Authentic Leadership: a pattern of leader behavior that draws upon and promotes both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, to foster greater self-awareness, an internalized moral perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with followers, fostering positive self-development. (Walumbwa & Avolio, et al., 2008)
Character vs Charisma: Charisma focuses on personality attributes and is not connected to ethics, moral literacy, mentoring or the design of an ethical culture for the organization by the leader. It may be occasionally narcissistic, self-serving and exploitative of others. Character is an evaluation of personality. It is grounded on virtues, like integrity, trust, truth, which are building blocks of a leaders self-esteem, concept and confidence and will persist over time and situations because of consistent behaviors. A virtuous character will facilitate the productive behaviors and elements of charismatic personalities. (Sankar, 2003)
Participative vs. Autocratic Leaders (DuBrin, 2010)
Participative leaders share decision making with group members. Participative leadership encompasses so many behaviors that it can be divided into three subtypes: consultative, consensus, and democratic. Consultative leaders confer with group members before making a decision. However, they retain the final authority to make decisions. Consensus leaders strive for consensus. They encourage group discussion about an issue and then make a decision that refl ects general agreement and that group members will support. All workers who will be involved in the consequences of a decision have an opportunity to provide input. A decision is not considered fi nal until it appears that all parties involved will at least support the decision. Democratic leaders confer fi nal authority on the group. They function as collectors of group opinion and take a vote before making a decision. The participative style is based on management openness because the leader accepts suggestions for managing the operation from group members. Welcoming ideas from below is considered crucial because as technology evolves and organizations decentralize, front-line workers have more independence and responsibility. The participative style encompasses the teamwork approach and is well suited to managing competent people who are eager to assume responsibility. Such people want to get involved in making decisions and giving feedback to management.
In contrast to participative leaders are autocratic leaders, who retain most of the authority. They make decisions confi dently, assume that group members will comply, and are not overly concerned with group members’ attitudes toward a decision. Autocratic leaders are considered task-oriented because they place heavy emphasis on getting tasks accomplished. Typical autocratic behaviors include telling people what to do, asserting themselves, and serving as a model for team members.