How Self-Compassion can enhance Authentic Leadership Development: A quantitative study
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Summary
In the face of today’s business challenges, the demand for a more genuine leadership style is arising. Authentic Leadership as a way to authentically relate to oneself and others is meant to create meaning, trust and confidence amongst followers. At the same time, the Buddhist concept of Self-Compassion is becoming popular in the Western academic world. This study offers first insights into the relationship between Authentic Leadership and Self-Compassion. Theoretical similarities and connections between the two constructs are being presented. An online study (N=50) got conducted, asking young professionals from the international student organization ‘AIESEC’ about Authentic Leadership attributes and self-compassionate behaviours. Data analysis showed a weak positive correlation between Authentic Leadership and Self-Compassion. Methodical limitations of the study are being demonstrated. Implications for Authentic Leadership research and practice are being discussed, concluding that Self-Compassion could enhance the theoretical operationalization of authenticity as well as the intense process of Authentic Leadership Development.
This study was shortlisted for the Association of Business Psychologist’s Workforce Experience Award in 2014.
This study was shortlisted for the Association of Business Psychologist’s Workforce Experience Award in 2014.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
Tondock, Britta: How Self-Compassion can enhance Authentic Leadership
Development: A quantitative study, Hamburg, Anchor Academic Publishing 2015
Buch-ISBN: 978-3-95489-379-9
PDF-eBook-ISBN: 978-3-8428-2285-6
Druck/Herstellung: Anchor Academic Publishing, Hamburg, 2015
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Acknowledgements
The completion of this study would not have been possible without the constant support and
valuable feedback of my supervisors professor Stephen Benton and Ayleen Wisudha from the
University of Westminster, London. They always believed in my ideas and encouraged me to
trust my instincts. My gratitude also goes to my friends and family, who guided me
throughout the process with the never ending belief that I would create great work.
I. Executive summary
In the face of today's business challenges, the demand for a more genuine leadership style is
arising. Authentic Leadership as a way to authentically relate to oneself and others is meant
to create meaning, trust and confidence amongst followers. At the same time, the Buddhist
concept of Self Compassion is becoming popular in the Western academic world. This study
offers first insights into the relationship between Authentic Leadership and Self Compassion.
Theoretical similarities and connections between the two constructs are being presented. An
online study (N=50) got conducted, asking young professionals from the international student
organization `AIESEC' about Authentic Leadership attributes and self compassionate
behaviours. Data analysis showed a weak positive correlation between Authentic Leadership
and Self Compassion. Methodical limitations of the study are being demonstrated.
Implications for Authentic Leadership research and practice are being discussed, concluding
that Self Compassion could enhance the theoretical operationalization of authenticity as well
as the intense process of Authentic Leadership Development.
This study was shortlisted for the Association of Business Psychologist's Workforce
Experience Award in 2014.
II. Table of contents
I. Executive summary... 5
1. Review of literature ... 9
1.1.1. Today's business world: In need of authenticity...9
1.1.2. Characteristics of Authentic Leaders ... 10
1.1.3. Positive impact of Authentic Leadership on followers... 13
1.1.4. Authentic Leadership and other leadership theories ... 14
1.2.1. Self Compassion as a construct ... 15
1.2.2. Self Compassion and other self related constructs in Authentic Leadership...17
1.2.3. Hypothetical impact of Self Compassion on Authentic Leadership...20
2. Study design ... 24
2.3.1. Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) ... 25
2.3.2. Self Compassion Scale (SCS) ... 26
3. Findings ... 28
4. Discussion ... 32
4.1.1. Validity...32
4.1.2. Reliability of online measurements: internal and external disruptive variables...37
4.1.4. Theoretical limitations of the study... 37
4.2.1. Theoretical implications for Authentic Leadership: Self Compassion as contributor
to operationalize authenticity ... 38
4.2.2. Practical implications for Authentic Leadership: Self Compassion as major
component for Authentic Leadership Development ... 41
5. Recommendations ... 44
III. References... 47
IV. Appendices... 51
IV.3.1. Questionnaire introduction... 53
IV.3.2. Demographic questions ... 54
IV.3.3. Authentic Leadership Questionnaire copyright ... 57
IV.3.4. Authentic Leadership Questionnaire online terms of use... 59
IV.3.5. Self Compassion Scale ... 60
IV.4.1. Overview about demographic data... 61
IV.4.2. Age distribution...64
IV.4.3. Geographic Region... 65
IV.4.4. Educational background ... 65
IV.4.5. Number of team members ... 66
IV.4.6. Leadership experience in years... 66
IV.4.7. Size of organization... 67
IV.4.8. Occupational background... 67
IV.5.1. Descriptive graphs ... 68
IV.5.2. Inferential analysis of the data... 68
IV.5.3. Correlations for different sub groups ... 74
1. Review of literature
1.1. Authentic Leadership
1.1.1. Today's business world: In need of authenticity
`Collaborating with another human -- especially a team of humans -- is
messy, deeply personal, profoundly meaningful stuff, and it should be treated
as such. Personally speaking, if you're working with me, I know we've come
together to do two things. One: Evolve as humans. Two: Make great stuff for
the world. Sometimes it's unclear as to which is which, and I'm good with
that' (Danielle La Porte, 2013).
