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Pepperdine University

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

A DISCRIPTION OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP IN RETAIL SALES ENVIORNMENTS: A

QUALITATIVE STUDY

A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction

of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor for Education in Organizational Leadership

AmberMarie Thackeray

March, 2018

Eric Hamilton, Ph. D. – Dissertation Chairperson

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2018

This dissertation, written by

AmberMarie Thackeray

under the guidance of a Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been submitted to and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

Doctoral Committee:

Eric Hamilton, Ph.D., Chairperson

James McManus, Ph.D.

Stephen Kirnon, Ph.D.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. v

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................ vi

DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................................... vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................... viii

VITA ...................................................................................................................................................... ix

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ x

Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1

Recent History of Authentic Leadership ...................................................................................... 3 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 7 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................... 8 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................................... 10 Assumptions and Limitations .................................................................................................... 10 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 11

Chapter 2. Review of Literature ............................................................................................................. 12

Grounded Theory ...................................................................................................................... 12 Contemporary Timeline of Authentic Leadership Definitions .................................................... 13 Existential Relevance ................................................................................................................ 17 Renewed Interest in the Early 2000s .......................................................................................... 18 Historical Definitions of Authentic Leadership .......................................................................... 21 Contemporary context of Authentic Leadership ......................................................................... 23 Authentic Leadership Factors .................................................................................................... 26 Psychological Capital and Positive Organizational Behavior .................................................... 32 Measurement ............................................................................................................................ 38 Malleability............................................................................................................................... 33 Retail Environment Variables .................................................................................................... 41 Summary of Literature .............................................................................................................. 46

Chapter 3. Methods ............................................................................................................................... 49

Restatement of the Research Question ....................................................................................... 50 Participants ............................................................................................................................... 51

Human Subject Considerations .................................................................................................. 53 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 54 Theoretical Sampling ................................................................................................................ 55 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 58 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 60

Chapter 4. Results .................................................................................................................................. 61 Salient Reflections .................................................................................................................... 62 Leadership Themes ................................................................................................................... 62 Relational Themes .................................................................................................................... 63 Inwardly Expressed ................................................................................................................... 64 Outwardly Expressed ................................................................................................................ 67 Instructional Themes ................................................................................................................. 73

Chapter 5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 79

Restatement of Findings ............................................................................................................ 79 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................................ 86 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 87 Future Research ........................................................................................................................ 88 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 91

REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 92

APPENDIX A: True North Diagram .................................................................................................... 100

APPENDIX B: Industry Classification Benchmark .............................................................................. 101

APPENDIX C: Informed Consent Document ....................................................................................... 106

APPENDIX D: IRB Approval Notice .................................................................................................. 109

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1. Definitions of Authentic Leadership 1967-2004 ....................................................................... 19

Table 2. Nonprobable Sample Designs ................................................................................................... 52

Table 3. Research and Interview Questions ............................................................................................ 57

Table 4. Executive Summary of Critical Findings .................................................................................. 80

Table 5. Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population ................................................................... 88

Table 6. Theoretical Domains Sample for Future Research .................................................................... 90

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1. Relational Themes Identified in the Current Study .................................................................. 63

Figure 2. Instructional Themes Identified in the Current Study ............................................................... 74

vii

DEDICATION

I dedicate this study to my brilliant and thoughtful spouse, Dr. Theron Michael Liddell,

whose insight and support continues to inspire me to be a better researcher and human being.

viii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I wish to acknowledge those that deeply inspired and edified me though my academic

journey, and more recently with this dissertation.

I am eternally grateful to my parents Drs. Susan and Lynn Thackeray for being my first

teachers and passing on a love for learning. To my mother, witnessing you return to college and

ultimately complete a decorate degree has profoundly shaped who I am as a woman, my career

and educational trajectory. To my father, thank you for teaching me from a young age to think

critically and ask questions about the world around me. Your quiet brilliance continues to

inspire me.

I am especially indebted to my committee chair, Dr. Eric Hamilton, who selflessly took

me on as an advisee despite the distance and time zones that were often between us. I am

honored to have worked with such a brilliant mind on this project and hope to become a fraction

of the mentor he was to me. This work would also not have been possible without the support of

my committee members, Dr. James McManus and Dr. Stephen Kirnon. Both of which pushed

me to be a more succinct and confident researcher and for that, I am grateful.

Thank you to those who may be unaware of your influence, my sister and brothers,

professors at Utah Valley University for encouraging me to pursue a graduate education, Dr.

Suzanne Peterson for exposing me to organizational behavior, members of my doctoral cohort

and Hail Marys of Arizona Roller Girls. Lastly, to the leaders, managers and coworkers that

make up my extended retail family covering multiple states and years. Thank you for inspiring

this study with your depth and resilience.

VITA

AMBERMARIE THACKERAY Education Pepperdine University, Ed. D. Organizational Leadership 2017 Arizona State University, M. S. Management 2013 Utah Valley University, B. S. Philosophy 2012 Experience Utah Valley University, UT 2017-current Coordinator, Utah Women and Education Initiative Acaydia School of Aesthetics, UT 2014-2015 Instructor Austin Kade Academy, ID 2010 Instructor Taylor Andrews Academy, UT 2008-2009 Instructor

Estee Lauder, NH 2015-2016 Assistant Retail Manager, MAC Cosmetics Nordstrom Salt Lake City, UT 2014-2015 Retail Manager, NARS Prevue Logic, AZ 2012-2013 Executive Assistant/Project Manager Nordstrom UT & AZ Training & Development Specialist, Retail Artist 2007-2010

Presentations

Thackeray, A., & Liddell, T. (July 2014). Advances in authentic leadership: a review. Presentation at the International Center for Leadership Conference, Placencia, Belize. Liddell, T. M., Brougham, M. J., & Thackeray, A. (July 2014). What about the TAs? Managing teaching assistants in a large-scale online learning environment. Poster Presentation at the International Center for Leadership Conference, Placencia, Belize. Liddell, T. M., Thackeray, A., Brougham, M. J. (April 2014). Using Technology to Help Online TAs: eManaging & eMentoring in a large-scale eLearning environment. Presentation at the National Social Science Association Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada.

ABSTRACT

Contemporary organizational leadership scholars classify the ancient, persisting need to find

one’s true self as the study of authentic leadership. Authentic leadership scholarship is still very

much in its infancy. There have been many calls by leading researchers to study it further in

both qualitative and quantitative realms (Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, & Peterson,

2008). The current study explores authentic leadership factors qualitatively, as described by

leaders and constituents working in a retail sales-based environment. The qualitative

methodology of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) is used in conceptualizing and

implementing the research. In-depth interviews we conducted with individuals both in

leadership and non-leadership roles. For the purposes of this study the terms “non-leadership

role” are operationalized as non-supervisory positions. The data collected for the study center

around participants’ perceptions of authentic leadership relative to their personal experience

within the retail sector. In accordance with grounded theory, these areas are subject to change as

the interviews developed. Data was organized in two major themes, relational and instructional,

with several sub themes. Data suggested that most behaviors associated with authenticity have

to do with self-awareness and that most leaders exhibited a larger sense of awareness, or

situational awareness. Further study in this area should be performed to include a more diverse

population, detail suggestions are made.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Over the last decade, highly publicized corporate scandals, (e.g., Bernie Madoff, Enron,

Pacific Gas and Electric), unethical management and illegal behavior together with broader

social and economic challenges, have turned public and academic attention toward the behavior

of individual organizational leaders. It is suggested that the increased focus on celebrity, reality

television and the controversial nature of the 2016 presidential election has heightened the public

demand for transparency in leaders (Moulard, Garrity, & Rice, 2015). More sophisticated

technology and increased globalization force individuals, leaders and organizations to engage in

transparent practices. Now more than ever, leaders and organizations are vulnerable to increased

public scrutiny (George and Sims, 2007). The changing landscape of business practices requires

shift in leadership scholarship and practice. Gone are the days of sole individuals holding all the

power. Leadership has evolved into a larger effort influenced by authentic core values.

The academic community responded to the trend of highly visible leaders repeatedly

engaging in unethical leadership practices by taking up the study of authentic leadership. In part

because there was a demand from the general public calling for positive forms of leadership in

organizations in order to restore confidence in our social institutions (Avolio, & Gardner, 2005;

Gardner, Cogliser, Davis, & Dickens, 2011; Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, &

Peterson, 2008). The response to this call took off in the early 2000s and has greatly developed

from there. Originally, the idea was to identify and study the nature of leadership that is

ethically sound and uninfluenced by societal pressures. The concept in its infancy attributed

sound leadership to core, true values held by the individual leading (and by extension, the

organization).

The theory of authentic leadership has emerged in response to this call. The continued

development of authentic leadership over the past sixteen years occurred through the overlap of

several existing fields: leadership, ethics, and positive organizational behavior scholarship

(Avolio, Gardener, Walumbwa, Luthans & May, 2004; Cameron, Dutton, & Quinn, 2003;

Luthans & Avolio, 2003; Walumbwa et al., 2008). These realms of study are no doubt formative

to the contemporary understanding of authentic leadership as a part of organizational behavior.

However, the desire to discover a true, pure sense self has persisted through centuries. The

existential philosophy that grounds authentic leadership can be traced back to origins that have

shaped human thought. The implications of its philosophical origins make for an extremely

nuanced concept which can be difficult to capture, as this study discusses.

Cooper, Scandura, and Schriesheim, (2005) and Walumbwa et al. (2008) all called for

authentic leadership to be studied and observed in every way possible in order to further describe

the factors associated with it. It has been observed in many fields including but not limited to

healthcare, education, project management, and a variety of tech related organizations (Greenier

& Whitehead, 2016; Walumbwa et al., 2008; Wong, Lashinger, & Cummings, 2010). Authentic

leadership studies focus on higher up executives and do not usually target leadership at the mid-

level management level (George, 2003). Given this fact, there appears to be two notable gaps in

the research that this study aims to address, at least in part. To shed light on leadership behaviors

in the mid-level manager and how lead and relate their individual employees. This study aims to

spotlight the world of retail-sales based environments. Retail-sales based leaders have been

neglected from the authentic leadership conversation until this point. The goal of this study is to

identify how, and if, these leaders engage in authentic leadership behaviors and qualitatively

describe what that process looks like.

Four convictions shape the current study:

• As an emerging field, authentic leadership ought to be studied and observed in

every way possible in an effort to further describe its most crucial factors (Cooper

et al., 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

• The factors that make up authentic leadership ought to be studied in relation to

one another as their dependence has been demonstrated (Walumbwa et al., 2008).

• There is space in the literature to study and compare follower and leader

perceptions of authenticity opposed to traits reported by leaders themselves.

• A gap exists in the current literature that suggests there is space to study authentic

leadership in a retail sales environment at a mid-manager level.

Recent History of Authentic Leadership

Defining authentic leadership has been of great interest in the field and has made for a

starting point in measuring and operationalizing the concept. Currently accepted definitions of

authenticity in leadership generally include some variation of a deep sense of self-awareness and

intrapersonal congruence. The complex and involved evolution of authentic leadership will be

covered in chapter two. Beyond those general characteristics there is not a widely accepted

parsimonious one single definition of authentic leadership (Avolio et al., 2004; Avolio, Luthans,

& Walumbwa, 2004; Erickson, 1995; Hansen, Ropo, & Sauer, 2007; Harter, Snyder, & Lopez,

2002; Luthans & Avolio, 2003; Sheldon, Gunz, & Schachtman, 2012; Wang & Hsieh, 2013).

For example, one study states that the “initial conceptualization [of authentic leadership] is

obviously multi-dimensional…It contains elements from diverse domains-traits, states,

behaviors, contexts, and attributions…Moreover, the observers or perspective involved vary

from leader, to followers (at various ‘distances’), to possibly additional observers” (Cooper et al.,

2005, p. 478). The authors also suggest identifying the key dimensions of authentic leadership to

create a theoretically-based definition of the construct. Multiple conceptualizations of the same

construct without recognition of important differences among them have been detrimental or

counterproductive (Cooper et al., 2005).

Walumbwa et al. (2008) answered this call by developing and validating the Authentic

Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ). The ALQ includes sixteen items grouped into four

subcategories: self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective and

balanced processing. The survey is designed to be completed by the follower, essentially

measuring authenticity of the leader based on the follower’s observations. There is also a self-

assessment version available to be taken by leaders. Authentic leadership scholars Walumbwa et

al., (2008), as well as Avolio, Gardner, and colleagues’ (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Gardner,

Avolio, Luthans, May, & Walumbwa, 2005); with Ilies, Morgeson, and Nahrgang (2005)

conceptualized authentic leadership as consisting of five factors: self-awareness, relational

transparency, balanced information processing, internalized regulation, and positive moral

perspective. This operationalized definition emerged, as the literature review will explain,

through an extended process in the field attempting to further refine the definition of authentic

leadership. To explain the authentic leadership construct they encourage future researchers to

“use other methods to assess authentic leadership observational methods and content coding of

speeches, email, scenarios, videotapes, and other correspondence to confirm the results produced

by using survey measures” (p. 119). This study proposes to incorporate that call by conducting

qualitative semi-structured interviews with individuals in formal leadership and non-leadership

positions. The objective is to target the factors identified by Walumbwa et al. (2008) with

descriptions and specific examples provided by participants. Walumbwa et al. (2008) found that

four of the five factors, self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective,

and balanced processing are not independent. A single, second- order factor accounts for

dependence. This information suggests that the factors of authentic leadership may be better

understood by studying them in relation to another, rather than in isolation. It would seem that

studying an individual’s entire narrative is more meaningful to filling in the gaps of authentic

leadership rather than focusing on an isolated expression of one of the factors.

This study is designed to recognize this relationship and describe it qualitatively through

grounded theory. A unique aspect of the current study is that it seeks to report experiences of

individuals on the “front lines” of business, retail sales associates, rather than high up executive

teams and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), as many authentic leadership scholarships focuses

on the later. Using this perspective, the resulting data will add start to add a fullness to the

authentic leadership conversation and aid in future malleability undertakings.

Topic Relevance

With the continuing public disdain for inauthentic, unethical leaders, the demand for

continued research in authentic leadership is high. As this chapter’s introduction notes, some

researchers argue that the growing demand for authentic leadership is due to a recent escalation

of media reporting of unethical leadership behavior coupled with an increase in societal changes

(e.g., terrorism, economic downturn), which necessitates the need for positive leadership,

perhaps more so than in any other time (Cooper et al., 2005). Present and future researchers

must heed the call to study authentic leadership in order to build a robust understanding of the

construct and its malleability. Highly publicized corporate scandals, management malfeasance,

and broader societal challenges facing public and private organizations have contributed to the

recent attention placed on authenticity and authentic leadership (Walumbwa et al., 2008). It is

possible or even likely that the need for authenticity in leadership has existed just as much or

more so in the past, as the existential implications in Chapter two suggest. The construct of

authentic leadership is continuing to evolve and must be studied further. The trend in research

may be a response to the increased transparency organizations are forced into because of how

quickly information moves now compared to pre-digital times.

Multiple conceptualizations of the same construct without recognition of important

differences among them have been at least partly detrimental. The reason they have been

detrimental is because those different interpretations lead to the development of literatures from

which interpretations are not comparable across independent or dependent variables (Cooper,

Scandura, & Schriesheim, 2005). The demand for authentic leaders imposes a duty on research

communities to define, construct a measure, measure and help develop authentic leadership.

Currently, much of the literature is concerned with defining authentic leadership and creating an

instrument of measurement. Further defining, operationalizing and understanding the

relationship between self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective and

balanced processing, will make way for future researchers to define authentic leadership using

empirical means, subsequently clarifying the task of measuring authentic leadership. A better

understanding of authentic leadership factors may also open the door to study of the complex

nature of leadership and its possible relations to emotions and employee behavior (e.g., job

satisfaction, reciprocity, productivity, gender related issues, emotional intelligence).

The current efforts in the field are promising and developing quickly. This study seeks to

add to those efforts and further refine the construct of authentic leadership. Additionally,

authentic leadership tends to be researched as an overall construct with few studies focusing on

the specifics of gender or job type (Liu, Cutcher, & Grant, 2015). It is possible that the novelty

of the concept has necessitated more foundational types of research rather than looking as

specific organizational environments. Individuals working in retail sales have participated in

authentic leadership studies, although for different motivations. Clapp-Smith, Vogelgesand, and

Avery (2009) collected data from a small Midwestern chain of retail clothing stores. Their

research tested the relationship between perceptions of authentic leadership, trust in

management, positive psychological capital, and performance. Because the current study is

seeking to shed light on lived experiences of leaders and constituents in a particular, untapped

field, it will add a new layer of definition to current research efforts.

Research Questions

The current study aims to explore authentic leadership factors identified and their

relationship within a retail sales based environment, particularly on a mid-level manager level.

