MODULE 2B

eCeNt DeCaDes have seen their fair share of global corporate malpractice and scandal. From banking, for

example, global financial crises, liBor scandal to media, for example, News of the World’s phone hacking, to food suppliers, for example, the horse meat scandal in uK. arguably, in these cases, leaders have put pressure on employees to achieve an outcome, mainly financial, no matter what the consequence. Given the repercussions of such an approach, it seems appropriate to explore an alternative leadership model that inspires not only better individual perform- ance but positive organisational behaviour and human flourishing.

one approach that has emerged is authentic leadership (al). this paper explores the construct of al and seeks to demonstrate how evidence-Based leader- ship Coaching (eBlC) accompanied by mindfulness could facilitate its development. it is argued that key qualities of al are high self-awareness and self-regulation and that eBlC and mindfulness create conditions to

enhance these qualities as well as encour- aging the choice of more self-concordant goals. Combined, the opportunity arises to help a leader restore a more authentic way of being. self-Determination theory (ryan & Deci, 2000) is used to show how this is achieved. Furthermore, it is argued that al Development (alD) needs to be a company wide commitment with support offered not only to the leader and the lead- ership team but right down to front line managers. the notion of cultivating an ‘authentic organisation’ is suggested as a way of realigning what a company claims they value with what followers and customers experience. to start with the concept of al is explored.

What is Authentic Leadership? al is a relatively new construct and scholars are still to agree on a common definition. as a psychological construct ‘authenticity’ is defined by Kernis (2003) as ‘the unob- structed operation of one’s true, or core, self in one’s daily enterprise’ (p.13). However,

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Paper

Born to be me… who am I again? The development of Authentic Leadership using Evidence-Based Leadership Coaching and Mindfulness Laura Kinsler

The following paper explores the construct of Authentic Leadership. More specifically it considers pathways to Authentic Leadership development, proposing Evidence-Based Leadership Coaching (EBLC) coupled with mindfulness training as an appropriate approach. While the definition of Authentic Leadership is still being debated amongst academics, what is argued here is that self-awareness and self-regulation are key pillars of Authentic Leadership. EBLC and mindfulness, provide opportunities to enhance self-awareness and self- regulation. They encourage the choice of more self-concordant goals and thereby help a leader align to a more authentic way of being. Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) is used to demonstrate how EBLC can achieve this. Finally it is argued that a company-wide commitment is required to create an ‘authentic organisation’ where a company’s espoused values are aligned to its employees and customers experience. Keywords: Authentic Leadership; coaching psychology; mindfulness; Self-Determination Theory.

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al is not just a person placed in a leadership role behaving in a way that is ‘true’ to them- selves without regard for others or the organ- isation. it is a multi-faceted complex construct that involves followers, groups and the organisation (avolio & Gardner, 2005; Gardner et al., 2005). therefore, while it is anchored in the leader and leadership team, it also needs to permeate across the organi- sation, that is, organisational systems, poli- cies and structures and down through the core of the organisation to front line manager’s who have a strong influence on employees (Boxall & purcell, 2003). However, the seed of al is within the leader of an organisation, so it is with that indi- vidual in mind that this paper focuses on the construct of al.

there are numerous aspects to al but what has emerged from the literature as key themes include: l a high level of self-awareness (avolio &

Gardner, 2005; avolio et al., 2004; avolio, Walumbwa & Weber, 2009; Gardner, et al. 2005; ilies, Morgeson & Nahrgang, 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2008; yammarino et al., 2008).