This charmingly candid quote by business coach and speaker Danielle LaPorte puts
unequivocally into words what today's business world is in need of: a more human way of
relating to each other, creating individual and organizational purpose. The challenges are
numerous: the economic climate is characterized by never known transformations such as
new technologies, new market demands and global competition. Human beings in the
workplace are faced with high levels of uncertainty and complexity. Job roles are becoming
ambiguous, and change is a constant companion in organizations. Leaders who decide to look
for their own advantage rather than taking the overall organizational well being into
consideration cause deep resignation and mistrust amongst employees and citizens (May et
al., 2003). In this uncertain environment, a new demand for genuine leadership is arising. The
lack of public trust in business and political leaders can have dangerous consequences for the
privileges of our capitalistic system, which is why the development of leaders who treat
people as the basis of their business success, not as another cost of doing business, is
essential (George, 2007). People seek for meaning and connection in their daily working life,
searching for leaders who can restore trust, confidence, hope, optimism and resilience.
Today's society is in need of veritable and sustained performance based on ethical values that
go beyond financial gains (Avolio Gardner, 2005). People in organizations want to be
trusted and take their part in the needed leadership:
`[People in organizations] are demanding meaning and significance from
their work, and are not willing to toil away just for someone else's benefit.
They want to lead now, not wait in line for 10 to 20 years until they are
tapped for a leadership role.' (George, 2007, p. 11).
The secret of leading tomorrow's organizations effectively therefore lies in the development
of authentic leaders who can surround their employees amongst a common purpose, and
who are equally able to facilitate their follower's authentic self expression (Gardner et al.,
2011).
1.1.2. Characteristics of Authentic Leaders
To begin with, we will describe in detail how authentic leaders can be characterized. Going
back to the roots of authenticity as a concept, it firstly occurred in Greek philosophy as well as
in the work of Heidegger and Sartre where the genuine development of self and others was
central (Avolio Gardner, 2005). It may also be influenced by the work of psychologists Carl
Rogers and Maslow who focused on their research on self actualized persons. Being true to
oneself, expressing feelings, thoughts, emotions and beliefs autonomously and independently
from those around us, was seen as core of developing an authentic self. In more recent
research, becoming authentic is described as a transformative, life long development process
(George, 2007), and includes the following characteristics: developing an integrated self
without playing a role, appreciating other's diversity and their right for personal
development, influencing others via personal interaction and connection, challenging the
context with the aim of self expression, critical reflection about authenticity and the aim to
support others in the development of their authenticity for the greater good (see Cranton
Carusetta, 2004, in the context of authentic teaching).