Specifically, this study will set out to explore the following questions:

1. How do the factors of authentic leadership emerge in retail sales based environment?

2. What is the relationship between these emerging factors of authentic leadership?

The study will utilize qualitative methodology, specifically grounded theory (Strauss &

Corbin, 1998), focusing on individual interviews with participants for data generation.

Research sub-questions. The literature review that follows served as theoretical

underpinning of this study. It has also helped frame the research question, and the following

sub-questions that will subsequently be investigated in this study. These sub-questions are:

1. What are prototypical examples of authentic leadership factors in retail sales?

2. Are authentic leadership factors in retail sales frequently expressed by individuals in non-

leadership roles?

Theoretical Framework

Grounded theory borrows from ethnographic research—it is a “bottom-up” approach, one

that requires the researcher to observe and collect data without having consulted the relevant

literature beforehand, in order to get to the raw experiences of the subjects themselves without

undue influence of external sources (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Additionally, grounded theory

recognizes that reality is constantly evolving. Research is commitment to understanding the

ways in which reality is socially constructed. Theory formulated by the researcher is grounded

in data (Richards & Morse, 2013). For the researcher, grounded theory is a very intuitive

methodology. Conceptualizing, question formulations and making comparisons should occur

organically. According to Strauss & Corbin (1998),

Most of the time conceptualizing, asking questions, and making comparisons occur quite

unconsciously. They are the tools that persons use to become acquainted with and

understand the worlds they live in. The difference between everyday life and doing

analysis is that in analysis researchers take a more self-conscious and systematic

approach to knowing. (p. 20)

During the analysis portion of the research process the researcher is encouraged to make

comparisons with different pieces of data. This practice reveals similarities and differences

among them. The factors of authentic leadership have been shown to function dependently, thus

requiring a methodology that allows for this type of comparison (Walumbwa et al., 2008). A

methodology that allows the relationship between authentic leadership factors to be described in

the context of socialization and time is the most appropriate approach for this study.

Selecting grounded theory as a means to collect data is appropriate for two reasons. First,

the assertion by Walumbwa et al. (2008) to observe authentic leadership in every way possible

supports the method. Second, grounded theory will allow qualitative descriptions of authentic

leadership and the nature of self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral

perspective and balanced processing to emerge as experienced by the participants. Grounded

theory allows for an organic narrative to emerge, shedding light on the nuances of authentic

leadership that may have not otherwise been uncovered. Literature review and data collection

may be obtained through nontechnical literature which may be Biographies, diaries, documents,

memoirs, manuscripts, records, reports, catalogues, and other materials that can be used as

primary data or to supplement interviews and field observations. Qualitative studies, and

grounded theory in particular, necessitate the research question to be framed in a manner that

provides “sufficient flexibility and freedom to explore a topic in depth” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998,

p. 25).

The current study sets out to do two things:

• Qualitatively describe the five factors that make up authentic leadership from

both leaders and followers in a sales based environment through unstructured,

grounded theory driven interviews and

• Compare the descriptions.

The results of this study will move the literature forward by further uncovering the nature

of authentic leadership factors, their relation to one another and their relation between the

follower’s and the leader’s perception. The purpose is to describe qualitatively the five factors of

authentic leadership and shed light on their relationship utilizing qualitative research

methodology, specifically that of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

Definition of Terms

The following definitions are used in this study:

Retail sales-based environment. A retail sales based environment is a for profit

organization whose primary function is the selling of goods. Often times employee pay is

partially or fully based on commission.

Authentic leadership factors. The factors of authentic leadership are balanced

processing, internalized moral perspective, relational transparency and self-awareness (Avolio,

Walumbwa & Weber, 2009; Whitehead, 2009).

Leadership role. One who holds a formal managerial title within their respective

organization holds a leadership role.

Constituent. An individual with at least one superior to whom they must report.

Assumptions and Limitations

The research will use an inductive lens and will examine participants’ experiences that

are specific to their experience in or with leadership. The assumption made is that this study will

help shed light on specific instances of authentic leadership factors expressed in retail sales.

Additionally, there is an assumption that the data collected and analyzed in this study will add to

the overall academic discourse around authentic leadership.

Strauss and Corbin (1998) identify four “sources of problems for qualitative inquires” (p.

21). One of the four that is particularly relevant to this study is the problem of personal and

professional experience. Professional experience in the field of study frequently leads to

negative judgements about that field. Conversely, experience in the field may also be of value

opposed to another more abstract source. In either case, it is necessary for the researcher to state

any potential biases that may exist. Typically, in a grounded theory study, the researcher

dedicates considerable amount of space with personal narrative, as grounded the role of the

researcher is arguably as important as the research questions (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Thus, an

appropriate amount of self-disclosure is necessary for this study.

Bracketing. My professional career for the last decade has been within the retail-sales

environment in both leadership and non-leadership positions in Utah, Arizona, California, Texas,

Massachusetts and New York. Unchecked, my experiences as an “insider” have the potential to

influence this study. It is essential for me as a researcher to separate my assumptions prior to

collecting data to ensure that there is no personal bias in collecting and analyzing. Although my

professional life has existed in the world of retail I have dedicated myself to academia for the last

12 years, which has allowed me to check out of a retail mind set. Additionally, I have not

worked in the field for over a year which will mitigate potential research bias.

Summary

This research is focused on understanding the lived experiences that influence and

explain authentic leadership factors of balanced processing, internalized moral perspective,

relational transparency and self-awareness in a retail sales environment. Studying the area of

retail sales will illuminate the corners of authentic leadership not yet studied. Researchers are

acknowledging and responding to this call by further investigating leadership. This study seeks

to add to that conversation. This topic is significant as leadership, particularly transformational

leadership, continues to evolve. Developing a more robust understanding of authentic leader in

specific fields may aid in the study of malleability, which will be discussed at length in the

review of literature. The theoretical frame work of grounded theory will be employed as it will

allow for the researcher to capture organic personal narratives through private interviews.

Chapter 2: Review of Literature

This chapter’s literature review details the historical and current state of authentic

leadership definitions, measurement and development. The history of authenticity as a quality of

self is quite deeply rooted in multiple fields across history. The concept reaches outside the

boundaries of academic leadership into ancient and existential philosophy, psychology, and

sociology. The study of organizational leadership and authentic leadership in particular is

relatively new, but its origins are in ancient thought that shaped human civilization. Since

ancient times the search for one’s true self has been seen as a commendable practice. This

sentiment has persisted for centuries. This review will work through these formative influences

and will also address related contemporary scholarship.

Grounded Theory

Traditionally, grounded theory studies require that the formal review of the literature be

delayed until after data analysis, so as not to inform the research questions or influence the data

collection (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The literature is not consulted to help generate questions,

but rather to shed light on the findings that emerge from the data as well as a general

understanding of topic. Given the extensive, rich history of authenticity and authenticity as it

relates to leadership, it was necessary to conduct a full review of literate prior to data collection.

In the case of authentic leadership, the depth of historical significance must be appreciated

before moving into data collection to fully appreciate and eventually interpret the interaction

with participants of the study. According to Strauss and Corbin (1998) studies typically include

a personal narrative from the researcher, for the purposes of considering their role and impact on

the study. Corbin also asserts that the relationship and experience of the researcher tends to

relate to the phenomena being studied. It is of particular import to include this section if there is

a risk of researcher bias, or if the researcher belongs or identifies as part of the population

intended to be studied. Because that is not a concern for the current study there will be no self-

referential section of this review. Personal notes will however, be appropriately addressed in the

discussion section of Chapter 5. All things noted, the following literature review was conducted

prior to data collection and analysis.

Contemporary Timeline of Authentic Leadership Definitions

The contemporary construct of authenticity emerged in the past 85 years, but was not

seriously studied until the mid-century. Earlier descriptions of authentic leadership focused on

specific behaviors of the leader.

A comprehensive review and organization of authentic leadership definitions organized

by Gardner, Cogliser, Davis and Dickens (2011) exposes gaps in research during the early stages

of authentic leadership study. Table 1 exhibits a chronological line of the definitions originally

organized by Gardner et al. (2011). The table has been condensed for to better serve the purpose

of this review which is to grasp a brief contemporary history of authentic leadership.

Until 1967 there was no real academic definition of authentic leadership. Rome and

Rome (1967) were the first in this regard. They discussed authenticity as being the same at the

individual level as it would be for the entirety of an organization. An organizational would be

authentic insofar as its leadership exhibits specific behaviors. For example, organizational and

individual authenticity is expressed by acceptance of shortcomings, and a clear understanding of

the personal and organizational capacities in relation to performance. Rome and Rome (1967)

also identified specific behaviors that define authentic leadership, noting that that leaders must

realize “[the organization’s] capacity for responsibility and choice,” and that an authentic leader

“acknowledges guilt and errors; [he/she] fulfills [their] creative managerial potential for flexible

planning, growth, and charter or policy formation; and responsibly participates in the wider

community” (p. 185).

Over a decade later Henderson and Hoy (1983) used specific behaviors to define

authentic leadership, much like Rome and Rome (1967) but they added supplemental qualifiers.

Beyond specific behaviors, authentic leadership is also subject to the perception of the people

being led (Henderson & Hoy [1983] used the term subordinates) and how they witness the leader

exhibiting these behaviors. Henderson and Hoy (1983) defined it as the “extent to which

subordinates perceive their leader to demonstrate the acceptance of organizational and personal

responsibility for actions, outcomes, and mistakes; to be non-manipulating of subordinates; and

to exhibit salience of self over role” (p. 67). Authors Henderson and Hoy (1983) go on to

identify three components of authenticity in leadership: (1) acceptance of personal and

organizational responsibility for actions, outcomes and mistakes; (2) the non-manipulation of

subordinates; and (3) the salience of the self over role requirements. Leadership inauthenticity

involves low levels of these components, i.e., a lack of accountability, manipulation of

subordinates, and salience or role over self.

Henderson and Hoy (1983) go on to identify what is not authentic leadership, based in

part on subordinate perception Essentially, leadership inauthenticity is defined as the extent to

which subordinates perceive their leader to be passing the buck and blaming others and

circumstances for errors and outcomes. Inauthentic leaders to be manipulative of subordinates.

This is the first time in contemporary academic literature that the converse of authentic

leadership is defined. Henderson and Hoy (1983) were the first to introduce the subordinate

perception as something to be considered in defining authentic leadership. Doing so was an

important benchmark for the field. Including subordinate perceptions of their leaders continues

to be a persisting theme in authentic leadership research. At this point the complexities of

authentic leadership start to emerge, the nuances of defining the construct become more apparent

as more elements are added by each new researcher.

Fourteen years later, an article by Bhindi and Duignam (1997) defined authentic

leadership in an entirely new way, not yet mentioned by previous researchers of the twentieth

century. Their view of authenticity revisited the ancient, but still very much relevant, notion of

accessing a one true self. They describe on how the discovery of the authentic self is possible,

Through meaningful relationships within organizational structures and processes that

support core, significant values; intentionality, which implies visionary leadership that

takes its energy and direction from the good intentions of current organizational members

who put their intellects, hearts and souls into shaping a vision for the future. (Bhindi &

Duignam, 1997, p. 119).

Another unique idea Bhindi and Duignan (1997) proposed is a renewed commitment to

spirituality, a rediscovery of the spirit and with that, an effort to recognize other individuals’

spirit with the purpose of forming authentic relationships. Their writing suggests that empathy

plays a role in authentic leadership, especially when nurturing relationships. They also discuss a

how high emotional intelligence indicates a high degree of authenticity. Bhindi and Duignan

(1997) are the first to mention why it is important to possess these traits in an increasing

globalized world of business and propose that authenticity translates across cultures. Bhindi &

Duignan made a significant step in defining authentic leadership by not just addressing behaviors

but by incorporating the search for true self, and elements of emotional intelligence. These

ancient formative themes continue to define authentic leadership as will be discussed moving

forward.

A resurgence of interest in the field occurred in the early 2000s. More refined definitions

and description of authentic leadership appeared with more frequency. Many scholars credit the

renewed interest to the recent decade with so many leaders that publicly exhibited lapses in

ethical judgment, in cases such as Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Anderson (Gardner, Cogliser,

Davis, & Dickens, 2011; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

Begley, (2001) built on the ideas of emotional intelligence and self-awareness adding

more layers of ethically sound practices to leadership behavior. Begley (2001) asserted that

authentic leadership is, “Knowledge based, values informed, and skillfully executed” (p. 353).

Later Begley (2006) adds to the discourse that authentic leadership encompasses a fundamental

knowledge of self.

Authentic leadership emerged in philosophical inquiry centuries ago. As Kernis and

Goldman (2006, p. 284; italics in the original) note, “contemporary psychological views of

authenticity owe a great deal of debt to the works of philosophy” where “authenticity is loosely

set within topics such as metaphysics or ontology, firmly entrenched in particular movements,

such as metaphysics or ontology, firmly entrenched in particular movements…and localized to

specific authors” (as cited in Gardner et al., 2011).

The study of authentic leadership has quickly evolved from examining a single leader

into a larger field including peers, constituents, supervisors, culture, language, gender, and work

setting. The field reaches across public, private and not for profit sectors. Authentic leadership

is complex with many moving parts. Prominent authentic leadership researchers Walumbwa et

al. describe the field’s evolution: “the theory of authentic leadership has been emerging…from

the intersection of the leadership, ethics, and positive organizational behavior and scholarship

literatures” (2008, p. 92).

It should be stressed that the interest in authenticity persists through centuries and is in no

way novel to our current era. It is very much existential in nature and as such has maintained

persisting significance since its origins. Contemporarily understanding authentic leadership

necessarily means having a grasp ancient Greek thought, all of which will continue to be

examined within this review of literature. Ancient philosophical concepts are the first to inform

contemporary notions of authenticity. Definitions have evolved over the century but have most

recently been applied to leadership theory with the emergence of a new field, authentic

leadership that has taken shape over the last decade. The definition of authentic leadership has

evolved substantially since then and continues to do so. This study seeks to contribute to that

discussion by offering a qualitative narrative of leadership between individuals on a personal

level.

Existential Relevance

A welcomed and surprising aspect of researching this topic was that the concept of

authenticity seemed to transcend time and any strict discipline. Referential material for this

chapter comes from philosophers, social scientists, psychologists, educators, students and

business leaders, despite having a relatively focused concept. Ideas encompass broad themes

outside of authentic leadership, moving closer to an existential ideal. Great minds have worked

since the time of Socrates to understand what researchers now identify as authentic leadership.

Philosophically, the idea of an authentic self resonates with humankind because it seems to be an

escape from what can be considered existential absurdities of life.

The idea of the absurd is a common theme among late 19th and early 20th century

existential philosophers, particularly Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre (Marino, 2004).

Absurdity refers to the conflict between the natural human tendency to seek inherent meaning in

life and the inability to find any. Cognitive dissonance is produced as a result of this conflict.

The search for one’s true self is an exercise in search for inherent value, or meaning in life.

Finding it would ward off the cognitive dissonance generated by accepting the possibility that it

a true self does not exist or does not have inherent meaning. If one taps into the purity of an

authentic self, their motivations are generated to satisfy internal desires, opposed to external

pressures. As such, accountability to society carries less weight. External pressures of the world

lose their heavy influence making for a more satisfying existence. The fundamentals of a

thoughtful existence are primarily satisfied internally. Largely for that reason, one can

reasonably interpret the literature on authentic leadership as positioned in a broader field of

human understanding and self-exploration.

Renewed Interest in the Early 2000s

George’s publications ushered in a new a new era of interest both academically and

publicly, which will be discussed further in this chapter. Bill George (2003) defined authentic

leadership as using one’s natural ability to improve self-awareness for the purpose of recognizing

and overcoming shortcomings. George continued to build off of the previous definitions of

offered by Begley (2001) and Bhindi and Duignan (1997) by tying authenticity to the concept of

a true self. He argued that authentic leaders are motivated by purpose and personally held

values. Like Bhindi and Duignan before him, George acknowledged the importance of

interpersonal relationships as being a part of authenticity. Becoming an authentic leader to

George is a lifelong self-reflective journey. Here, again, it is easy to see how the existential

thread connects his definition with earlier ones.

At this point many researchers started work on the concept. Avolio et al. (2004) refined

previous definitions by addressing organizational context and adding self-regulated positive

behaviors to the already established need for self-awareness. They describe the authentic leaders

as, “Confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, transparent, moral/ethical future-oriented, and gives

priority to developing associates into leaders themselves” (p. 243). Like Henderson and Hoy

(1983), Avolio and Luthans describe what an authentic leader is not. They contend that authentic

leaders avoid coercion or persuasion given their authentic personally held values and beliefs. This

description echoes George’s (2003) argument that leaders have strong core values. Avolio et al.

