in the Middle Eastern context leaders exhibit authentic leadership behaviors with emphasis on relational transparency