Coming from the perspective that a leader's authenticity emerges from his life story and how
he makes sense of it, Shamir Eilam (2005) define the clarity of a leaders self concept, how
the leader defines who he is, why and who he wants to become, as the core of authentic
leadership. It includes that the leader sees his leadership role as a self expressive act rather
than a given position, that he has experienced his values to be true and uses them to guide
his actions, that his goals are motivated by an internal commitment based on a personal
cause and that he seeks for self verification rather than admiration. W. George (2007),
professor at Harvard Business School and former chairman and CEO, conducted one of the
largest in depth studies about how leaders develop, including interviews with 125 leaders
from all areas and backgrounds. Congruent with the life story approach of Shamir Eilam
(2005), the study revealed that what made those leaders successful came from earlier life
experiences that created their mission. George (2007) describes the authentic self as who we
are at our deepest level, where our satisfaction comes from, being our reference point in a
rapidly changing world.
Based on the described internal and highly personal processes, several attempts to define
common traits of an authentic leader personality have been made. A definition developed by
Walumbwa et al. (2008) is both respected and used in the academic world to describe
behavioural aspects of Authentic Leadership, which is why it will serve as the basis for this
study. Walumbwa et al. (2008) suggest four traits to describe an authentic leader, measurable
with the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ):
a)
Self Awareness: To what degree is the leader aware of his or her strengths,
limitations, how others see him or her and how the leader impacts others?
Is the leader aware of his own vulnerabilities and deals with them openly, does he
make them transparent and turn them into strength, making sure that everybody
knows what or what not to expect from him? Self awareness describes a continuous
process where the individual gains insight into what constitutes their existence, such
as unique talents, gifts, strengths, core beliefs, values, and desires (Avolio Gardner,
2005).
b)
Transparency: To what degree does the leader reinforce a level of openness with
others that provides them with an opportunity to be forthcoming with their ideas,
challenges and opinions?
Does the leader inspire others to action in modelling confidence, hope and resiliency?
Does he "walk his talk"? Does he consistently build authenticity in his associates,
helping them to build their psychological capacity and strength? Authentic follower
development happens in a developmental process for both sides, relating to each
other more and more authentically (Avolio Gardner, 2005).
c)
Ethical/Moral: To what degree does the leader set a high standard for moral and
ethical conduct?
Does he show integrity between his personal values and those demonstrated in his
working life? Is he guided by a set of values that follow what is right for his team or
organization? May et al. (2003) describe that authentic leaders are those who own a
heightened level of moral capacity: they acknowledge their role as including ethical
responsibility and they recognize the intensity of moral situations.
d)
Balanced Processing: To what degree does the leader solicit sufficient opinions and
viewpoints prior to making important decisions in order to be seen as fair and just?
Is the leader able to judge issues and moral dilemmas from all angles without loosing
credibility? Does he explore alternative ways of approaching moral dilemmas while
still being seen to be acting consistent with his ultimate values and therefore
authentic? Authentic leaders evaluate transparently all alternatives; they consider the
possible consequences of their decision for all stakeholders and act with integrity
based on their personal values and former experiences (May et al., 2003).
To summarize, the four common traits of an authentic leader are a high level of self
awareness about one's own identity and self, transparency about decisions and
vulnerabilities and therefore authentic follower development, moral integrity aligning
individual values with overall organizational well being, and a balanced way to look at a moral
dilemma considering the consequences for all stakeholders. Authentic leaders are said to be
especially powerful in extreme or dangerous situations (Kolditz Brazil, 2005), and
authenticity is meant to have several positive outcomes on the leader's psychological health:
studies found that authenticity is positively correlated with psychological well being, self
acceptance, a sense of purpose and personal growth, and negatively correlated with
contingent self esteem, in which the individual self worth depends upon meeting external
measures and standards (Toor Ofori, 2009; Kernis Goldman, 2005).
1.1.3. Positive impact of Authentic Leadership on followers
The impact of authentic leaders on their followers has been positively outlined and explored
by several authors. Numerous publications stated that Authentic Leadership behaviours lead
to high personal and social identification with the leader (Avolio et al., 2004; Ilies et al., 2005)
as well as to perceived behavioural integrity (Leroy et al., 2012). Those perceptions would
positively impact follower's hope, trust and positive emotions (Avolio et al., 2004), follower's
psychological capital, such as self efficacy, optimism and resilience (Rego et al., 2012),
behavioral modeling and increased self determination (Ilies et al., 2005), and follower's
organizational identification and stability in turbulent times (Leroy at al., 2012). As a result,
this is meant to increase follower commitment, job satisfaction, meaningfulness,
engagement, and job performance (Avolio et al, 2004); follower's expressiveness, self
realization, flow experiences and eudaemonic well being (an intense state of self expression
and liveliness); self efficacy and self esteem (Ilies et al, 2005); and employee's creativity as a
source for organizational innovation (Rego et al, 2012).
