Background
In 1996, the film Braveheart won a number of Oscars and other prestigious awards. This famous film is set in the 13th century and bases on the life of Scottish commoner William Wallace. It is a difficult time for the people of Scotland, the behavior of the English forces towards them was terrible. When William Wallace killed the local English Sheriff for murdering his wife, he soon becomes a great leader who fights for the independence and freedom of Scotland against King Edward of England. In a power torn Scotland, William Wallace unites and inspires the Scottish commoners to fight for freedom and independence.
Features of authentic leaders
We will start with the features of authentic leaders because it is less complex than authentic leadership. Meantime, a leader must be included as a component of authentic leadership. The word “authentic”, based on the dictionary, namely “genuine”, “original”, “not a fake”. It reflects the notion of authentic functioning whereby an individual is “the master of his or her own domain” (Kernis & Goldman, 2006). According to Shamir and Eilam (2005), there are four characteristics of an authentic leader.
1. Authentic leaders do not seek leadership position for power and authority. The way they perform a leadership function and take part in activities is based on their true feeling. It is just because they want to express themselves about what is real and true of them.
2. Status, honor and other personal rewards are not the root of authentic leaders to take on leadership role or engage in leadership activities. Rather, they lead from faith. Their value is based on a cause or a mission they want to promote. This value will be applied to their leading process to promote the cause or mission. That is authentic leaders are interested not only in being all that they can be but also in making a difference.
3. Authentic leaders are original, not copies. It is the process through which they develop their
References: Harter, S. (2002) Authenticity. In Snyder, C. R. & Lopez, S. J. (eds.) Handbook of Position Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Shamir, B. & Eilam, G. (2005) “What’s your story?” A life-stories Approach to Authentic Leadership Development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 395-417. Kernis, M. H. & Goldman, B. M. (2006) A multicomponent conceptualization of authenticity. Advances in experimental social psychology. 38, 283-357.