l an ability to know oneself, objectively see one’s strengths and weaknesses and accept them but at the same time strive to be a better leader (avolio & Gardner, 2005; avolio et al., 2009; Gardner et al., 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

l an ability to be objective in decision making (avolio & Gardner, 2005; avolio, et al., 2009; Brown & treviño, 2006; endrissat, Muller & Kaudela-Baum, 2007; May et al., 2003; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

l an ability to act honestly and openly with others (avolio, Gardner, et al., 2004; avolio & Gardner, 2005; avolio et al., 2009; Brown & treviño, 2006; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

l the courage to act in line with one’s own beliefs and values (avolio et al., 2004; avolio & Gardner, 2005; endrissat et al., 2007; Gardner et al., 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

l the ability to self-regulate (avolio & Gardner, 2005; Gardner et al., 2005; shamir & eilam, 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

l a sense of ethics and positive moral values (avolio, luthans & Walumbwa, 2004; avolio & Gardner, 2005; avolio et al., 2009; Gardner et al., 2005; May et al., 2003; Michie & Gooty, 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2008).

l an interest in the development and success of others (avolio, Gardner, et al., 2004; Brown & treviño, 2006; Howell & avolio, 1992; luthan & avolio, 2003; May et al., 2003).

leadership is undoubtedly complex. However, in its simplest sense it is a process of influence, involving a leader and group with the intention of accomplishing a goal (parry & Bryman, 2006). such a task requires a combination of various cognitive, emo- tional skills and business knowledge. What is argued is that over and above those ‘skills’ in order to develop al, high levels of self- awareness and self-regulation are necessarily required. there is no current evidence to suggest that these are sufficient alone, but arguably, without these central pillars, al cannot begin to exist. these areas are now explored and considered in relation to a leader who was driven to achieve his vision no matter what the cost; adolf Hitler.

Self-awareness self-awareness is defined as the selective processing of information about the self (Fenigstein, scheier & Buss, 1975). in the context of leadership it has been conceptu- alised as the degree of similarity between the leader’s self-description and follower’s description of the leader’s behaviour (tekleab et al., 2008). in their model of al, Gardner et al. (2005), identify key compo- nents of self-awareness as values, identity, emotions and motives/goals.

Values: Values could be defined as ‘guiding principles of life (that) organise people’s attitudes, emotions, and behaviours, and typically endure across time

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and situations’ (Kasser, 2002, p.123). theo- rists have proposed that authentic leaders are guided by values such as personal virtue and moral wisdom (Bass & steidlmeier, 1999), a concern for others, a sense of ethics and integrity (Brown & treviño, 2006), and openness (Gardner et al., 2005). this implies that while Hitler may have been a leader that was ‘true to himself’, he was not an authentic leader as defined by the scien- tific construct which encourages a level of self-awareness fuelled by positive values and respect for others.

Identity: this aspect of self-awareness can be conceptualised in two ways – personal identity or collective social identity. personal identity is one’s self-view. Gardner et al. (2005) assert that the authentic leader inter- nalises the role of leadership and being a positive role model. arguably Hitler may have thought he was a positive role model for Germany and, therefore, self-aware. However, from the perspective of al, he would not be considered self-aware as his actions were not grounded in positive moral values. While in business this may be a grey area, an al would veer towards ethical behaviour.

Collective social identity refers to how much an individual identifies with a group and has things in common with other members of the group (lord, Brown & Freiberg, 1999). according to current theo- rists an authentic leader would be sensitive to different identities and would be conscious of those differences in the way she leads. this sensitivity to different perspec- tives is a key part of al but alone is not enough. When whistleblowers raised concerns regarding some of uK’s leading banks, leaders ignored them. arguably these leaders were acting ‘authentically’ but al, as a psychological construct, promotes the courage to consider different perspectives in the group (no matter what level of manage- ment) as well as acting in alignment with one’s core values, which in the case of the al are anchored in ethics.

Emotions: in their theory of embodied al, ladkin and taylor (2010) propose that the physical expression of emotions is a way followers can see and assess the authenticity of their leaders. it has been asserted that authentic leaders are considered to be emotionally self-aware (Gardner et al., 2005), to value emotions and to be comfort- able with emotional experiences. Combined with an authentic leaders value for openness, these factors work to reinforce trust between the leader and followers. arguably a leader can be manipulative and ‘turn on’ emotions to convince people they care, however, it may be hard to sustain this over time.