1.1.4. Authentic Leadership and other leadership theories
When comparing Authentic Leadership to other recent leadership theories, it has been
labelled as a root construct for all forms of positive leadership, such as transformational,
charismatic or spiritual leadership (Avolio Gardner, 2005; May et al., 2003). Most
similarities can be drawn to transformational leadership (Burns, 1978), such as being self
aware and open to personal development including a moral component to leadership. On the
contrary, authentic leaders might not necessarily transform their followers into leaders
themselves, but rather nurture a community of followers who belief in the purpose of their
organization. Compared to charismatic leadership, where impression management plays an
important role, an authentic leader rather leads by creating meaning and connection for
themselves and others. In spiritual leadership, no clear empiric research background is
evident, whereas Authentic Leadership research draws from clinic, positive and social
psychology (Avolio Gardner, 2005).
`Authentic leaders are not necessarily transformational, visionary, or charismatic
leaders. They don't stand out every day. But these are the leaders who, when
called upon by the hand of fate, will be the ones who take a stand that changes
the course of history for others, be they organizations, departments or just other
individuals.' (May et al., 2003, p. 248).
It seems that Authentic Leadership adds a deeper layer to leadership research, as it does not
primarily describe traits or contents of values of a leader, but rather a way of being in one's
leadership in an authentic and deeply self fulfilling way (Shamir Eilam, 2005).
1.2. Authentic Leadership and Self Compassion
After having given a short overview about current needs for Authentic Leadership,
characteristics of authentic leaders, authentic leaders' impact on followers and a brief
orientation in the context of other leadership theories, we will now focus on the self related
qualities that underlie Authentic Leadership. As mentioned by several authors in the field, the
development of authenticity and therefore authentic leadership is a very intense, highly
personal and life long developmental process, as it involves all parts of one's being including
personal weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and confronting painful experiences from one's past
(see Shamir Eilam, 2005). It takes immense courage and daily practice to fully embrace and
acknowledge one's authentic self with both flaws and natural talents.
Still, there is little agreement on the core constructs and underlying psychological processes
responsible for the increased authenticity of a leader. This study attempts to increase the
understanding and development of authenticity and authentic leadership behaviours in
bringing a new concept into Authentic Leadership research: the construct of Self Compassion.
The art of being compassionate towards oneself could be a fundamental part of becoming
authentic. The following paragraph will outline why and how the two constructs could be
connected.
1.2.1. Self Compassion as a construct
The concept of Self Compassion stems from Buddhist philosophy and is relatively new in the
Western psychology. It describes an alternative and less egocentric approach for developing a
healthy relationship towards oneself. It is likely to be related to self empathy, humanistic
psychology and emotional development. Due to Neff (2003a), the construct is understood
and defined using three sub variables:
1.
Self Kindness: extending kindness and understanding to oneself rather than harsh
self criticism and judgment
2.
Common Humanity: seeing one's experiences as part of the larger human experience
rather than as separating and isolating
3.
Mindfulness: holding one's painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness
rather than over identifying with them.
Self compassion includes the assumption that one's suffering, failure and inadequacies are
part of the human condition and that all people, including oneself, are worthy of compassion:
`Self compassion, therefore, involves being touched by and open to one's
own suffering, not avoiding or disconnecting from it, generating the desire to
alleviate one's suffering and to heal oneself with kindness. Self compassion
also involves
offering
non judgmental understanding to one's pain,
inadequacies and failures, so that one's experience is seen as part of the
larger human experience' (Neff, 2003a, p. 87).