(2004) further refine the direction. They describe authentic leaders as those individuals wh have a

clear sense of self. An important component that they add to the discourse is that of situational self-

awareness. They argue that authentic leaders are aware of their context and impact on others.

Table 1 displays the nuanced evolution of authentic leadership from 1967 until 2004. The growth

of the concept since that time will be discussed at length in the following pages.

Table 1

Definitions of authentic leaders and authentic leadership from 1967-2004

Source Definition

Rome and Rome (1967) Hierarchical organizations, in short, like

an individual person, participate in

specified behaviors which demarcate them

as being “authentic”

Henderson and Hoy (1983) Leadership authenticity is defined as the

extent to which subordinates perceive

specific, positive behaviors. Leadership

inauthenticity is defined in the same way,

witnessing less desirable behaviors.

(continued)

Source Definition

Bhindi and Duignan (1997) Authenticity entails the discovery of the

authentic self through meaningful

relationships, renewed commitment to

spirituality, a sensibility to the feelings,

aspirations and needs of others, with

special reference to operating a globalized

workplace.

Begley (2001) Authentic leadership is professionally

effective, ethically sound, and consciously

reflective practices in educational

administration.

George (2003) Authentic leaders use self-awareness to

recognize their shortcomings, and work

hard to overcome them. They lead with

purpose, meaning, and values.

Relationships are valued. Authentic

leadership is a life long journey.

(continued)

Source Definition

Luthans and Avolio (2003) Authentic leadership is defined by both

greater self-awareness and self-regulated

positive behaviors on the part of leaders

and associates, fostering positive self-

development. The authentic leader does

not try to coerce or even rationally

persuade associates. Core values and

beliefs shape leadership style.

Avolio et al. (2004, p. 4) Authentic leaders have a greater sense of

self awareness, and their context in which

they operate.

Begley (2004) Authentic leadership is a function of self-

knowledge, sensitivity to the orientations

of others.

Note. Adapted from Gardner, W. L., Cogliser, C. C., Davis, K. M., & Dickens, M. P. (2011). Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(6), 1120-1145, p.112

Historical Definition of Authentic Leadership

Authenticity appeared ancient philosophical existentialism as a process of examining

existence to understand the essence of being. Ancient Greeks treated the construct of

authenticity as a personal reflection. The aphorism “Know Thyself” was inscribed in the Temple

of Apollo at Delphi. An interesting connection not noted in current leadership literature is that

the Temple at Delphi housed a rather famous oracle, known for her prophecies. For the

aphorism to be inscribed on a house that is partially dedicated to seeing the future demonstrates

how highly the Greeks thought of the practice of self-reflection; know thy self before looking

forward.

The etymology of the word authentic can be traced to the Greek authentento meaning to

have full power (Gardner et al., 2011). Authenticity functioning as self-reflectance appears in

Plato’s Apology when Socrates asserts that the “unexamined” life is not worth living. This is

another demonstration of how important self-reflection was to the ancient world. Achieving this

type of self-actualization is seen in other ancient/early modern philosophical works as a most

admirable pursuit. Contemporary researchers echo this point by suggesting that engaging in

activities that reflect the authentic self is an expression in well-being (Gardner et al., 2011).

Historically, the self-awareness aspect of authenticity functioned as an internal

examination of the self, opposed to behaviors and actions affecting others external to the self. In

the same fashion of the ancient Greek’s “examined life,” Harter et al. (2002) describes authentic

leadership practice focuses on self-awareness, particularly with owning one’s thoughts, personal

experiences, needs, desires and beliefs. This concept is described as when a leader

unapologetically uses such self-reflective thoughts, beliefs, needs and desires to inform their

leadership style (Harter et al., 2002). Harter et al. highlight the internal moral congruence seeded

in Ancient Greece, which tends to be a popular theme in the literature going forward from this

point, particularly Bill George’s works (2003, 2007). Kernis and Golman (2006) (as cited in

Gardner et al., 2011) note that,

Contemporary psychological views of authenticity owe a great deal of debt to the works of

philosophy where authenticity is loosely set within topics such as metaphysics or

ontology, firmly entrenched in particular movements, such as metaphysics or ontology,

firmly entrenched in particular movements…and localized to specific authors. (p. 284)

Until about 2003 authentic leadership was not of much focus for the academic community.

Definitions were loosely based on perception of leaders from their constituents, described

through desired behaviors. Early definitions also include the identity of the organization, e.g., if

the organization as a whole, participates in authenticity (Henderson & Hoy, 1983). The task of

operationalizing authentic leadership moved toward the individual level in the years following.

Contemporary Context of Authentic Leadership

The notion of developing authenticity and authentic leadership was popularized in

mainstream thought by Bill George’s (2003) book on the topic as well as leadership consultant

Kevin Cashman. George and Sims hugely successful book True North: discover your authentic

leadership popularized the notion of authenticity in leadership in the early 2000s. George also

built onto initial definitions asserting that authentic leaders have an amount of self-discipline and

are dedicated to self-development. George greatly contributed to practitioner and scholarly study

of authentic leadership. George’s practitioner approach to authentic leadership made for more

descriptive type definitions. George lays out five dimensions of authentic leadership: (1)

pursuing purpose with passion, (2) practicing solid values, (3) leading with heart, (4) establishing

enduring relationships, and (5) demonstrating self-discipline (George, 2003; George & Sims,

2007). Of the five dimensions, a few seem to align with scholarly definitions that are developed

around the same time, they evolve slightly in later works. For example, Kernis and Goldman’s

relational orientation is consistent with the fourth dimension of establishing enduring

relationships. The second dimension of practicing solid values is consistent with Kernis and

Goldman’s authentic behavior (Kernis, 2003; Kernis & Goldman, 2006).

George and Sims’s (2007) five-point leadership development program is essentially the

beginning of contemporary practitioner interest in authentic leadership. The five components are

knowing one’s authentic self, defining personal values and leadership principles, understanding

personal motivations, building a support team, and staying grounded by integrating all aspects of

life. The categories are derived from interview with 125 leaders deemed (by others or their

reputation) authentic. These five tenets are organized in an illustrated compass present on

multiple pages (see Appendix A).

The first, knowing thy-self, is rooted in the same Greek aphorism mentioned earlier.

Here, it is used interchangeably with self-awareness. It is an essentially combination of the

constant of self-exploration and emotional intelligence. George and Sims (2007) spend time

endorsing emotional intelligence over intellectual intelligence as a key tool to understanding the

self. The authors describe positive antecedents of self-awareness including job satisfaction,

increased self-confidence, value and behavior consistency and interpersonal connection; all items

that continue to resurface in later definitions of authentic leadership (George & Sims, 2007).

Defining personal values naturally follows once the true self is uncovered. Defining values

emerges in three related parts, identification of value, identification of a related leadership

principle and ethical boundary based on the prior two. Through their study, George and Sims

(2007) argue that values are seldom accurate when simply listed on paper, but rather developed

through testing under pressure (p. 87). Similarly, discovering personal motivators (the third

component) takes time and some internal testing. The authors briefly touch on basic

motivational theories but ultimately encourage potential leaders to focus on identifying intrinsic

motivators. Then, leaders should surround themselves with a group of people, or at least one

person, intended to be a transparent safe zone. George and Sims (2007) assert that an outlet for

vulnerability enables greater self-awareness (p. 119). Finally, an authentic leader is one that

exhibits personal and professional congruency.

Most all of the participants interviewed attributed their success in leadership has having

adopted an integrated lifestyle, or, being the same person at home as they are at work. This same

consistency carries over intrapersonally as well. For example, in George and Sims (2007) a

former American Airlines CEO Don Carty is quoted saying, “You cannot motivate people unless

you talk and walk in the same way” (p. 70). One’s authentic should look the same in both the

personal and professional life. George and Sims (2007) tout intrapersonal and interpersonal

consistency as a component of successful authentic leadership.

Some of the most influential early modern work in the academic community is attributed

Luthans and Avolio (Gardner et al., 2011; George, 2003; Luthans & Avolio, 2003). They

defined authentic leadership as “a process that draws from both positive psychological capacities

and a highly developed organizational context, which results in both greater self-awareness and

self- regulated positive behaviors on the part of leaders and associates, fostering positive self-

development” (Luthans & Avolio, 2003, p. 243). Their initial definition of authentic leadership

set out to identify the levels of analysis (leader, constituents, work environment etc.) necessary to

identify authenticity in a leader. Luthans and Avolio’s work in 2003 augmented previous

popular works into the realm of academia where authenticity would be scrutinized and studied

more rigorously. Their description of the authentic leader gave future researchers a foundation

from which to start:

[We] define authentic leadership in organizations as a process that draws from both

positive psychological capacities and a highly developed organizational context, which

results in both greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviors on the part of

leaders and associates, fostering positive self-development. The authentic leader is

confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, transparent, moral/ethical future-oriented, and

gives priority to developing associates into leaders themselves. The authentic leader does

not try to coerce or even rationally persuade associates, but rather the leader's authentic

values, beliefs, and behaviors serve to model the development of associates. (p. 243)

Luthans and Avolio (2003, p. 244) expressed a “need for a theory driven model

identifying the specific construct variable and relationships that can guide authentic leader

development and suggest researchable positions.” Their pioneering efforts in the field resulted in

two summits hosted by the Gallup Leadership Institute of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in

2004 and 2006. The goal of the summits was to generate scholarly and practitioner interest and

research authentic leadership, specifically, authentic leadership development. A subset of papers

presented was published in a special issue of The Leadership Quarterly (Yammarino, Dionne,

Chun, & Dansereau, 2005; see Table 1).

Authentic Leadership Factors

There appears to be a general agreement on four core factors that authentic leadership

encompasses. They are balanced processing, internalized moral perspective, relational

transparency and self-awareness (Avolio et al., 2009; Whitehead, 2009). Walumbwa and

colleagues (2008) initially identified these four factors by using a multi-sample strategy to

determine construct validity and to develop new authentic leadership measuring scales

(Walumbwa et al., 2008). Each construct may be assessed by an existing and validated scale. As

Avolio et al. describe it,

These four scales loaded on a higher-order factor labeled authentic leadership that was

discriminately valid from measures of transformational leadership (e.g., Avolio 1999)

and ethical leadership (e.g., Brown et al. 2005) and was a significant and positive

predictor of organizational citizenship behavior, organizational commitment, and

satisfaction with supervisor and performance. (2009, p. 424).

Walumbwa et al. operationalize the four components in later work (2008). Authentic

leaders engage in

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

et al., 2008, p. 95)

Additionally, the researchers have demonstrated that authentic leadership is made up of

the combination of the factors. When addressing authentic leadership, factors all hang together

in an interdependent relationship.

Balanced processing. Leaders that objectively analyze all relevant data before coming

to a decision exhibit balanced processing. Additionally, such leaders also solicit views that

challenge their own in effort to gather more data (Gardner et al., 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

A leader who exhibits balanced processing will tend to avoid impulsive actions and typically

does not act on hidden agendas (Riggio, 2014). Balance processing is also unbiased. According

to Burke and Cooper (2006) decision-making occurs in the “absence of denials, distortions,

exaggerations, or ignorance of internal experiences, private knowledge and external evaluations

that characterize a subjective view of the self” (p. 89). There is overwhelming evidence to

suggest that people tend to be biased information processors when it comes to self-relevant

information, which means balanced processing in itself is and exercise in self-awareness (Avolio,

Gardner, Walumbwa, Luthans, & May, 2004).

To avoid such behavior would require a keen sense of self-awareness. Kernis (2003)

suggests that balanced processing is best understood by considering how individuals navigate the

decision-making process relative to their self-esteem level. What he found was that persons with

low self-esteem are likely to avoid acknowledging personal shortcomings or undesirable

personal attributes. To avoid exposure, these individuals will select and interpret information

relative to their strengths. Rather than weigh all relevant data, individuals with lower self-esteem

will operate in a self-preserving way.

Kernis (2003) argues that those with optimal self-esteem process information much more

objectively, and are not waylaid by self-preservation or social pressures. The intertwining of

balanced processing and self-esteem further demonstrates the complexities of authentic

leadership and potential road blocks in measurement and evidence-based training development.

Internalized moral perspective. Internalized moral perspective refers to an integrated

form of self-regulation guided by moral standards and values held internally, opposed to those

held by a group or those held by society. Decision-making expressed through internalized moral

perspective is consistent with internalized values (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Gardner et al., 2005;

Walumbwa et al., 2008).

Relational transparency. A leader who exhibits relational transparency will present

one’s authentic self to others, or as Walumbwa et al. describe it, an authentic self, “as opposed to

a fake or distorted self” (2008, p. 95). Note that the construct of relational transparency is

precisely how the ancient Greeks defined authenticity mentioned earlier. As such, there is an

important distinction to make between relational transparency and the fourth construct, which is

self-awareness. Avolio et al. use consistent ideas when they defined authentic leaders as,

Those who are deeply aware of how they think and behave and are perceived by others as

being aware of their own and others' values/moral perspectives, knowledge, and

strengths; aware of the context in which they operate; and who are confident, hopeful,

optimistic, resilient, and of high moral character. (2004, p. 4)

Relationship transparency engenders trust between leader and subordinate.

Trust is increasingly touted in academic literature and popular leadership discourse

(Burke & Cooper, 2006). Individuals that express relational transparency express “their true

emotions and feelings to followers, while simultaneously regulating such emotions to minimize

displays of inappropriate or potentially damaging emotions” (Gardner et al., 2005). Here again

the complexity of authentic leadership emerges. Relational transparency requires one to exhibit

an exceptional level of self-awareness (in terms of impact on others), while also maintaining

clear organizational and situation awareness. For example, a top executive may not include

detailed personal feelings about a recent merger in a state of the company address. However,

such feelings may be appropriate to share with the board of directors. Relational transparency is

entirely dependent on many variables, making it elusive to describe beyond generalities.

Like balanced processing, relational transparency interacts with self-esteem. Transparent

leaders are committed to helping followers see all aspects of their (the leader’s) true self, whether

negative or positive. Again, an individual with low or fragile self-esteem would avoid disclosing

or highlighting personal shortcomings. An authentic leader that expresses relational

transparency abandons deceptive self-preservation. The balance of appropriate self-disclosure

and presentation results in high levels of trust (Burke & Cooper, 2006).

Self-awareness. Too often self-awareness is mistaken for the colloquial “knowing

thyself,” wherein the authentic leadership self-awareness occurs within a context of external

factors (opposed to the internal nature of relational transparency). Self-awareness is gained

through exposure to others, and being cognizant of one’s impact on those around them (Kernis,

2003). Walumbwa, Peterson, Avolio, and Hartnell (2010) clearly define self-awareness as

referring to the demonstrative of “an understanding of how one derives and makes meaning of

the world and how that meaning making process impacts the way one views him- self or herself

over time” (2008, p. 95). Self-awareness is indeed a recurrent theme when it comes to defining

authenticity in the leadership literature (Avolio et al., 2004; Hansen et al., 2007; Harter, Schmidt,

& Hayes, 2002; Luthans & Avolio, 2003; Sheldon et al., 2012). Most researchers include some

form of self-awareness, either as a conscientiousness of self within an external context or as the

earlier described adage, being aware and exhibiting personal beliefs (relational transparency), or

a combination of the two.

According to Avolio et al. (2004) authentic leaders also possess the ability to self-

regulate, or obtain congruence between ideal and possible selves. The alignment of the two is

thought to be true authenticity. Burke and Cooper (2006) describe self-regulation as “self-

control by setting internal standards, evaluation of discrepancies between these standards and

outcomes and identification of indented actions for resolving discrepancies” (p. 88). Self-

regulation aids in the process of making and setting goals which Burk & Cooper propose is

indicative of authentic leadership.

Intrapersonal congruence. Other researchers have described authentic leaders as those

that are true to themselves, particularly in their interactions with others, referencing the ancient

aphorism and also the construct of relational transparency (Hansen et al., 2007). Kernis (2003)

states that,

Behaving authentically means acting in accord with one’s values, preferences and needs

as opposed to acting merely to please other or attain rewards or avoid punishments

through acting ‘falsely’. Authenticity is not a compulsive effort to display one’s true self,

but is the free and natural expression of core feelings motives and inclinations. (p. 14)

Here, Kernis (2003) describes behaving authentically as a natural pursuit. Decision-

making is based on internally held beliefs and preferences. Authenticity occurs when a leader’s

actions are internally motivated in contrast to acting based on societal or organizational pressures

When a situation calls for behaviors contrary to authentic expression a conflict is created.

Success in a conflicting situation again brings up other components of authenticity. Burke and

Cooper (2003), like Kernis (2003) point out the important relationship self-esteem has with

authentic leadership. Those individuals who possess low self-esteem will tend to bend to

external pressures and compromise their values, especially when decision making involves

exposing personal weaknesses or shortcomings.

