Tamara: Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry

‘Who am I and if so, how many? Notes on the myth of leadership authenticity

Wetzel, Ralf

Vlerick Business School

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Abstract

Authentic leadership appears as the solution to plenty of painful contemporary problems. Bad economy, bad organizational performance, bad culture would all become subject to change for the better if leaders behave more authentically, according to the line of discussion. However, the debate seems to stand on poor feet, since some core assumptions don’t stand a closer viability check. This paper highlights two core problems in the foundations of the authenticity debate such as the belief in a stable core self and the trust in a homogenous organization. The paper demonstrates not only the fragmented and narrative constitution of self and organization, we show furthermore to which hidden problem the authenticity debate refers; to which the sheer existence of the debate is already a solution. It is complexity avoidance that the authenticity debate provides. It helps to re-install the myth of the influential leader in a situation, in which the opposite has become apparent.

Metadata

Journal Tamara: Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry 
Volume 13 
Issue 1-2 
Issue date 2015 
Type Article 
Language en
Pagination 41-53
ISSN 1532-5555