Motives/Goals: Goals are defined as ‘internal representations of desired states’ (austin & Vancouver, 1996). it is proposed that the notions of self and possible selves are important concepts to consider as moti- vating the authentic leader (lord & Brown, 2001, 2004; lord et al., 1999). they are said to value personal development in the hope of moving towards their best possible self (Walumbwa et al., 2008). arguably Hitler aspired to being his best possible self so the question arises what does an authentic leader’s ‘best possible self’ look like. is it motivated by narcissism, ego or the drive to reach his vision whatever the cost? a sense of ethics and moral values as well as concern for others are key aspects to al, therefore, an authentic leader’s ‘best possible self’ would be motivated by positive values that consider others.

interestingly these components are also viewed important by Fusco, palmer and o’riordan (2011) who explored the idea of the GiVe model (Goals, identity, Values and emotions) for facilitating alD. While this model addresses key elements of alD it neglects self-regulation, which is what followers actually experience.

Self-regulation Numerous authors agree that al involves an ability to act in alignment with a person’s core values and beliefs (avolio, Gardner, et al., 2004; avolio & Gardner, 2005; Gardner et

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al., 2005). in their models of alD Gardner et al. (2005) and avolio and Gardner (2005) suggest that self-regulation is made up of four components including internalised regulation, balanced processing of informa- tion, authentic behaviour, and relational transparency.

Internalised regulation: this is the ability to make choices about how one behaves based on what is important to oneself, as opposed to what is important to others or as a way of negotiating rewards or punishments. theory suggests that the authentic leader’s ability to choose goals that are important to her helps enhance their ‘authenticity’ (Gardner et al., 2005). Hitler may make choices that are authentic to him, implying he is an authentic leader however an al’s choices would be anchored in positive moral values and ethics.

Balanced processing of information: With regards to al this is the ability to objectively see and accept one’s own strengths and weaknesses. theorists propose that in their drive to better themselves, authentic leaders will welcome information that helps them gain a more accurate perception of them- selves (Gardner et al., 2005). arguably a narcissistic leader would not welcome nega- tive feedback. that said, what is more impor- tant is not just the ability to see and accept strengths and weaknesses but to actually do something to further evolve strengths and work on weaknesses.

Authentic behaviour: al requires an align- ment of a leader’s behaviour with their values, identities and beliefs. While the authentic leader is said to be conscious of the environment they operate in, in order to preserve the integrity of their relationship with followers, they are ultimately committed to authentic behaviour. they require the courage and strength of character to walk the talk.

Relational transparency: this involves presenting one’s ‘true self’ to others to create relationships based on trust, while encouraging others to do the same. according to numerous authors (avolio & Gardner, 2005; luthans & avolio, 2003; May

et al., 2003) the need to openly share infor- mation is critical to al. By sharing informa- tion the al demonstrates he trusts those around him and encourages trust within the organisation.

Having considered key components of al what value is there in pursuing its devel- opment?

Why Authentic Leadership? there are numerous leadership models including but not limited to transforma- tional leadership (Bass, 1985; tichy & Devanna, 1986), Charismatic leadership (Conger, 1989; House, 1977) and Five level leadership (Collins, 2001). While these have their virtues, al offers unique benefits not just to the organisation but also to an indi- vidual’s flourishing. this is highlighted by research outlined below.

Focusing on ‘authenticity’ Harter (2002) argues that people who report being true to themselves usually experience higher self- esteem, more positive affect and more hope for the future. this is reinforced by other evidence, which links authenticity to subjec- tive and psychological well-being (Kernis & Goldman, 2005a; sheldon et al., 1997; Wood et al., 2008) as well as high self-esteem and life satisfaction (Kernis & Goldman, 2005b). in a study within the singapore construction industry the authenticity of leaders was linked to higher psychological well-being, enhanced personal autonomy, desire for positive relationships, sense of purpose in leadership, mastery over their environments, and motivation to grow as leaders (toor & ofori, 2009). it was negatively correlated with contingent self- esteem (toor & ofori, 2009). toor and ofori assert that their study suggests that authentic leaders are driven to perform without conforming to others, and have more self-esteem due to feelings of self- worth. this leads to healthy psychological functioning and positive work outcomes (Kernis, 2003). toor and ofori (2009) also assert that this study combined with other evidence shows that authenticity has a signi- ficant influence on ‘subjective well-being,