Taking ownership of (or being true to) personal beliefs means that authenticity is

implicated in intrapersonal congruence. As such, some scholars define authenticity as a

continuum of congruence opposed to being an either/or construct (Avolio et al., 2004; Erickson,

1995; Heidegger, Macquarrie, & Robinson, 2013; Wang & Hsieh, 2013). A study measuring

consistency between words and behaviors verses beliefs and behaviors found that

“within authentic leadership it is a supervisor’s consistency between words and actions that has

the strongest influence, and there is no significant relationship between supervisors’ moral

perceptions and employee trust” (Wang & Hsieh, 2013, p. 621). This finding suggests that

congruency between beliefs and behaviors do not matter as much to constituents as congruency

between words and actions. This relates to the four constructs discussed earlier because

authentic leaders who engage in relational transparently use language to express their true selves,

bridging the gap between words and beliefs.

Psychological Capital and Positive Organizational Behavior

In the field of organizational behavior, the study of authentic leadership takes on more

integrative initiatives, understanding the relationship of authentic leadership and psychological

capital, or PsyCap. PsyCap is an important antecedent to an authentic leader’s self-awareness. It

is the positive metal state of an individual, categorized by self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and

resilience (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007).

The individual players of leadership, leaders, followers, and organizational context have

largely been tested relative to their impact on the bottom line of profitability and organizational

success (Clapp-Smith et al., 2009). Avolio (2007) asserts that research in authentic leadership

has “reached a point in its development at which it needs to move to the next level of

integration” (p. 25). At the individual and group levels, relationships between PsyCap and

performance has been demonstrated to positive (Clapp-Smith et al., 2009; Luthans et al., 2007;

Luthans, Avey, Norman, Combs, & Avolio 2006; Luthans, Avolio, Walumbwa, & Li, 2005;

Youssef & Luthans, 2003). On the individual level, authentic leadership has been found to have

an impact on follower commitment, satisfaction with the leader as well as performance

(Walumbwa et al., 2008).

Snyder, Feldman, Taylor, Schroeder, and Adams (2000) and Snyder and Lopez (2002)

categorize hope as having two dimensions, will power and pathways. Individuals experience

will power that drives them to obtain desired goals. The pathways drive is described as

complement that aids will power. An individual with hope will seek alternative paths to achieve

the desired goal. High levels of hope are associated with achieving goals more often. Burke and

Cooper (2006) suggest that hope is also related to higher levels of performance.

Another contributor to performance is optimism. Individuals that participate in an

optimistic explanatory style tend to internalize positive events while externalizing negative

events, this results in more positive expectations (Seligman, 2002; Seligman & Schulman, 1986).

When success is attributed to themselves or when failure is attributed to external circumstances,

individuals are more likely to expend additional energy to performance and less afraid to take

risk.

Resiliency, the last major component of PsyCap, is ability to psychologically recover

from adverse or stressful situations (Luthans & Avolio, 2003). Resiliency is the only portion of

PsyCap that is reactive in nature (opposed to proactive). The extent to which individuals and

groups react effectively is the out working of resiliency (Burke & Cooper, 2006). Resiliency that

is positively related to employee performance operates under two assumptions, (a) that setbacks

are inevitable and (b) that an individual’s response to those setbacks would be associated with

performance. If the response to setbacks is favorable then resiliency is anticipated to be

perceived as positive (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007).

Measurement

Organizations may have expectations that leaders exhibit positive attributes such as

integrity and honesty. However, there are relatively few validated tools for measuring these

attributes (Walumbwa et al., 2008). Because of this, it will become more important for

organizations to have the ability to measure authenticity in leadership in order to test, train and/or

develop authentic leaders. An eventual validated method of measurement is necessary to show

how, if it is possible at all, authentic leadership can be quantitatively developed through training.

The sudden interest and subsequent boom in academic writing about authentic leadership

has led to competing definitions of the construct. Researchers criticized earlier work, including

Luthans & Avolio (2003), expressing concern over initial definitions as well as addressing

levels-of-analysis issues (Cooper network), (Cooper et al., 2005; Sparrowe, 2005; Yammarino,

Dionne, Chun, & Dansereau, 2005). Yammarino et al. (2005) cited other shortcomings,

specifically found in Luthans and Avolio’s (2003) work. They mostly include a leader centric

focus, and only a single level of analysis (Yammarino et al., 2005).

As Table 1 suggests, the formal study of authentic leadership is still very much in its

infancy. Most of the earlier studies postulated what made an authentic leader without focused

attention on empirically validating a construct. A literature review conducted in 2011 asserts

there have been multiple unheeded calls to organize the construct of authentic leadership in ways

that examined can be examined empirically (Gardner et al., 2011). The limited amount of

empirical research in addition to the elusive nature of authenticity has made defining, measuring,

and developing authentic leadership a substantial challenge.

To answer these calls, Walumbwa et al. (2008) worked toward creating valid model that

demonstrated clear factors that make up authentic leadership. One primary objective was to

answer the typical criticism of conceptual ambiguity. Cooper et al. (2005) assert that

Scholars in this area need to give careful attention to four critical issues: (1) defining and

measuring the construct, (2) determining the discriminant validity of the construct, (3)

identifying relevant construct outcomes (i.e., testing the construct’s nomological

network), and (4) ascertaining whether authentic leadership can be taught. (p. 91)

It is necessary to lay the necessary conceptual and empirical groundwork for advancing

authentic leadership theory and development. For that reason, they sought to build a case for a

higher order, multidimensional theory-based questionnaire of authentic leadership, the Authentic

Leadership Questionnaire or ALQ. They did so by conducting a study that reached across the

country, and eventually to include individuals from around the world. The ALQ was developed

empirically by conducting a factor analysis. Beyond developing the ALQ Walumbwa et al.

(2008) took steps to test for reliability. The construct of authentic leadership shifted into a more

rigorous place with the new empirical research. Additionally, the comprehensive development

of the ALQ is based on a thorough review of theoretical contributions encompassing multiple

disciplines.

Beyond the ALQ other authentic leadership measurement scales have emerged. In a

2011 issue of Leadership Quarterly, Neider & Schriesheim published preliminary validation of a

new measure, the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI). Additionally, they raised concerns

with the ALQ. First, that the ALQ is protected under commercial copyright and is burdensome

to access, even there is no cost to researchers to obtain copy of the sixteen-item survey. They go

on to criticize the process of item generation of the ALQ, asserting that the methods used may

include subjective judgments, citing contemporary acceptable practices that deal with a

quantitative approach to content validation. Essentially, the validity of scale development is

challenged. The factor analysis used to generate the four underlying factors of authentic

leadership is criticized for being inflated to fit the model and not the other way around. As a

response to these perceived errors another preliminary measurement of authentic leadership

emerged.

The ALI uses the theoretical framework outlined by Walumbwa et al. (2008).

Researchers administered the ALQ to a group of undergrad students. They assessed the validity

finding that multiple items were assigned to the wrong dimension; additionally, they call for

further reliability testing on the ALQ as well as content validity examinations (Neider &

Schriesheim, 2011).

The ALI scales were tested for consistency reliability and empirical factor structure. ALI

testing sought to establish four measures for each for the four identified leadership behaviors and

present data within a model made of four different correlated-latent variables (Neider &

Schriesheim, 2011). Overall, the initial validation of the ALI supports treating authentic

leadership and transformational leadership as global or aggregate concepts. Authors agree that

the ALI is in need of extensive validity testing.

Malleability

It appears that research in this area is primarily directed toward authentic leadership

malleability in order to produce leaders that run organizations in a positive, ethically responsible

way (Cooper et al., 2005). As the existence of multiple definitions in Table 1 suggests, the

literature does not converge on a single accepted definition of authentic leadership, making

measurement difficult. As such, some researchers have argued that developing an evidence-

based training curriculum is premature at this point (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Branson, 2007;

Cooper et al., 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2010).

A simple Google search reveals that Authentic Leadership training programs are already

in existence. The Authentic Leadership Institution offers individuals, teams, organization

consulting, self-exploration, understanding your unique self. The instruction is a week long

course held at Harvard Business School. The course focuses on self-exploration and identifying

one’s inner compass.

The training is based on the New York Times best seller Authentic Leadership:

Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value and True North: Discover Your Authentic

Leadership. Bill George, one of the leading developers of independent authentic leadership

trainings, along with Peter Sims conducted a study in which they interviewed 125 leaders from

multiple business sectors to capture what constitutes authentic leadership. They had some

surprising results from their research. They discovered that their participants enjoyed relating

personal stories related to their own process of leadership development. George concluded that

individuals are generally looking for meaning and significance in their work. Here again,

authentic leadership seems to tap into the transcendent ideas of existential value, self-esteem and

true self. George and Sims (2007) further assert that leaders and organizations fail when

leadership styles are prescribed. Successful authentic leaders do not emulate someone else but

rather hone their personal, unique style (George & Sims, 2007).

Developing authentic leadership. Work on authentic leadership development was

sparked after writings of transformational leadership suggested that there is pseudo versus

authentic transformational leaders (Avolio et al., 2009). Evidence-based authentic leadership

development is extremely limited. The lack of literature owes in part to the novelty of the field,

and as discussed, the arduous process of defining authentic leadership with empirical study.

Until 2003, it would not have been possible to find academic writing on an authentic leadership

development model. It simply did not exist. Luthans and Avolio (2003) touch on the subject.

Again, due to the lack of empirical research, a nature v. nurture discussion is presented

speculating on the essence of authenticity. More speculation on authentic leadership

development appears in the Leadership Quarterly volume that arose from the summit in

Nebraska.

Luthans and Avolio’s (2003) primary goal in introducing authentic leadership

development was to examine what constitutes genuine leadership development as well as

integrate recent work in positive psychology (Avolio et al., 2009; Luthans & Avolio, 2003).

Northouse (2008) observes, there are both practical and theoretical approaches to authentic

leadership.

Practical approach. Popularity in sales of authentic leadership books, seminars and

programs implies that there is demand for authentic leadership information. Robert Terry

developed the Authentic Action Wheel to navigate organizational problems with a focus on

authenticity (Terry, 1993). As noted earlier, Bill George is another major contributor to the

authentic leadership dialogue. Rather than focusing on problem solving as seen in Terry’s work,

George uses corporate experience and stories from successful leaders to identify common

behaviors (George, 2003). Not surprisingly, George notes authentic leaders possess passion and

self-awareness, both of which are formed and informed by an individual’s life experiences,

which makes difficult for training purposes.

The practical approach to authentic leadership training utilizes existing literature and

experimental methods. A type of training is available and facilitated by Bill George in the form

of consulting and seminars. The services are offered to individuals, teams, and organizations.

George’s training modality is informed by a study conducted involving 125 leaders. Many of the

participants lead very large and successful companies. In the book, Authentic Leadership:

Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value and True North: Discover Your Authentic

Leadership George identifies authentic leaders as those that are not trying to emulate other

successful leaders. Authentic leadership comes when an individual distinguishes their “true

north,” or something akin to a moral compass. Finding one’s “true north” requires regular

practice in self-awareness and value identification. Leadership is expressed through said values

and should be minimally influenced by external forces. Leaders functioning from their true

north naturally attract others willing to work for a common goal. George argues that successful

leaders connect with others based on personal stories and uses many examples of this in his

books. In terms of training, George’s Authentic Leadership Institute curriculum focuses on who

one is as a leader rather than what one is able to do. They describe their offerings as a series of

techniques that are used to identify and activate a person’s internal mindset.

Another example of a practical approach comes from Naropa University, located in

Boulder, Colorado. Similarly, this program categorizes authentic leadership as an exploration of

self. The main tenants of the program are built around mindfulness, exploring negative emotion,

and self-awareness being a journey.

The recurrent theme of self-awareness is again seen in Kouzes and Posner’s (2000) best-

seller The Leadership Challenge. In it they describe leadership as an observable set of skills and

abilities exhibited through behavior; namely, behavior modeling, inspiring a shared vision,

challenging processes/risk taking, enabling collaboration, and encourage the heart. The practices

are addressed more specifically in The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. The five

behaviors are measured and validated by the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) and are

positively related to engagement of followers (Kouzes & Posner, 2000). Training for the five

behaviors involves a significant amount of self-reflection, reminiscent of the self-awareness

piece stressed by other researchers (Avolio et al., 2004; Hansen et al., 2007; Harter, Snyder, &

Lopez, 2002; Luthans & Avolio, 2003; Sheldon et al., 2012). The first behavior, modeling the

way for others, relies almost entirely on identifying a personal leadership style and confidence.

Behaviors involve aspects of self-awareness and interpersonal congruence. For example,

inspiring a shared vision requires a leader to align personal values with a collective vision for

their constituents. Learning these behaviors is primarily based on personal self-awareness type

exercises, e.g., writing a tribute to yourself, and risk taking, e.g., breaking down status quo

processes (Kouzes & Posner, 2000). Additionally, Kouzes and Posner have parlayed the success

of their publications into training seminars.

Theoretical approach. Theory building in authentic leadership advanced significantly

during the Gallup Leadership Institute Summit in 2004 held at the University of Nebraska. The

emerging field of authentic leadership, together with a public outcry for more constructive

leadership, produced the need to operationalize the meaning of authentic leadership in order to

study it further (Northouse, 2008). The summit culminated with the four-part definition of

Authentic Leadership, advanced by Walumbwa and colleges. Balanced processing is a self-

regulatory behavior and refers to the ability to analyze information as well as other’s opinions

before making decisions. Relational transparency is the practice of presenting one’s true self in

an honest way to others. This happens when an individual share deeply held inclinations,

motives and feelings with others in an appropriate manner (Kernis, 2003). According to Luthans

and Avolio (2003) there are four positive psychological attributes that have an impact on

authentic leadership: confidence, hope, optimism and resilience.

Both practical and theoretical approaches describe authentic leadership as a

developmental process that requires time, self-reflection and experience (George, 2003;

Northouse, 2008). Currently, there is little research on developmental strategies concerning

authentic leadership. There is little evidence-based research to confirm that practical approaches

actually increase authentic leadership behavior. However, because self-awareness and self-

esteem are common themes in authentic leadership it is reasonable to conjecture that individuals

to become more “authentic” by developing them. That is, becoming an authentic leader is

shaped over time through critical life events that stimulate growth toward a more authentic self.

Organizations and human resource departments may aid in this growth by encouraging self-

awareness, transparency and honesty (Luthans & Avolio, 2003; Northouse, 2008).

Retail Environment Variables

Retail sales is the process in which demand is identified and satisfied by selling goods

and services through multiple channels of distribution to consumers. Retail is an extremely large

and diverse sector of global business. It covers a broad range of products and services across

many channels. To organize the complexity of the industry Dow Jones and the Financial Times

Stock Exchange (FTSE) created an industry classification taxonomy. The taxonomy is used to

segregate markets into sectors within the macroeconomic of retail (ICB). According to the

Industry Classification Benchmark (Industry Structure and Definitions. n.d.) the taxonomy of an

industry is identified in the order of industry, super sector, sector, subsector (see Appendix B).

The two industries referred to as “retail environments” in this study are two-fold,

consumer goods and consumer services. Consumer goods covers the super sectors automobiles

and parts, food and beverage, personal goods and household goods. The personal goods super

sector contains the most sectors and subsectors in this industry including durable and non-

durable house hold products (hard and soft lines, respectively), furnishings, home construction,

leisure goods like electronics, recreational products, toys, clothing and accessories, footwear, and

personal products (cosmetics, personal hygiene products and the like). Food and drug retailers,

general retailers, airlines, restaurants and bars, hotels, travel and tourism, gambling and media

agencies are all a part of the consumer services industry.

Hard and softlines. Both hard and soft lines fall under the consumer goods industry

super sector of personal and house hold goods. These are the items typically associated with

shopping at a mall or department store.

The hard-good group, or hardline retailers, are those that offer non-apparel merchandise

such as jewelry, home furnishing, electronics, automobiles, lumbar and sporting goods.

Generally, hardline goods provide utility and do not wear out quickly. Opposite to hardline

retailers is the soft goods group, or softline retailers. Softlines are specialty retail companies that

sell apparel, accessories, cosmetics, fabric, toiletries, stationary and footwear. Softline products

are understood to be consumed and replaced after a shorter period of time than hardline products.

The art category includes retailers that offer goods and services related to handicrafts or musical

instruments. Gift shops, art galleries and bookstores also fall into this category. Of course,

overlap between the groups is very common, especially in stores with multiple departments. The

type of product or service sold will generally inform the retail market strategy or how products

and services are organized into the store environment.

Environments. Sales environments, or store types, are just as diverse as product

offerings, including but not limited to department stores, discount stores, warehouse stores,

variety stores, mom-and-pop shops, specialty stores, boutiques, second hand stores, general

stores, convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets and malls. The exchange of selling and

buying goods does not necessarily have to exist in a store setting. Open markets, yard sales and

ice cream trucks are examples of this. Each setting varies in marketing strategy and goods sold.