Self Compassion can be a powerful force for individual growth and change, as it creates the
emotional safety needed to see oneself clearly without the fear of harmful self judgment. It
protects against self evaluative anxiety when faced with personal weaknesses (Neff et al.,
2007a). Further studies found that Self Compassion moderates individual's reactions to
unpleasant life events, such as failure, rejection or embarrassment: people with high levels of
Self Compassion showed lower negative emotions, accepted responsibility for their role in
negative events and were generally more willing to accept undesirable aspects of their
character. Additionally, it has been hypothesized that Self Compassion functions as a buffer
for negative life events, as individuals are able to make more accurate self evaluations
without self criticism or defensive self enhancement (Leary et al., 2007). Positive correlations
have been found between Self Compassion and positive psychological functioning (such as
happiness, optimism, wisdom or curiosity) as well as the big five personality traits
agreeableness, extroversion and conscientiousness (Neff et al., 2007b).
Due to its non judgmental nature, Self Compassion is meant to protect against narcissism,
self centeredness, social comparison as well as self criticism, feelings of isolation, depression
and anxiety. It is likely to foster proactive behaviors restoring and maintaining mental well
being, psychological health and life satisfaction (Neff, 2003a).
1.2.2. Self Compassion and other self related constructs in Authentic Leadership
The non judgmental nature of Self Compassion is a unique trait that could be central for the
development of self expressed and authentic being in one's leadership role. Taking a close
look at the concept of Self Compassion with its three variables Self Kindness, Common
Humanity and Mindfulness, remarkable similarities to other self related concepts in the
context of Authentic Leadership become evident. A simple theoretical model showing Self
Compassion as a root construct for Authentic Leadership is being developed in the following.
1.2.2.1. Self Compassion and embracing vulnerability: accepting weakness
First of all, Self Compassion connects closely to the work about vulnerability and authenticity
by social work professor Dr. Brene Brown (PhD). Brown (2010) defines authenticity as `...the
daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are'
(Brown, 2010, p.50). It seems that in order to do so, one would need a high level of `Self
Kindness': to extend kindness and understanding to oneself rather than self criticism and
judgment (Neff, 2003a). Brown (2010) further on writes that authentic living and leading
would include to cultivate the courage to be imperfect and to fully accept one's
vulnerabilities as part of being human which seems to be an equivalent of the variable
`Common Humanity': seeing one's experience as part of the larger human experience rather
than isolating (Neff, 2003a).
Diddams Chang (2012) support this connection in stating that the full acceptance of
weakness lays at the core of authenticity. Referring to the four characteristics of Authentic
Leadership (Walumbwa et al., 2008), namely Self Awareness, Transparency, Ethical/Moral
and Balanced Processing, they state how important it is for Authentic Leadership
development to accept weaknesses in all four areas: The acknowledgement of never being
able to know everything about oneself (Self Awareness), the acceptance of occasional non
congruence between attitudes and behaviours (Balanced Processing), modesty about own
moral judgments (Moral/Ethical) and generous openness not only about failures, but also
flaws and fears (Transparency) would lead to greater authenticity than otherwise. This shows
similarities to the variable `Self Kindness' (being kind towards every aspect of one's being,
including unflattering ones) and interprets the variable `Common Humanity' accurately:
`We advocate for a conception of self esteem that is not only strong enough to
avoid this defensiveness when confronted with negative feedback but includes
the continual presence of weakness as part of its self schemata.
[...]
We suggest
that leaders' acceptance of their weaknesses as authentic is not only
developmentally appropriate but in being only human, frees them to unselve
and create greater good among their followers.'
(Diddams Chang, 2012, p. 600)
Considering that both `Self Kindness' and `Common Humanity' may lie at the core of accepting
one's vulnerabilities, it is interesting to see what Brown (2012) concludes about vulnerability
in the context of Authentic Leadership: `To reignite creativity, innovation, and learning,
leaders must re humanize education and work. This means understanding how scarcity is
affecting the way we lead and work, [and] learning how to engage with vulnerability [...]
(Brown, 2012, p. 184). It brings the perspective to our work life that leaders must recognize
human beings as the essence of organizations, including themselves. Dealing with human
beings is a vulnerable process which, when being acknowledged as such, will lead to constant
engagement and growth:
`If you want a culture of creativity and innovation where sensible risks are
embraced on both a market and individual level, start by developing the
ability of managers to cultivate an openness to vulnerability in their teams.
