Authentic leadership and eudaemonic well-being: Understanding leader-follower outcomes

Abstract

We sought to examine the concept of authentic leadership and discuss the influences of authenticity and authentic leadership on leader and follower eudaemonic well-being, as well as examine the processes through which these influences are realized. This was accomplished in four ways. First, we provide an ontological definition of authentic leadership, rooted in two distinct yet related philosophical approaches to human well-being: hedonism and eudaemonia. Second, we develop a multi-component model of authentic leadership based on recent theoretical developments in the area of authenticity. The resulting model consists of self-awareness, unbiased processing, authentic behavior/acting and authentic relational orientation. Third, we discuss the personal antecedents (leader characteristics) of authentic leadership as well as the outcomes of authentic leadership for both leaders and followers and examine the processes linking authentic leadership to its antecedents and outcomes. Fourth, we discuss the implications of this work for authentic leadership theory and then provide some practical implications for developing authentic leaders. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.