In addition to these mentioned, online markets are another channel for retailers which have

become especially popular since the early 2000s (Park, Kim & Yu, 2011). Online retail may be

broken down further into categories and attributes. However, to spend time on these details is

beyond the scope of this study. Accordingly, the focus will remain on brick and mortar retailers.

Retailers can therefore be narrowed by identifying the types of good sold and by what means, or

store type (if any) they are sold from.

Method of transfer. To further categorize the retail setting, there are several different

ways in which a consumer may receive their goods from the retailer or utilize a method of

transfer. Door-to-door, ship to store, self-service and counter service are some of these. Others

like digital download or delivery are frequently using in online shopping. Delivery services are

also available by restaurants, and mail order retailers. Door-to-door refers to sales individuals

traveling to sell goods. Ship to store may either occur in a brick and mortar setting, e.g., if a

desired item is out of stock but is able to be ordered from another location, or online in the stead

of home delivery. Perhaps self-service is the most popular type of shopping experience. Self-

service allows the consumer to select handle goods before purchasing. Counter service is a

method practiced in in settings where items are out of reach of the customer and must be

procured by the seller. Jewelry, medicine, and liquor or even some fruit stands are examples of

items transferred from seller to buyer in this way. As with other retail variables, there is much

overlap in methods of transfer. High-end department stores hire sales associates to aid the self-

serve experience for the customer, helping them select merchandise or selecting it for them

entirely (Spector & McCarthy, 2012). Customer service and company culture shape the exact

experience of the method of transfer.

The retail industry itself has a depth of scholarly research on many different topics (Park

et al., 2011). Because the field of authentic leadership is still in its developmental infancy, a

study detailing the factors of authentic leadership in retail sales environments does not exist. This

is certainly an existing gap in the literature. There is a clear opportunity to study authentic

leadership in a retail setting. However, being that the retail industry as a whole is extremely

broad, diverse and complex it would be unreasonable not to narrow the scope of the study to a

specific retail environment with identifiable methods of transfer and types consumer goods.

Doing so will reflect a more refined pool of potential study participants.

Customer service. In both industries, consumer goods and consumer services, customer

service plays a role in the success of the business, customer satisfaction and return patronage

(Pan & Zinkhan, 2006). Customer satisfaction with experience and return patronage has been

extensively studied. Customer service plays an extremely important role in an organization’s

ability to generate revenue (Pan & Zinkhan, 2006; Selden, 1998). Employee product knowledge,

music, proper signage, customer support post purchase, and organizational training all influence

sustainable revenue for most organizations. Pan & Zinkhan (2006) explain the importance of

customer service related to leadership, “An understanding of patronage behavior is a critical

issue for retail managers because it enables them to identify and target those consumers most

likely to purchase” (p. 229). In essence, excellent customer service is a managerial (and

organizational) need.

Research on how and who to hire to create the best consumer experience is plentiful and

detailed. Christman, Garrity, Hall, and Pesselnick, (2000) assert that good customer service

starts with hiring individuals that are willing to learn how to help, rather than providing a

prescription of customer service for them to follow. They use an example of an individual

working in a music store that is unfamiliar with an artist that a customer asks for. Rather than

eschewing the customer because they do not know the answer to their question, the employee

must be willing to learn how to find the answer. Similarly, in The Nordstrom Way, Spector and

McCarthy (2012) attribute much of Nordstrom’s customer service success with empowering the

employee. At Nordstrom there is one overarching rule: use your best judgement. Again here,

there is a descriptive rather than prescriptive approach to customer service. From here,

employees have the flexibility to service customers without having to work through time

consuming bureaucratic policies. In addition to this benefit, Spector & McCarthy point out that

employees tend to feel more invested in the company, which makes for lower turnover.

Relevant variables. Sales environments, consumer goods and methods of transfer vary

according to country, culture, demographics and organizational marketing strategy. The United

States boasts the largest number of the most lucrative retailers in the world (Christman et al.,

2000). While there is plenty of room to study authentic leadership in a global environment, the

current study is narrowed to only include participants with experience working in U.S. retail

locations.

Additionally, this study is concerned with retail workers that interact directly with

customers within organizations that have a customer service focus and often engage in counter

service. As such, it is necessary to eliminate from the study retail settings that do not involve

employees and leaders that do not work directly with consumers, for example, online retail

spaces and/or brick and mortar locations that require no human interaction during the exchange

of goods.

Interaction with customers directly, or engaging in counter service, allows for a more

diverse daily work experience. As mentioned previously, an environment that focuses on

customer service allows for individuals to take more initiative and personal investment in their

respective organizations (Spector & McCarthy, 2012). Retail leadership should then be

responsive to this type of environment. These spaces are typically high-end department stores or

somewhere that provides services or high value items (for example, a car dealership). Where

there is close interaction between customers and employees, leaders must be agile in facing

changing scenarios and demands (Spector & McCarthy, 2012).

Examples of authentic leadership in this type of environment is what this study seeks to

capture. The dynamic environment of customer-service oriented organizations would be

preferable to study in terms of capturing examples of authentic leadership, opposed to retail

settings where employees do not directly interact with customers, for example self-service type

stores like Target, K-Mart, or a grocery store. Therefore, for the purposes of this study the

eligibility requirements will include that individuals have experience in a counter service, or

partial counter service driven environment.

Summary of Literature

As mentioned earlier, some researchers argue that the growing demand for authentic

leadership is due to a recent decrease in ethical leadership (e.g., Enron, WorldCom,) coupled

with an increase in societal changes (e.g. terrorism, economic downturn) that necessitates the

need for positive leadership more so than in any other time (Cooper et al., 2005). Walumbwa et

al. (2007) note that

Highly publicized corporate scandals, management malfeasance, and broader societal

challenges facing public and private organizations has contributed to the recent attention

placed on authenticity and authentic leadership. (p. 90)

The demand for authentic leaders imposes an obligation on the scholarly community to

define, construct a measure for, measure and help develop authentic leadership. In essence, the

importance of authentic leadership scholarship revolves around the more complex task of

authentic leadership development. Additionally, topics of concern for future researchers may

involve the complex nature of leadership and its possible relations to emotions, and employee

behavior (e.g., job satisfaction, reciprocity, productivity).

Avolio and Gardner (2005) point out, “authentic leadership development involves

ongoing processes whereby leaders and followers gain self-awareness and establish open,

transparent, trusting and genuine relationships, which in part may be shaped and impacted by

planned interventions such as training” (p. 322). The current state of authentic leadership

scholarship, development and malleability cannot readily be validated.

Currently literature suggests that until authentic leadership is more clearly defined and

accepted, creating a valid model for measurement will be difficult (Avolio et al., 2004; Cooper et

al., 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2008). Current efforts to fully develop and validate theory- driven

authentic leadership measures are ongoing and show promise (Walumbwa et al., 2010).

There is some evidence to support the ALQ’s reliability and validity (Walumbwa et al.,

2008). Reservations about the ALQ exist because of its novelty in the field. The authors urge

future researchers to work through validity and reliability. Their results “suggest that it is

possible to ethical leadership and transformational leadership)” (Walumbwa et al., 2008, p. 118).

As promising as these findings are, the ALQ may be seen as a first step in the direction of

validating the construct, which requires additional research.

The field of authentic leadership addresses the public’s need and demand for accountable

leaders. It does appear that the measurement, training and development of authentic leaders

depends on accepted criteria to define authenticity in leadership. The field is moving in this

direction, with generally accepted tenets of authentic leadership. The multi-dimensional nature

of authenticity may evolve within different leadership contexts, creating limitations on a

standardized definition or measurement process.

Chapter 3: Methods

The study collected and analyzed data about perceptions of leadership, and leadership

related behaviors and participation from individuals either currently working or have worked in a

retail sales environment. This study sought to capture experiences of individuals in leadership

and non-leadership roles in retail sales, the individuals working on the “front lines.” Themes

were compared to each other and to existing authentic leadership literature. A qualitative

approach was more appropriate than quantitative for two main reasons. First, unlike quantitative

research, the current study does not aim to try to confirm or disconfirm a particular hypothesis.

It instead was intended to explore and describe the participants’ personal leadership experiences.

Further, the current study does not concern itself with what makes up authentic leadership, but

rather the narratives provided by leaders and followers themselves and how authenticity,

specifically, its factors, are expressed in said narratives, if at all.

Second, the data collected does not lend itself to numerical study or comparison—a

hallmark of quantitative study. Quantitative research aims to test hypotheses, be replicable, and

generalize findings to the general population of interest. Strauss and Corbin (1998) refer to

qualitative research as that which “produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical

procedures or other means of quantification” (p. 17). Further, they mention that qualitative

methods can “give the intricate details of phenomena that are difficult to convey with

quantitative methods” (p. 19).

Grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was chosen as the primary means for data

collection and analysis, because it allows the researcher to gather a substantial amount of

detailed data from a small number of subjects (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Grounded theory was

selected as the best fit for the intentions and design of the current study. In quantitative research,

bias is addressed by rigid control and standardization, which can discourage the sharing of

individual stories and limit or deny the inclusion external factors such as environment or context

(Mishler, 1991). Conversely, the current study is directly concerned with the participants’

experiences as they are “‘lived or ‘felt’ or ‘undergone’" (Sherman & Webb, 1988, p. 7), with

particular interest in individual narratives and contexts, which is exactly what this study aims to

capture.

Data collection centers around participants’ perceptions and descriptions of leadership,

and leadership related behaviors and participation with the intention of describing the factors that

comprise authentic leadership, as cited by Walumbwa et al. (2008). Interviews are to be semi-

structured. In accordance with grounded theory, these areas were subject to change as the

interviews develop. As such, interviews were open-ended, depending on how much information

the subject is willing to share. Interviews were scheduled to be a flexible in duration, with a

default plan of 60 minutes. Transcription of the interviews will then occur. The transcriptions

then were immediately investigated and coded to identify themes and concepts important to the

study. These themes will then be compared against future interviews, in order to systematically

seek disconfirming accounts or evidence, as consistent with grounded theory (Charmaz &

Mitchell, 2001).

Restatement of Research Questions

As stated in Chapter 1, the current study aims to explore authentic leadership factors and

their relationship within a retail sales based environment, specifically addressing the following

questions:

1. How do factors of authentic leadership emerge in retail sales based environment?

2. What is the qualitative relationship between the emerging factors of authentic leadership?

Research sub-questions. The literature review appearing in Chapter 2 served as

theoretical underpinning of this study. It has also helped frame the research question, and the

following sub-questions that will subsequently investigated in this study. These sub-questions

are:

1. What are the prototypical examples of authentic leadership factors in retail sales?

2. Are authentic leadership factors in retail sales frequently expressed by individuals in non-

leadership roles?

Participants

The current study is concerned with personal experience related to leadership in a retail

sales-based environment. The target population for the study are adult individuals with

experience working in retail sales either in a leadership or non-leadership role. “Non-leadership”

is operationally defined as a non-supervisory role recognized by the organization. The inverse is

applied when referring to “leadership role” in terms of describing participants. Purposive

sampling will be employed as the primary strategy for recruiting.

“Purposive sampling is a procedure by which researchers select a subject or subjects

based on predetermined criteria about the extent to which the selected subjects could contribute

to the research study” (Vaughn, Schumm, & Sinagub, 1996, p. 58). Individuals who have

worked in the retail sales industry for a minimum of six months will be eligible to participate in

the study. Subjects who hold or have previously held formal leadership titles (e.g., assistant

manager, team lead, and so forth) would be considered a leader while those with no formal title

would be considered a “non-leader.” It is important to note that formal titles of leadership only

affect the data collection process in so far as personal leadership experiences differ. Subjects

were initially recruited from four large U.S. based department stores. Individuals eligible for the

study must necessarily hold a position related to retail sales, in contrast to non-retail related

positions (e.g., housekeeping or restaurant related services) and must have experience interacting

with customers directly (counter service). As such, recruiting was directed at retail locations that

engage in counter service, such as department stores. All genders and ages (above 18 years)

nation-wide were eligible for the study. The desired sample was to include a up to 10 leaders

and up to 10 non-leaders.

The study’s sampling method is nonprobabilistic. A nonprobable design has the

distinguishing characteristic that subjective judgments play a role in the selection of the sample.

Six sample designs are recognized as nonprobable, two of which this study will employ. First,

the sample is convenient, as participants are easily reached through the researcher’s background

knowledge and contacts in the retail sales environment. Second, the sample may participate in

characteristics of snowball sampling. In this case the individuals of the previously identified

group identify other members of the population to be a part of the study. It is anticipated that

snowball sampling will occur given the nature of recruitment. Managers who received the initial

email were asked to share the information with their team or identify additional managers who

are eligible to participate (Henry, 1998). A brief definition of sample designs is provided in

Table 2 as cited by Henry in Practical Sampling (1998).

Table 2

Nonprobable Sample Designs

Type of Sampling Selection Strategy

Convenience Select cases based on their availability for the study.

Snowball Group members identify additional members to be included in sample.

Recruitment will primarily take place through organization contact, the liaison, and

secondarily through snowball, or chain sampling. Appropriate operation or human resource

managers will be identified through existing contacts in the industry. Identifying a liaison will

help ensure successful recruitment (Henry, 1998). These liaisons will be sent an initial email

with a brief explanation of the study, the researcher, the affiliated institution, subject eligibility,

what types of questions will be asked, how the information will be used, the information’s

confidential and voluntary nature, and a request to forward this information to eligible managers

and employees. If there is no response after two weeks, a follow-up email will be sent.

Human Subject Considerations

After obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), invitations for

research participation will be distributed via email to liaisons of major department stores. The

email will include a brief description of the research, an explanation of the requirements for

eligibility, an explanation of the time required for participation, an expectation that the

interviews will be audiotaped, and an explanation of data storage. The email will also explain

that participation is voluntary and that participants could withdraw from or discontinue

participation in the study at any time as well as the confidential nature of their participation.

After recruitment material is sent out individuals interested in participating will be

contacted to schedule an interview. Prior to the interview a formal consent form will be emailed

to the participant. The form will acknowledge that the individual gives consent to be audio-

recorded for the purpose of the study. Transcriptions will be filed by number rather than by

name to increase anonymity and data will be stored in a password protected location. The

consent form will also reiterate the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature and right to refuse

answering questions or withdrawal at any time. This study is eligible for an exempt IRB request,

as there is minimal risk for participants and it will not be conducted on protected groups.

Data Collection

After approval for exempt status by Pepperdine University’s IRB board, data for the

study was obtained through semi-structured interviews with leaders and non-leaders working in

retail sales-based environments. Interviews were scheduled at the subject’s convenience, most

likely via phone or other remote means given the researcher’s remote location of residence. The

interviews were audio recorded using a digital application. During the interviews, the researcher

took notes to capture additional data. In accordance with grounded theory, interviews were semi

structured with general prompts (e.g., “Tell me how you got into your leadership role”)

(Spradley, 1979).

Additionally, the consent form listed assumed risks that may include but are not limited

to loss of time, discomfort recalling distressing events or feelings, boredom, mental fatigue, or

embarrassment at disclosing prior poor performance. The probability and magnitude of harm

was not greater than that ordinarily encountered in daily life. The primary benefit of

involvement in the study is furthering the general knowledge of identity development in

leadership. Participants did not receive any financial compensation for participation in the study.

All of this information was discussed before the interview along with any questions the

participant might have.

Once the interview portion of the study was complete, the participant received a hand-

written thank you card. The unlikely event of copyrighted materials playing a role in the study

did not occur. Had it have happened, they would have been removed in the final draft.

Additionally, any items that were a conflict of interest did not occur, otherwise it would have

been dealt with appropriately and with full disclosure.

Additional data sources. The current study is primarily concerned with participants’

narratives, experiences, and histories. Beyond content provided by the participants, the

researcher elects to take notes both during and after interviews to assist with coding purposes,

while striving to uphold confidentiality at all costs. In accordance with grounded theory, an

additional review of literature after data collection is necessary. The current study therefore did

not employ measures for data collection outside of those described above.

Interviewing techniques. Interview protocol is informed by grounded theory standards

outlined by Strauss and Corbin (1998). Research questions 1 and 2 (RQ1, RQ2) form the basis

of the interview. In accordance with grounded theory interview principles, the questions are

open-ended and intended to be flexible enough to allow the interview to be driven by the

narrative of the participant. Additional research sub-questions are included to guide the

interview. These questions may be answered without probing, given the open-ended nature of

the interview.

Theoretical Sampling

It is intended that theoretical sampling will be employed during the interview process.

Unique to grounded theory, theoretical sampling takes place starting with the first interview,

which will inform the direction of the subsequent interviews. Theoretical sampling is a method

of data collection based on concepts derived from data. It is different from conventional

sampling methods in that it is responsive to data rather than established before research begins.

