A Leadership & Organization Development Interview

Authentic Leadership

Authentic leadership is a relatively recent leadership concept embracing the concept of being genuine or ‘real.’ This can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, such as being oneself rather than attempting to adopt an image of another leadership style, being transparent and demonstrating integrity. Furthermore, authentic leaders should practice the same values in one’s actions that you would expect from their followers. Early in the interview, the interviewee was asked questions about their early life and influences. According to George at al. (2007), authentic leadership “begins with understanding the story of your life” as it provides contexts to experiences and formation of one’s identity as a person (2). Without self-awareness, one cannot be a good leader, let alone an authentic leader that presents themselves genuinely. The interviewee was highly aware that his early life and influential people in his surroundings led him to become the person that he is, as he took example from them in terms of behavior. Many of the values that he holds now where acquired in his formative years, but that provided him with stability and dedication towards certain goals, and as he achieved them, he attained the confidence to lead others.

Values and Ethics

The beliefs and experiences of an individual tend to form their values, but the most challenging test of authentic leadership is practicing those values when under pressure. George et al. (2007) emphasize this with a simple key phrase, “leadership principles are values translated into action” (4). The interviewee noted that he believes in leading with empathy and compassion, which are values engrained into him since early years. When COVID-19 hit, despite being a medical center, the business was hit with declining revenue as well as closures for several months. They set a leadership values-based goal and sought to embrace it, demonstrating to others what their values are and what kind of leader this individual wants to be (Su, 2017). The owner demonstrated the stated values, by not just laying off staff to cut costs, but seeking to balance cash flow, retaining as many employees as possible, and providing equitable hours for everyone, while ensuring a safe environment during the pandemic. He understood that his employees depended on their position to feed their families, and at great costs to the business, kept virtually everyone on the payroll until they were able to return to full operational hours. That is a demonstration of genuine commitment and authentic leadership, where the values are directly seen through the leader’s decision-making and actions.

Adaptive Leadership

Adaptive leadership is an approach that is useful in situations of difficulty or rapid change for the organization. It is characterized by evaluating the situation, disrupting the status quo, and innovating to adapt to new realities in order to survive or even thrive. Adaptive leadership is complex, as it requires strong management to stabilize inherently erratic situations, while creating opportunities for growth that align with the needs or objectives of the organization (Ramalingam et al., 2020). As mentioned above, the COVID-19 pandemic tremendously negatively impacted the business, severely cutting its revenue. The leader exemplified elements of adaptive leadership. First, by attempting to stabilize the situation by not laying off staff and seeking to prepare for when doors opened again. Then, he pivoted the business strategy by focusing on a greater online presence and digital marketing, with an online network to connect and attract new clients to the medical center.

It was a strategic pivot in time of significant instability for the business and using appropriate means of analyzing the situation to make changes and adapt. The interviewee demonstrated skill of adaptive leadership by first, demonstrating the leadership needed to pull the organization through the crisis. Later, he recognized which risks were worth taking and which organization resources were critical using evidence-based analysis and forecasting, while attempting to avoid pitfalls that many other firms encountered during this turbulent time.

Emotional Intelligence

One of the most critical elements commonly defined in leadership is emotional intelligence. At its core, it is the ability to recognize, understand, manage, and utilize to the best effectiveness the emotions, both within oneself and in other people. Emotional intelligence consists of four major areas of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management (Alotaibi et al., 2020). Highly impactful and effective leaders virtually all possess high levels of emotional intelligence, as it is needed to communicate, inspire and mo