And this, paradoxically perhaps, requires first that they are vulnerable
themselves. This notion that the leader needs to be `in charge' and to `know
all the answers' is both dated and destructive.'
Peter Sheahan, CEO of ChangeLabs TM, cited in Brown (2012), p.65.
Based on this connection, practicing Self Compassion could support leaders in embracing
their vulnerabilities and becoming more authentic. It could make an important contribution
to re humanize work, to reignite creativity and to re create meaning for their organizations.
1.2.2.2. Self Compassion and self esteem: intrinsic sense of worthiness
The conceptualization of self esteem by Kernis (2003) has heavily influenced the genesis of
Authentic Leadership, and interestingly enough similarities between an optimal sense of self
esteem and Self Compassion can be found. Especially the variables `Self Kindness' and
`Mindfulness' seem to relate to what Kernis (2003) defines an optimal sense of self esteem: it
includes well anchored and secure feelings of self worth shown by `...people who like, value,
and accept themselves, imperfections and all' (p.3). This unconditional acceptance of oneself
goes along with the description of `Self Kindness' and might be a consequence of showing
kind understanding towards oneself. Kernis (2003) further on mentions that people with
secure high self esteem do not compare their worthiness to others, and their feelings of self
worth are not easily challenged: negative feedback or poor performance might lead to the
conclusion of not being good at a particular task, but it does not affect their overall sense of
worthiness (also see Diddams Chang, 2012). It could be that this capacity is a result of
showing `Mindfulness': holding one's painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness
rather than over identifying with them (Neff, 2003a). If an individual does not over identify
with unpleasant self related information, it might be that unflattering facts can be accepted
peacefully and without self destructing consequences. Concerning the benefits of optimal
self esteem, Kernis (2003) concludes that a strong sense of intrinsic worthiness and the
acknowledgement of weakness is likely to increase a leader's authenticity: `Authenticity can
be characterized as reflecting the unobstructed operation of one's true, or core, self in one's
daily enterprise' (Kernis, 2003, p.13).
Showing Self Compassion towards oneself could be equivalent to the development of an
optimal sense of self esteem. Studies showed that Self Compassion was moderately
correlated with self esteem (Neff, 2003b), and yet the correlation was low enough to assume
that both constructs can be discriminated from each other. For example, Self Compassion did
not have significant correlations with narcissism, whereas self esteem did. Other research
comparing high self esteem with Self Compassion found that Self Compassion is more
predictive of caring and supportive relationship behavior than self esteem (Neff Beretvas,
2013), and some even consider Self Compassion as a possible alternative to self esteem for
developing a healthy sense of worthiness (Neff Vonk, 2009). Contradictory to Kernis' (2003)
definition of optimal self esteem, the original construct of self esteem is often associated
with a high level of positive self evaluations about oneself, which includes external
comparison to others. High self esteem therefore might have more downsides to
psychological health than the non evaluative nature of Self Compassion (Neff, 2011).
1.2.3. Hypothetical impact of Self Compassion on Authentic Leadership
To summarize, a review of the literature showed that Self Compassion with its three sub
variables contains interesting similarities to the theory of vulnerability and optimal self
esteem in the context of authenticity. As outlined, Self Compassion could support a leader in
kindly embracing his vulnerabilities, developing a healthy sense of authenticity. Furthermore,
Self Compassion could be equivalent or contributing to the development of optimal, intrinsic
self esteem. Both an optimal sense of self esteem as well as the acceptance of personal
vulnerabilities is described as crucial for the development of authenticity (Kernis, 2003;
Brown, 2010; Diddams Chang, 2012), which consequently determines how authentic an
individual behaves in a leadership role. Given that our analysis has some truth in it, Self
Compassion should support the development of the four qualities of Authentic Leaders
described by Walumbwa et al. (2008). The following model gives an overview about the made
connections.
Details
- Pages
- Type of Edition
- Erstausgabe
- Year
- 2015
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9783842822856
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9783954893799
- File size
- 2.4 MB
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2017 (November)
- Keywords
- Leadership Development Self-Compassion leadershipment Self-esteem Management Self awareness Authenticity