Strauss and Corbin (1998) explain,

This responsive approach makes sampling open and flexible. Concepts are derived from

data during analysis and questions about those concepts drive the next round of data

collection. The research process feeds on itself. It simply keeps moving forward, driven

by its own power. (p. 144)

Theoretical sampling is concerned with discovering relevant concepts and their properties

and dimensions. On the first day of data collection, analysis immediately follows. Analysis

leads to concepts and the concepts generate more questions. This circular process of data

gathering continues until the researcher has clearly defined the concepts, reaching saturation.

Saturation is the point when no new relevant themes emerge. Theoretical sampling facilitates

flexibility so that the researcher may go where “analysis indicates would be the most fruitful

place to collect more data” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 145). Additionally, studying human

behavior is unlike that of physical objects. It cannot be understood without reference to

meanings and purposes attached by human actors and their activities (Guba & Lincoln, 1994).

Theoretical sampling is concept driven and enables the researcher to uncover relevant

concepts in depth. When studying a new area or population is it ideal because it the researcher to

take advantage of fortuitous events, allowing for new discovery. Theoretical sampling in

grounded theory functions in steps. The researcher collects data, followed by analysis, followed

by more data gathering until a concept reached the saturation point (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

The analysis guides the research. Because of the upfront uncertainty, Strauss and Corbin (1998)

keenly recognize a problem with theoretical sampling, one that affects the current study:

Dissertation committees want to know in advance what…questions will be asked of

participants, theoretical sampling makes it difficult to predict all of this with certainty. A

researcher using theoretical sampling never knows what twists and turns the research will

take. (p.146)

As such, the research questions outlined in Chapter 1 and again in the current chapter will

shape the general tone of the interviews. Theoretical sampling does not concern itself with

consistency as much as it is concept driven. The researcher is free to follow analytic trails to

fully define and examine concepts that arise. The aim of this project is not just to identify

concepts but describe the properties of them.

Theoretical sampling may conclude too soon before all concepts are completely fleshed

out. Reasons may be a lack of time, energy, and other resources. If the study forecloses data

collection prematurely, it will leave gaps in the overall story. Once major concepts show depth

and variation a researcher may safely know the saturation point has been reached. To capture the

greatest amount of data to address its research questions, this study will utilize not just interviews

but also personal observations and researcher notes. The role and intuition of the researcher is

critical in this process. To aid generating data the following interview questions have been

developed. Table 3 shows their relationship to the research questions and how they will

practically function in this process.

Table 3

Research and Interview Questions

Research Question Corresponding Interview Questions

RQ1: How do the factors of authentic

leadership emerge in retail sales based

environment?

Tell me about you/your manager’s leadership

style.

(continued)

Research Question Corresponding Interview Questions

RQ2: What is the qualitative relationship

between emerging factors?

RQ2 is designed to be fully answered during

the theoretical sampling process.

Research Sub-Questions Corresponding Interview Questions

What are the prototypical examples of

authentic leadership factors in retail sales?

Tell me about you/your manager’s leadership

style on a daily basis?

Are the authentic leadership factors in retail

sales frequently expressed by individuals in

non-leadership roles?

Tell me about times you feel like you engaged

in a higher sense of self-awareness at work.

Tell me about your personal leadership style.

Data Analysis

The difference between everyday life and doing analysis is that in analysis researchers

take a more self-conscious and systematic approach to knowing. Analysis will take place after

the first interview is concluded, utilizing the method of theoretical sampling, previously

explained. Analytical trails will be followed to thoroughly make sense of concepts that arise in

each interview. Researcher notes and observations will be documented during this process to aid

a more in-depth analysis.

After the interviews conclude they will be transcribed verbatim. Interview transcripts

will be continually analyzed and compared in order to generate common themes that emerge

from the data. Themes are to be identified by the existence of multiple statements from different

participants that indicated a similar, shared experience (i.e. feelings of trust for a manager). It is

anticipated that notes and memos written by the researcher will be continuously compiled and

analyzed, looking for possible descriptive codes for these themes, such as “decision making” or

“motivation.” Lastly, in accordance with grounded theory, the themes will be constantly

checked against the interview transcripts as the process progressed to help provide new insights

and additional new codes (Seidman, 2006).

For the coding procedure itself, the current study followed the phases outlined by Strauss

and Corbin (1998). During the open coding phase, data will be investigated by looking for main

ideas conveyed by the participants. Additional notes and memos will be compiled during this

phase and checked against the transcripts. From the data, basic categories will be identified.

Coding. Coding will be conducted in three steps outlined by Strauss and Corbin (1998).

In the beginning open coding will be used. Open coding is the process of considering all

possible meanings or potential from the data. Only after carefully examining all the data does

the researcher then brainstorm appropriate contextual labels or categories.

Following open coding, and once the concepts seem to be more developed axial coding

will take place to investigate the relationships between open codes. Axial coding is a method of

that is concerned with relationships. It takes relationships between concepts to a deeper level by

aiming to uncover the essence of underlying issues rather than “focusing on every little possible

concept in data” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 183). The researcher must answer the question,

“What are the relationships between the codes?”

Lastly, selective coding will take place. Selective coding is the final step in grounded

theory data analysis. The purpose here is for the researcher to identify a core variable that

includes all of the data. Transcripts are re-coded selectively for data that relates to this variable.

The purpose is to give the opportunity to the researcher to clarify any categories that need further

investigation or specificity. Selective coding also identifies phenomena that are central to the

data supplied by the research (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). This step is especially necessary when

axial data appears to be complex and intertwined. Selective coding is designed to further

investigation with the intention of identifying the underlying construct.

Summary

The history of authenticity is quite deeply rooted in multiple fields across history. A

contemporary definition is still taking shape. Gaps in the literature suggests it must be studied

further. The impact on leadership in sales is unknown and merits additional study. This study

sets out to fill in this gap and address authentic leadership in retail environments. It will do so by

addressing answering the research questions: RQ1) How do the factors of authentic leadership

emerge in retail sales-based environment? RQ2) What is the qualitative relationship between

emerging factors?

This study will employ a grounded theory approach, because the data analysis protocol

for grounded theory appears best suited for addressing the research questions. The process of

open coding will identify how themes emerge, addressing RQ1. Axial coding, which highlights

relationships between concepts, will address RQ2.

Chapter 4: Results

Participant recruitment, interviewing, and codification took place over the course of six

months. Eight women, ages 21-40 with median of 25, and representing six states participated in

the sample. Six currently work in counter service retail sales, while two have since left retail to

pursue other lines of work. Of the participants, at the time of this study five are currently

working in formal leadership positions recognized by their respective organizations. The

remaining participants either occupy an informal position of leadership or a non-leadership

position. The concept of an informal leadership position arose during the data collection process

and was not initially identified when describing target sampling. It refers to an individual who is

perceived as a leader by coworkers but is not formally recognized by the organization that

employs them. An example of an informal leader may be a senior employee that is expected to

set an example or complete tasks that normally are reserved for management. Individuals in this

role identified themselves as leaders and typically took on extra managerial related work. Their

responses were used to address the following research questions:

1. How do the factors of authentic leadership emerge in a retail sales-based environment?

2. What is the qualitative relationship between emerging factors?

3. What are the prototypical examples of authentic leadership factors in retail sales?

4. Are authentic leadership factors in retail sales frequently expressed by individuals in non-

leadership roles?

Throughout the interview process, interviewees discussed their personal experience either

as leaders or observing leaders in a retail setting. In accordance with grounded theory

methodology, each interview was coded before the next occurred. Themes were identified and

new questions were loosely formulated based on those themes, which the interviewer would then

ask in interviews with subsequent participants. Emerging data from each interview dictated the

research path through to the end of data collection. During data collection, personal reflections

were documented.

Salient Reflections

After listening to the first recorded interview it became apparent that the flow of the

interview could improve by allowing the participant ample time to speak. Initial bouts of

nervousness, as well as an underlying concern to keep the participant comfortable, motivated

some unnecessary remarks at inopportune times. During the remaining interviews, there was a

careful focus on active listening. Generally, comments were restricted to clarifying answers or

aiding in the comfortable flow of the interview.

A five-minute meditation was conducted prior to each interview session. The meditation

was conducted on the floor of a quiet space. Engaged, focused breathe guided the meditation

which focused on effortless clarity. The choice to meditate prior to the first interview was for the

sole purpose of calming nerves. After having listened to the mastered recording of the first

interview, the meditation took on additional purposes, as it became apparent that there was

opportunity for improvement. For each additional interview, meditation was deliberately used

to “wipe the slate clean,” or to procure a mental space entirely open to absorbing the

respondent’s answers. This time was taken as preparation to increase reception and minimize

bias. It proved to be an important step in the process going forward.

Leadership Themes

Results are reported in two sections: Relational themes and instructional-based themes.

Within each section, the identified themes are grouped into broader thematic categories. An

explication of each thematic category is given, along with a description of each individual theme

within the respective categories, followed by a summary of each category. The description of

each theme is also accompanied by illustrative quotations from the interviews to give some idea

of the variability in expression of the theme. In these quotations, participants’ actual names are

replaced with pseudonyms, in order to preserve anonymity.

Relational Themes

Analysis of the data revealed a wide array of relational-based themes when describing

leadership styles. In accordance with grounded theory, the researcher was completely ready to

abandon or merge themes if the data suggested it at any point. Therefore, the themes relevant to

relation that are reported in the current study are grouped into two categories, inwardly expressed

and outwardly expressed. Inwardly expressed themes are feelings or personal internal workings

pertaining to relationships between leaders and employees. Outwardly expressed themes are

those that describe behaviors pertaining to relationships in the workplace. Figure 1 illustrates

these categories and themes.

Figure 1. Relational themes identified in the current study.

Relational Themes

Inwardly Expressed

Empathy

Awareness

Outwardly Expressed

Gratitude & Reward

Investment in Employees & Reciprocation

Personal Disclosure

Inwardly Expressed Themes

Empathy. When describing retail leadership, every participant identified empathy as an

admired trait in leadership. The lack of empathy in a leader was condemned. Empathy in a

leader seemed to be the foundation for trust and motivation to flourish. It was rarely labeled by

the participants, but rather was described in variable forms. It was observed as a foundational

quality and a relational building block, though not necessarily linked to work outcomes.

The use of empathy as a tool came up in several interviews. Multiple managers reported

empathizing with newly hired individuals to help calm their nerves. Leaders described how

getting to know a new hire involved empathy. Natalie, who identified herself as a leader without

a title because she is the most senior person on staff, discussed getting to know new employees.

“The main thing is getting them comfortable and you do that by getting on their level. Do you

really know where they’re coming from? Do you really get their background or are you just

asking hollow questions?” Here, she described an authentic connection and interest in another

person’s life, separate from any work outcome motivations. This sentiment came up often in

most all the interviews. One participant, Jade, shared the stress she was feeling about her first

weeks on the job because of missed sales goals. Her manager coached her with empathy:

If I did something wrong it wasn’t negative, because [my manager] understands I’m new

and was trying; she made it clear that she knows what it’s like to be new. Not only was I

put at ease about goals, I felt connected to her a little more.

Empathy from Lori’s managers motivated her. In fact, Lori even received messages and

flowers from her managers after a serious leg injury put her out of work for four weeks. “They

gave me time to heal. They weren’t like, mad that I was hurt. I think they understood. I was

even more motivated to go back to work because I was missed and appreciated” In these

examples the overall feeling was that the leader cares for the employee as a human being,

unrelated to work expectations.

Others observed a lack of empathy as disrespectful. Mary, whose manager was new,

described how a lack of empathy set the tone for a dysfunctional relationship with the staff. “She

operated off of assumptions when it came to coaching everyone. It was like she actually didn’t

care about knowing what we’re about.” She shared many examples of this manager lacking

empathy, two of which stood out and occurred during the holiday rush. Multiple participants

spoke about the fragility of scheduling during the holiday season. For retail workers, it is the

busiest, most stressful time of year. Fair scheduling and burnout prevention require a high

degree of both empathy and awareness. Mary was promised a day off after a working a seven

day stretch that included Black Friday.

She didn’t give me the day off. It was like a slap in the face. How do you not know how

I feel after working seven days during the busiest week of the year? How do you not

know that?

The blatant disregard for other’s experiences fostered distrust. Ultimately, Mary felt

defeated, “I felt like I could never win. Because at the end of the day we just didn’t understand

each other.”

Beyond a leader demonstrating empathy or a lack of empathy for employees, the data

revealed that empathy also functions as a vehicle for leadership style development. Individuals

in leadership positions tended to absorb traits from other leaders they admired. The opposite is

also true, as leaders will purposely avoid behaviors they experienced from previous leaders that

they deemed undesirable. Kami, a seasoned manager and trainer, described her leadership style

as being informed by past experiences. She says, “I’ve worked for people that shout and swear

at me; I’ve been there; I know what it feels like. I don’t want to do that to someone else.” She

has a visceral understanding of what it’s like to be on the other side of certain types of leaders.

She uses this information to shape her own leadership style.

Awareness. Referring to leadership qualities, this includes self-awareness in the context

of others (opposed to an internal sense of self), as well as awareness of external situations,

events, and others’ emotions. The theme is categorized as inwardly expressed, though it does

include outwardly expressed qualities. The development and maintenance of focused perception

is categorized as an inwardly expressed relational theme. For example, noticing an employee’s

increased workload occurs inwardly. Letting the employee know the increased workload is

noticed and appreciated would be an action that demonstrates awareness.

Based on the interviews, individuals in non-leadership positions had no way of knowing

the level of awareness a manager possessed unless it was accompanied by some action. It was

assumed that, unless a manager explicitly recognized an employee, that employee was

unappreciated. This sentiment came up in several interviews. One manager, Candice,

demonstrated the internal nature of this quality by stating, “I keep all of these mental notes of

what people are doing. They’re good and bad, and maybe some of them will never come up, but

I always know what’s going on.” The internal aspect of awareness impacts relationships with

employees, whether they know it or not. Another seasoned retail manager and leader, Krystal,

asserted that situational awareness is a literal and integral part of managing. She said, “You

know, I have to know everything that’s going on here. What people are saying to customers,

what they’re doing. It’s part of my job to know.” Employees identified awareness as something

attractive in a leader. Jade noted about her manager, “What made her a good leader is that she

understood people as a whole, her customers and sales base, which made it easy to work with

her.”

Outwardly Expressed Themes

Behaviors exhibited in the workplace pertaining to leader-employee relationships are

categorized as outwardly expressed themes. The themes in this section demonstrate the actions

of a leader based on internally held beliefs. All of the themes in this section are related to the

inwardly expressed themes, as they are all tools used to strengthen or weaken work relationships.

Gratitude and reward. Expressing gratitude and rewarding employees solidifies the

relationship between leader and employee. Interviewed employees felt that being appreciated

increased their motivation and loyalty to the leader. Gratitude was also used to combat burnout.

Participants expressing that noticing workload is an exercise in awareness, which is an internally

expressed relational theme. The act of acknowledgment, which is expressed outwardly, is

predicated on the level of awareness from the leader.

Participants described non-monetary rewards as being at least as motivating as monetary

rewards, if not more so. Every participant described the grueling nature of retail, during which

times a reward or expression of gratitude seemed especially important. As an employee, Emma

knew that her manager appreciated her extra work during a semi-annual sale because, “…after

the sale she would treat us to a huge dinner on the town. She literally did this every year, so we

knew it was coming, but it was like, she gets how hard we work.” For Emma, these extra gifts,

expected or not, is what kept her in the job so long. Witnessing the effort her manager put in to

securing free products from vendors made her feel invested and loyal to her manger. “I’d see

[my manager] openly negotiating with vendors for extra goods to give us as gratis, which she

didn’t have to do. It wasn’t in her job description.” When asked how her leader shows

appreciation, Jade recalled that, when her sales manager won an iPad in a regional contest, the

manager sold the iPad and took Jade’s team out for dinner with the money. Free products and

food were the most common types of tangible rewards mentioned by both leaders and non-

leaders interviewed.

More often though, rewards and gratitude have no monetary value. The currency in retail

is preferential scheduling. Managers interviewed used scheduling to show their appreciation for

employees, through days off or desirable shifts. This practice is heavily related to awareness on

the part of the manager. If the time off was requested by the employee it was seen less as a

reward and more as standard procedure. Conferring extra duties beyond the scope of the

employee’s regular job was also seen as a reward by both employees and leaders. Employees

interpreted extra duties as acknowledgement that they are ready for growth, so long as it was

accompanied by regular praise. Manager Kami’s approach is to show trust by not

micromanaging. She said, “I give assignments and leave it to their own discretion within the

parameters that I need, so that my team knows that I trust them and I’ve hired them to do this

job.” This style was developed over time. She went on to explain where these values come

from:

I learned at about 17 years old what frustrated me. Gradually, over the positions that I’ve

had more and more I’ve realized it’s important to hire good people that I can trust and let

them do these projects so that I can focus on things that I personally need to be doing.

And really, no one here is a little kid. They don’t need to be told what to do; just give

people something and let them figure it out.

Other participants acknowledged feeling appreciated when they were empowered to do

things without their manager’s permission, or feeling a sense of trust from management. The

most common form of gratitude was the practice of simply noticing work and verbally

acknowledging it honestly and regularly. A verbal “thank you” from a leader contributed to

employee motivation.

Inversely, if an employee was not receiving regular acknowledgement their motivation

and loyalty diminishes. Natalie ultimately left her job after months of not feeling appreciated by

her manager. She often completed managerial tasks with no extra pay. Understaffing forced

more responsibility on the more senior employees at her location. However, her manager

seemed aware but did not recognized her efforts, which she perceived as a slight. She says, as if

speaking directly to her superior:

You have to understand—I’m just as important as you are. Like when you’re not there,

I’m the one handling things. Because I do paperwork when you’re not here, you know. I

sent out weekly log reports, too. I never got appreciated for that…she just wanted it to be

her name that was on my work. And I’m not okay with that.

Natalie was exceptionally good at her job and ended up getting recruited by a competing

company. However, she noted that her time with that manager felt like “…being in a

relationship where the other person doesn’t love you.” She and a few other participants

expressed appreciation ultimately being more desirable than money. One interviewee said, “I do

things I’m not paid for all the time. I guess I don’t mind because I know I’m valued.” Natalie

also said, “I should have been getting paid like an assistant manager but I didn’t even care about

the money. I was used and not appreciated.”

Investment in employees and reciprocation. Investment in employees is demonstrated

by how a leader listens, reacts, and shows professional or personal care toward employees. For

the purposes of this study the term “reciprocation” refers to an increasing vested loyalty an

employee feels when they perceive themselves as valuable in the work place. According to the

interviews, employees perceived their value based primarily on interactions with their direct

managers. Participants described feeling invested in by leaders when their leaders engaged in

active listening, coaching, appropriately learning about their personal lives, self-disclosure or

respecting their opinion and feelings.

When asked to describe a leader whom she identified as authentic, Jade identified “taking

time with people” as one of the most obvious and positive behaviors. She went on to fill in that

“taking time” as a leader meant “really listening” and responding appropriately to both

customers and employees. She noticed that her manager would take extra time to “meet new

hires where they were at” by listening to their questions intently before solving them. Because

their manager was committed to listening to and addressing their needs, new hires and others felt

invested in their manager and workplace.

Of the participants, two thirds explained how personal succession planning was perceived

as positive leadership investment in employees. One line that came up multiple times during the

interview process was, “where do you want to be and how can I get you there?” The concept of

personal succession planning must be tied to awareness to be effective. Mary worked with a

manager that was unaware of individual employee goals, which created distance between the

team. Her manager used the right language but failed to genuinely invest. Mary explained:

She’d ask us where we wanted to be and I’d say, ‘I love it here, I want to run a lower

volume store like this’ and she would literally say, ‘No you don’t, let’s get you out of

here.’ And it felt like, ‘are you even listening?’ It was never, ‘Where do you want to go

and how can I help?’ It was always, ‘This is where I want you to go.’

Additionally, it was obvious to Mary that her manager “played favorites, and I was never

one. I literally don’t know why.” Not feeling listened to led to Mary’s increased job

dissatisfaction.

In contrast to Mary’s experience, other interviewees related how feeling invested in by

leaders inspired their career path. Early on in Candice’s career a manager pulled her aside to

asked where she wanted to go with the company. Candice had always thought of management as

her future but was unsure how realistic that option was for her. She shared this with her manager

who subsequently coached her on all things retail management over the following months. “It

felt like she was devoted to my personal success,” she says about her leadership coaching. “I’ll

never forget that; I try to do it with my own employees now.”

Reciprocity occurred most often with the employee showing respect for management

through work ethic. Employees that felt cared for would put in more effort at work and would

actively try to make their leader proud. The inverse is also true. Natalie reported that, despite

her manager’s investment in customers, she was uncomfortable with her new manager because

of her lack of interest in the team. Natalie used metaphors to explain the feelings she had: “This

is my house, you know? I spend holidays and weekends here. I don’t want you in my house if

you don’t respect me, if you don’t listen to me, if you don’t listen to my friends.”

Personal disclosure. Depending on the position and the level of engagement, personal

disclosure has the potential to both engender an environment of trust and to create discomfort in

the work place. Again, every participant identified some amount of personal disclosure as

increasing trust, feelings of connection, and investment in the leader. The data revealed that

most leaders will carefully disclosed personal information as a way of gaining investment from

their employees. This practice is refined over time. More seasoned leaders were able to

abstractly grasp the concept and utilize it to their advantage. Individuals new to leadership roles,

or those in non-formal leadership positions seemed to still be navigating how and what

information is appropriate to share with others. Managers interviewed for this study reported

that disclosing personal information to employees may easily become inappropriate and must be

navigated with caution. However, employees viewed managers that shared personal stories or

feelings as more human.

Participants relayed stories that described different levels of personal disclosure and how

they affected the work place. The main through line shared during the interview process is that

employees share more personal information with their managers or people they view as leaders

than leaders share with subordinates. When asked why this might be the case, formal and

informally recognized leaders responded that managers’ behavior is scrutinized because of their

high visibility. As such, they are held to elevated standards. Non-leaders viewed personal

disclosure as endearing and indicated that it was the foundation for employee loyalty. For the

most part, responses varied when asked where the personal disclosure boundary line is for

leaders. For example, some participants identified socializing outside of work with a leader as

inappropriate, and others did not. One participant discussed what kind of information she shares

with her team: “I try not to confide really heavy things in my employees, but I also don’t want to

be standoffish.” Another participant said,

It’s not like it’s calculated but I won’t share stuff about my marriage or if I’m having a

bad day or anything really personal. I really don’t see how knowing things about my

marriage will help them do their job better.

All participants mentioned personal disclosure in some form as a way to personally

connect with employees. Some participants use story-telling to build a connection and deliver

personal information without being too forward. Personal stories helped bridge the age gap at

Emma’s store, where her manager was much older than her sales team. “She’d tell a story about

different places she’d been in life. It helped us see her as human, and having been our age at

some point.” Sharing personal information about her youth connected her to her younger

employees.

A few participants had experiences in which the personal life of a manager damaged the

workplace environment. Over the course of the year Lori had two managers with very different

standards when it came to revealing private information. The first shared what she thought was

an appropriate amount. Generally, their business was more successful and the culture was

harmonious. Of this manager Lori said, “Work felt like working, personal life was personal, a

lot of work got done a lot quicker.” Lori asserted that knowing too much about a leader’s

personal life introduces unnecessary discomfort. Her current manager is less work-oriented.

Social situations between her and the assistant manager have negatively affected business. Lori

recounted the experience in her interview, saying, “The drama just stepped into our work

environment and destroyed the entire team. It just blew up.” Three individuals confided in Lori

that work was so uncomfortable that they felt forced to quit. Another participant shared a similar

story and feelings, stating, “I don’t like my boss as a boss, but I do like her as a person.”

Commonly discussed by the participants, the oversharing of private information often helped

create feelings of discomfort and distrust towards leadership.

Instructional Based Themes

The analysis of the data revealed three themes that illustrate ways leaders conduct

business through teaching. Themes emergent from the data are modeling, level of

communication and perceived expert knowledge and transparency. As they are relatively few in

number, the themes are not grouped together into categories; rather, they are reported

independently. Figure 2 illustrates the organization of the theme and categories.

Figure 2. Instructional themes identified in the current study.

Modeling. Behavior modeling refers to the act of showing employees how to do

something by way of demonstration and guidance, with the intention of the behavior being

imitated in similar situations. Many of the interviewees reported the positive effects of behavior

modeling, including an increase in loyalty, trust, and personal connection to a leader.

Interestingly, more than one participant used the phrase, “[a leader that] is in the trenches”

referring positively to a leader that does the same work they ask of their employees.

In retail, the managers are typically responsible for personal sales goals the same way

non-managerial employees are, which requires them to be on the sales floor interacting with

customers the same way all employees do. Not only do managers have the same regular

responsibilities as the rest of the sales team, they also are looked to as an example of how to sell

the product and relay product knowledge to the customer. Emma’s manager role-played with

newly-hired employees to teach which shoes a customer a might like most. She says:

Instructional Themes

Modeling

Communitcation

Expert Knowledge & Transparentcy

So she would kind of take us through stacks of shoes and be like, ‘Okay. Based on what I

said as the customer, what shoes would you grab? She showed us like, ‘If this were my

customer this is how I would do it.’ It was so hands-on. Even with real customers she

would be right there. Even showed us, like, to get down and physically fasten the shoes

on the customer.

During data collection, there were many examples of behavior modeling by managers

and leaders. Interviewed employees recognized modeling as a positive characteristic in

leadership. Whether their manager actually does a task or not, employees generally wanted to

feel like their leader would do any task asked of their team. Many of the participants mentioned

feeling “equal” to a leader that does not patronize or delegate unwanted tasks. Krystal reported:

Being a leader isn’t talking over someone or telling them what to do. It’s speaking to

them about a problem or, you know, teaching something but being open to things that

you don’t personally know. You don’t have to pretend to know everything to be a

teacher.

The lack of modeling was perceived as apathetic and resulted in discouragement.

Some participants illustrated situations where their leader behaved one way and expected them to

act another. For example, Mary was not allowed to leave her shift early under most

circumstances. However, she witnessed her manager taking unsanctioned breaks and leaving

shifts early on a regular basis. She says, “I wouldn’t have cared if I knew it was for meetings or

something but she would specifically say, ‘I’m leaving early! Do as I say, not as I do.’ What are

we supposed to think?” Additionally, leaders who refused to do the same work they assign to

their employees were received poorly. Examples ranged from not wanting to take customer

appointments to cleaning and closing duties. In these cases the employees either look to

someone else on the team as an example (an informal leadership source), behave based on

personally held values, or emulate their leader’s apathy.

Communication. This theme includes methods by which leaders exchange information

with employees. Language, frequency, consistency, and content contributed to whether an

employee felt personal connection or loyalty to a leader. Employees preferred expectations to be

delivered explicitly, even if they did not agree with their manager’s style of leadership.

Employees responded the most to direct communication coupled with appropriate behavior

modeling. One respondent reported how frustrating it was to guess what her manager needed

done:

If it’s not done the way she wants it done, it’s wrong. Even if what you do is good, I’m

basically guessing here…[I’m] doing what I think is a good job; it’s still wrong because

it’s not the way she wants it. You can’t win.”

Before Natalie left her position, she described what communication was like with her

manager. “It was this weird combination of ambiguous high expectations and no

acknowledgment when I did work. Like, did I do what you wanted or not?” She and others

expressed that clearly defined high expectations would be less stressful than being held

responsible for dubious ones. Uncertainty fostered trepidation type feelings where the employee

felt disconnected from their respective leaders.

Additionally, work expectations must be communicated regularly and consistently.

When Mary got a new manager, she was unable to nail down her expectations because of her

inconsistency in the first few weeks she was there. Mary said:

When she first came she was like really, really strict; [she] had to have everything in a

specific order. Then that kind of started to disappear; she’s not organized at all. She’s

actually the most unorganized person I’ve ever seen. I think honestly it was like her way

of creating some façade. It’s like everything she does is for a show. She wants you to

think she’s organized. She wants everyone in the department to think she’s that way but

she’s just not.

In contrast, Candice, a successful leader in her area, explained how she capitalized on her

personal connection with employees to lay out expectations, “What it comes down to is that I

want to do the opposite of [my previous manager] to be quite honest.” She goes on, “I wanted to

have enough of a relationship with my team that they would respect when I asked them to do

something hard. And they really have.” Another participant, a manager on the east coast,

reported that culturally, nothing but direct communication works. She recognized that

ambiguous orders will often leave her disappointed and usually requiring more work.

Expert knowledge and transparency. The themes expert knowledge and transparency

are closely related to the theme of communication, as they are forms of content be communicated

and mode of delivery respectively. Expert knowledge refers to the leader’s extensive skill or

knowledge related to their field. Transparency refers to willingness of the leader to share this

knowledge or other pertinent information free from pretense or deceit.

Most all participants acknowledged that a leader with expert knowledge in their field

warranted respect and a certain level of trust. When a leader shares expert knowledge, employees

had an increased sense of work and self-satisfaction. Jade described how her manager taught her

how to calculate sales goals:

She didn’t have to show me that but she did. She took the time to teach me just because I

was sort of curious. It made me feel like little by little I could be as smart as her with this

stuff, you know?

Knowledge sharing was not limited to product or procedural. When asked if her manager

expresses burn out Emma said, “Um… She would never say, ‘I’m burned out’…Every once in a

while she might say, ‘looks like you guys have it, it’s enough for me today.’” She went on to

observe that these moments made her manager seem more human, rather than pretending she

never experience exhaustion. The degree of transparency a leader demonstrates appears to be a

fragile endeavor and closely related to oversharing personal information. Mary’s leader

expressed burn out in a different way. Her leader was clearly unhappy. Her level of

transparency was not met with self-awareness when she would voice things like “I’m so bored”

or “This place is awful.”

When a leader was unwilling to share their knowledge, employees felt patronized.

Lori reported a time when she felt her manager was keeping information from her and her co-

workers. “She thought we didn’t know or that we’d be better not knowing [that they were

regionally recognized for under performing] …she seriously thought we were clueless children.”

The data suggested that appropriate transparency was easier to achieve if the leader had

established a firm personal connection with the employee. Level of transparency varies

according to individual and context. Leaders who can gauge the right amount of transparency

were seasoned managers that had a high sense of self-awareness. Kami described that after years

of working for other people she could eventually read people enough to know how much

information they could handle. Another insight she gave on the topic was, “Just ask them.

These are adults we’re talking about.”

Chapter 5: Discussion

An exhilarating component of studying authentic leadership is the freedom of how and

where research can be undertaken. To date the researcher has been unable to find any published

research. As such, this project took advantage of a clear opportunity to study authentic

leadership in a retail setting. Because the field is in its infancy, the call to research authentic

leadership is broad and wide (Walumbwa et al., 2008). The current project examined a narrow

group of people in a specialized space, namely, brick and mortar consumer goods and service

retail environments that utilize counter service delivery methods. Understanding how the

nuances of authentic leadership are communicated in specialized places like these will help

clarify whether authentic leadership is understood overall and whether it is enduring across all

fields or varies in certain organizations or instances.

Restatement of Findings

A critical component of grounded theory is to let the let the evidence speak for itself—to

allow theory to emerge from the data organically (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). In the current study,

the data consisted of interviews with individuals working and leading others in retail sales;

including non-formal and formal managerial roles recognized by their respective organization.

The narratives taken from these interviews were rich with information concerning the

participants’ experiences. Many of the themes that emerged from the data were consistent with

previous research conducted on authentic leadership outlined in chapter two. Interviewees’

responses as to how they viewed and processed management styles tended to group together and

were organized into two categories, relational and instructional. In terms of relational themes,

data emerged and was organized in two sub-categories: inwardly expressed and outwardly

expressed, as seen in Figure 1. It was not surprising to find a heavy relational focus. Prioritizing

personal relationships between leaders and employees was prevalent in the data and is consistent

with research literature (Avolio et al., 2004; Cameron et al., 2003; Cooper et al., 2005; George &

Sims, 2007; Luthans & Avolio, 2003; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

The guiding tool used to interpret findings is a set of research questions noted in Table 3.

The following discussion answers these questions, beginning with how authentic leadership

factors emerge in retail sales. Then, their qualitative relationships to one another is reported.

Prototypical examples are given in order to more clearly describe how authentic leadership

factors emerge. Table 4 illustrates critical findings of the current study.

Table 4

Executive summary of critical findings in the current study

Critical Findings

1. Authentic leadership expressed in retail can be organized into two themes, relational and instructional

2. Most behaviors associated with authenticity have to do with self-awareness 3. Authentic leaders had a larger sense of environmental awareness 4. Individuals in non-leadership roles are able to tell when their managers are not presenting a

true self 5. Balanced processing may be malleable

Authentic leadership factors emergent in retail sales. Early on in each interview the

participant was asked to share a brief background of their leadership experience and how they

arrived at their current position. This information was important for establishing a base of

content from which to draw questions. If the individual was currently in a managerial role, the

line of questioning necessarily moved toward their personal leadership style, and then expanded

to specific examples of situations in which authentic leadership factors may be expressed. The

conversations were quite natural, and all participants had something meaningful to relate about

experiences with leadership in a retail setting.

It was not surprising that all major factors presented by Walumbwa et al. (2008) were

described at some point during data collection. Walumbwa and other researchers have spent

years and analyzed thousands of points of data to generate the basic categories that make up

authentic leadership, which are: self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral

perspective, and balanced processing. The question was not so much whether these points would

be present in the selected sample, but rather what exactly they look like on a day to day basis in a

very specific environment.

Expressions of self-awareness. Relational themes reported in chapter 4 are heavily laden

with self-awareness. Most all the relational themes contain some level of self-awareness.

Because it was so dominant in the data, this factor took on many different shapes in the retail

environment. Self-awareness was more clearly identified with examples by the leaders than with

the group of employees. Aspects of self-awareness were identified as critical pieces that

influenced the success of the sales team. Specifically, self-awareness was expressed very much

through active listening. Several of the managers identified active listening as a skill essential to

leading. Prototypical examples include a manager remembering birthday; special events; or

family, spouse, or pet’s names. Interestingly, this quality was also expressed frequently in

individuals occupying an informal leadership positions. Those that saw them self as more senior

made extra efforts to include or get to know newer employees, seeing themselves as one day

becoming managers.

Managers also expressed a level of self-awareness when it came to their personal mood

and how it would affect their respective teams. Every manager interviewed reported that their

personal emotional state had an impact on the performance of their employees. Candice, a

manager, noted that as she matured as a manager she recognized how important it was to

maintain a positive attitude. The expression of self-awareness in retail managers and leaders is

consistent with authentic leadership literature outlined in chapter 2.

Larger sense of awareness. Awareness in a broader scope seemed to dominate the

emergent themes. Such awareness is not necessarily focused inward toward one’s self, but

outwardly toward the entire sales team, customers, and environment. Positive experiences

recounted by employees had to do with a manager acknowledging their efforts, their

performance, or the employee on a personal level. This type of awareness can be revealed

through gratitude and rewards, which many managers engaged in. From the employee’s

perspective, however, tangible rewards are not necessary to engender feelings of appreciation.

Some reported that they would rather be verbally thanked and regularly acknowledged than

receive gifts or free product. Managers identified as authentic would use a combination of both.

As working in the retail industry can be incredibly demanding, regular positive reinforcement

goes a long way to keep employees feeling valued. Surprisingly, a few respondents cited not

feeling appreciated as the reason they left their positions, despite other benefits such as a flexible

schedule and competitive pay. Awareness has a serious impact on employee satisfaction as well

as employee turnover.

A matured sense of awareness came with increased empathy. Leaders who were

described in positive terms were linked to empathic experiences with their employees. An

example of this was when Lori described having to miss work because of a broken foot. She

experienced both positive and negative reactions from different managers. Lori felt more loyal

and had increased motivation to work for the manager who sent flowers and encouraged her to

heal. It is not surprising that empathy emerged from the data as an expression of authentic

leadership. However, the most common examples of a leader expressing empathy had to do with

scheduling, which was not expected. It is reasonable that this would be the case, given the

demanding schedule that retail sales requires. Many participants shared stories about leaders

allowing for time off during difficult retail peak seasons, e.g., holidays, significant sales,

Saturdays or Sundays, or for personal reasons. Employees interviewed wanted to feel like they

had a say in what their schedule looked like, or at least felt heard when they voiced grievances.

An example of how a retail leader expresses self-awareness through scheduling would be

something like Mary’s story. First, her leader exhibited a lack of awareness and empathy by

scheduling her seven days in a row including one of the busiest days of the year, Black Friday.

Then she was not given a day off that she was originally promised, demonstrating a clear

disregard for her employee’s request. These two events alienated Mary resulting in diminished

loyalty and job satisfaction. Self-awareness through scheduling did not necessarily mean the

manager/leader acquiesces to any need of the employee but rather communicates and involves

the employee in the scheduling process. The process of involving the employees in larger

decisions relates the factor of self-awareness to both relational transparency and balanced

processing.

Expressions of relational transparency. Relational transparency refers to one’s

authentic self to others, not a fake or distorted version. Relationally transparent behavior has

been shown to promote trust by disclosing one’s true thought and feelings while minimizing

displays of inappropriate emotion. The data showed that leaders and managers in retail sales

environments are more aware, concerned, and self-restricting when disclosing personal

information. All leaders interviewed agreed that self-disclosure is important but must be

appropriate based on context. An example of how this looks on a day to day basis was expressed

by one manager who generally will not talk about her marriage. However, she does not

discourage conversation about any of her employee’s intimate relationships so long as they bring

up the topic. Typically, when employees self-disclosed it was an opportunity for the leader to

engage in active listening. Managers interviewed identified active listening opportunities as a

way to strengthen personal relationships with their employees. Managers were more inclined to

listen to personal disclosures from others than to engage themselves. Employees did not

perceive this practice as negative. If a manager overshared, or shared things only with specific

employees it was perceived as “playing favorites” or inappropriate. To illustrate this with a

specific example mentioned in chapter 4, one employee felt uncomfortable coming to work

because her manager often shared intimate information about her weekend or romantic partners.

This same manager would also disclose personal information selectively, later giving the

impression of favoritism. The type of appropriate information shared by managers to their

employees varies by context. For relational transparency to be effectively seen as a positive

attribute it must be exercised with a great deal of self-awareness. Regardless of the content, most

employees identified an ineffable “realness” as most important when sharing or reacting to

personal disclosures. Both leaders and employees who express their real selves were seen as

easier to connect with. This includes humor, personal appearance, and communicating personal

shortcomings.

Expressions of internalized moral perspective. Internalized moral perspective is a

perspective integrated for self-regulation that is guided by personal moral standards. It is guided

by internal values opposed to societal, group or organizational pressures. Internalized moral

perspective encompasses the idea of leading authentically. Of all the authentic leadership factors

internalized, moral perspective was the most difficult to see emerge from the data. One possible

explanation is that moral perspective has to do with privately held moral beliefs, which may not

come out clearly in interviews. Examples of the opposite were clearly seen from and reported by

interviewed employees interviewed with non-leadership roles. One such employee shared an

example pertaining to a manager that “said the things she thought people wanted to hear.” When

asked how she knew the manager did not actually believe the things she said the answer was,

“because she couldn’t keep her lies straight.” Not behaving, communicating, and scheduling

based on an internalized moral perspective seemed obvious to employees.

Additionally, presenting a false self was confusing to employees. Based on the data,

employees relied on consistency from their managers in order to gauge their own performance.

An interesting find was that employees reported how it was fairly easy over time to discern when

a manager was presenting a false self. According to the interviews, a manager’s “true self”

would naturally be exposed at some time or another. The most often circumstance when this

occurred was during times of stress. The authentic self would be exposed. Managers that

engaged in presenting a false self were reported as being the hardest to please. One employee

interviewed discussed how confusing job expectations caused her anxiety and damage to her

self-esteem.

Expressions of balanced processing. Balanced processing refers to judgements made by

leaders who show that they objectively analyze all relevant data (Kernis, 2003). According to

Walumbwa et al. (2008) leaders who display balanced processing also solicit views that

challenge their personally held positions. Leaders were directly asked to talk about how the

make discussions in the work place. Remarkably, leaders described their process almost the

same as scholars define balanced processing. However, more seasoned managers noted that they

did not always make decisions this way. This skill had developed over time through experiential

learning. A specific example of balanced processing came up when a manager described making

the schedule. Collecting employee input from the employees on their schedule helped this

manager make a more informed decision. Employees tended to make decisions based on sales

goals or direction from their manager. Individuals in non-formal leadership positions were not

as sophisticated in gathering all data before making decisions, for example, using uniformed

assumption to guide the process. This is consistent with the idea that balanced processing is a

skill that may be learned over time.

Summary of Findings

It was expected to see all authentic leadership factors present in retail sales settings. The

aim of this study was to identify specific behaviors and examples of how those factors are

expressed in a specific area. Overall, self-awareness was depicted the most through empathy and

active listening. The data suggests that there is a larger sense of awareness, slightly beyond the

definition of self-awareness, the breadth of which includes knowledge of the goings-on within a

given leader’s team, customer base, and organization. This knowledge is closely tied with a

leader’s general self-awareness. Expressions of rational transparency varied between groups but

generally were more limited within the group of formally recognized leaders. Employees tended

to share more with leaders than vice versa. What exactly they disclosed depended on context

and comfort level; however, most subjects were fair game. Not many examples of internalized

moral perspective emerged from the data, perhaps because it is difficult to capture such deep

beliefs. However, few examples were revealed through negative perspectives on certain

behavior. Balance processing occurred on the managerial level and was witnessed by those in

non-supervisory roles. Oftentimes balanced processing occurred by including employees when

creating work schedules. The relationships among factors are strong, and the latter three

(relational transplants, balanced processing, internalized moral perspective) are inextricably tied

to self-awareness.

Limitations of the Study

This study has limitations that may affect the accuracy of its findings and should be

acknowledged. First, the researcher was one who comes from a retail management professional

background. This may have been helpful in that it provided a level of understanding and

empathy for the experiences of the interviewees, as well as helped the interviewees feel more

comfortable and therefore willing to share personal information. However, it also precluded the

possibility of bringing a true “outsider’s perspective” to the study, which may be a limitation.

Similarly, the researcher’s own prior experience may have allowed bias to be introduced into the

study.

Second, because the study was interested in a particular group of individuals working

specifically within the consumer goods soft-line, counter service sector, there was a deliberate

limitation of scope in the study. The current study did not investigate the experiences of

individuals in any other type of retail setting. Additionally, this study purposely focused on mid-

level managers and their sales employees, leaving out more senior positions. This limit in scope

deliberately excluded potential participants, thereby limiting the study.

Third, because of the small amount of literature that exists in authentic leadership

expressed in retail sales, if something emerged in the data that was unclear or difficult to

understand, one could not turn to the existing literature for further explication. While this

limitation was beyond the control of the researcher, it still served as an important limitation to

the current study.

Lastly, the current study sought to capture experiences of leaders and non-leaders of all

genders. Data collection and recruitment efforts persisted for seven months only yielding

women participants. Reasonable conjecture as to why this occurred is because typically, more

women than men are employed in soft-line retail, shown in Table 5.

Table 5

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey 2016, by thousands

Industry Total employed % of Women

Health and personal care and

non-drugstore

358 65.6

Clothing stores 1,041 74.8

Shoe stores 163 52.7

Sewing, fabric stores 55 69.9

Note. Adapted from United States of America, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2017). Labor Force Statistics From the Current Population Survey.

A phone call to the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statics division confirmed that

there is no reliable information relative to gender distribution in management positions available.

The only labor statics cross tabulated with gender relative to soft-line retail employment are

those noted in Table 4. It would be beneficial to also gather data on individuals of all genders.

Doing so may shed light on expressions of authentic leadership under different circumstances.

Future Research

The outcomes of this study may have implications for future practice and research. This

study was meant to elucidate expressions of authentic leadership in a narrowly defined retail

environment. Understanding specific experiences and behaviors may aid in proving the

malleability of authentic leadership. Some of the data suggested that parts of authentic

leadership are learnable, for example, balanced processing. This finding has an impact on future

leaders looking to engage in an authentic leadership style.

At the conclusion of this study more questions remain: How are these factors expressed

differently in men, i.e. relational transparency? How does authenticity look for groups that

historically have been punished for expressing individuality, e.g., lesbian, gay, trans, queer

(LGBTQ+) community or minorities. How does the expression of authenticity change per

working environment, if at all? Does authentic leadership look different in senior management

positions? Additionally, any future researchers looking to shed light on specific behaviors

related to authentic leadership factors ought to drill down into internal motivations deeper than

the current study, for the express reason that internalized moral perspective was difficult to

capture in the data. This may have been mitigated by more pointed questioning during the

interview process. The following suggestions are based on these lingering questions and also an

aim to avoid limitations experienced in this study.

Sample codes. Future researchers may find it useful to organize their data collection

based on codes that emerged from the current study. Rather than provide definitive, narrow

codes it may be more helpful to list general theoretical domains that may be pertinent during data

analysis, leaving specific labels up to the respective researcher. The following are sample

general domains that future researchers may want to investigate:

Table 6

Theoretical domains sample for future research

Domains

Behavior modeling

Self-awareness

Situational awareness

Teaching/instruction

Relational aspects

Sample size and diversity. One limitation of the current study was the lack of gender

diversity. However, given the disproportionately high numbers of women in lower management

and non-supervisory roles in retail there was an inherent difficulty in capturing a gender diverse

sample. To avoid this limitation in the future, researchers should take measures to ensure a large

and diverse sample.

The current study was deliberately narrow in terms of industry (soft-line retail), product

transfer method (counter service), and position (low level managers and non-managers). These

parameters excluded many individuals that may have contributed to a richer diversity in gender,

ethnic background, and experience. For the future researcher, an expansion of industry, product

transfer method and position may increase size and diversity. For example, one may want to

open the subject search to include low level managers and high-level executives in addition to

those in non-supervisory roles. To address the lack of male respondents in this study, a future

researcher could make more pointed efforts using convince sampling to secure more male

participants. Additionally, incentives may garner a larger sampling population.

Future direction. The current study examined how authentic leadership factors are

expressed in a specific retail environment. Retail an extremely large business sector with many

subsectors and sub-subsectors. This study simply addressed a very small drop in a large ocean.

Essentially, every other industry within retail would be worth examining through the lens of

authentic leadership. Beyond industry selection, a future researcher might move the discourse

forward directly comparing views held by leaders versus their subordinates, surveying for

consistencies and departures which may speak to the malleably of authentic leadership.

Conclusion

The idea that one can lead by being her true self, not having to subscribe to prescriptive

practices, is truly exciting and liberating. Further research may open the doors for many that are

otherwise criticized for expressing their authentic self. It will also aid in developing future

leaders. The study of authentic leadership demonstrates that there is value in each unique human

and how they inspire others to follow them. Moving forward in a world dominated by political

unrest, culture wars, senseless mass shootings, and hate crimes, there is a small seed of hope that,

somewhere in business and academia, individual authenticity has value. Participants in this

study were excited to talk about their unique strengths and perspectives on the industry and

management. Each were motivated to add to the conversation in their own small way, to change

how we understand expressions of leadership, once again demonstrating how the concept of

authenticity transcends a certain time period or discipline.

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APPENDIX A

True North Diagram

George, B. & Sims, P. (2007). True north: Discover your authentic leadership.

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APPENDIX B

Industry Classification Benchmark

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103

104

105

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APPENDIX C

Informed Consent Document

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

INFORMED CONSENT FOR PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

A DISCRIPTION OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP IN RETAIL SALES ENVIORNMENTS: A

QUALITATIVE STUDY

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is to capture the experience individuals have worked in a retail sales environment. The goal is to identify themes related to authentic leaders. How it works is I interview people that have worked in retail and basically gather their experiences and compare them to each other to see the themes

STUDY PROCEDURES

Participation is completely voluntary. You may withdraw your consent at any time now, during or after the interview. You are not waiving any legal claims or rights by participating in this

107

study. Your participation has no impact on your current or future employer. This study is meant to capture personal experiences and is not focused on the retailers themselves.

By volunteering to participate in this study, you consent to a single interview. You will be asked a series of open ended questions related to your experience in retail. The interview will last about 35 minutes. I will be recording this interview, it will be transcribed so that I am able to better study what we talked about.

There will be no identifying information deliberately obtained in connection with this study. Your name, address or other identifiable information will not be collected.

Any identifiable information obtained in the interview or in connection with this study will remain confidential. Any responses that contain identifying information will be substituted with pseudonyms, if not entirely redacted. For example, if you said you worked at Saks Fifth Avenue in Washington state the transcript would read, “a large retailer located in america north west”

The transcripts will be stored in an encrypted location on a password protected computer.

There are two unlikely cases where I am required to break confidentiality, first I would be required by law to report instances of child or elder abuse (for example). The second would be if Pepperdine’s University’s Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) wants also access the data. The HSPP occasionally reviews and monitors research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

I am legally required to inform you of the benefits and risks of this study. Some anticipated benefits include: furthering the academic discourse on authentic leadership and shedding light on leadership practices in retail sales environments. There are no foreseen risks involved with this study.

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All of the questions I’ll be asking pertain only to your experience in retail. Most questions will be about your interaction with managers or your personal leadership experience. There are no right or wrong answers, I’m interested in capturing your unique experience. I’ll be taking notes the whole time. RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT – IRB CONTACT INFORMATION If you have questions, concerns or complaints about your rights as a research participant or research in general please contact Dr. Judy Ho, Chairperson of the Graduate & Professional Schools Institutional Review Board at Pepperdine University 6100 Center Drive Suite 500

Los Angeles, CA 90045, 310-568-5753 or gpsirb@pepperdine.edu.

109

APPENDIX D

IRB Approval Notice

NOTICE OF APPROVAL FOR HUMAN RESEARCH

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