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relationships, social skills and personal performance’ (p.309).

in another study, avolio, Gardner et al. (2004) show that al has a positive influence on followers by enhancing their sense of hope, trust, positive emotions and optimism, which also contributes to enhanced well- being. in a multi-level model of al, yammarino et al. (2008) link al with posi- tive organisational behaviour and improved performance at the individual, group and organisation levels. they refer to both ‘soft’ performance outcomes, like high degrees of satisfaction, commitment and loyalty and ‘hard’ performance outcomes, like higher individual performance, lower absenteeism and less staff turnover. in a study by Walumbwa et al. (2008) using five separate samples from China, Kenya and the us, it was found that al was a ‘significant positive’ predictor of organisational citizenship behaviour, organisational commitment and satisfaction with one’s supervisor. thus evidence highlights that al contributes to the fruition of leaders, followers and organi- sations.

Pathways to Authentic Leadership Development Current theorists agree that al can be devel- oped. the question is how? Firstly, in order for al to flourish there must be an organisa- tion wide commitment. there is no evidence to support such a perspective, but given the malpractices seen of leaders within various business sectors in the recent past, it is apparent that it is not enough to just ‘train the leader’ if she is operating in isolation within an environment that rewards negative behaviour. apart from considering the systems and policies within an organisation, an approach needs to be adopted that can be applied at all levels from the Ceo to the leadership team all the way to Front line Managers.

Numerous approaches have been proposed (Cooper, scandura & schriesheim, 2005; sparrowe, 2005; yammarino et al., 2008), and there is some agreement that,

given the very nature of al, that is, everyone is unique and al is not a set skill, a person- alised approach is required. one approach that has yet to be examined is eBlC coupled with mindfulness training.

eBlC springs from evidence-based exec- utive coaching which uses information from valid research, theory and practice to deliver coaching to a client. evidence-based coaching applies an informed practitioner’s approach that involves drawing on research, critically evaluating that research, adapting it and then incorporating it in to one’s practice of executive coaching. it ‘moves away from a prescriptive linear approach and towards contextually relevant coaching methodolo- gies’ (stober & Grant, 2006, p.6). the aim of executive coaching is maintained cognitive, emotional, and behavioural change that helps people reach chosen goals while enhancing their performance within the workplace (Douglas & McCauley, 1999).

Benefits of evidence-based coaching empirical evidence directly linking coaching to positive outcomes is limited as it is a rela- tively new behavioural science. However, some key research has emerged showing its effectiveness across a variety of domains including life coaching and peer coaching. these findings provide insight into how executive coaching can facilitate the devel- opment of al.

life coaching has been shown to increase a person’s ability to reach their goals as well as enhance people’s quality of life and mental health (Grant, 2003). Green, oades and Grant (2005) found coaching led to significant increases in goal striving, subjec- tive well-being (sWB), psychological well- being (pWB) and hope. increases in sWB included increased satisfaction with life, positive affect, and decreases in negative affect. significant increases on all six scales of pWB by ryff (1989b) were experienced including self acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life and personal growth. there were also increases in agency,

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pathways and total hope. Furthermore results were maintained with three- and six- month follow-ups. in a study by Baron and Morin (2010) 73 first and second level managers were sent to either a classroom seminar, action learning group or coaching program. Data collected over eight months revealed that the number of coaching sessions had a positive and significant impact on self-efficacy. a strong sense of self-efficacy can contribute to authentic behaviour.

in a study by spence and Grant (2005) comparing professional coaching to peer coaching it was found that coaching, whether professional or peer, contributed to goal attainment, enhanced satisfaction with life, provided a greater sense of control over the environment, and opened coachees to a greater range of experience. professional coaching had more of an impact in engaging coachees in striving to the goal and giving them a sense of confidence that they could actually achieve the goal. in another study on peer coaching it was evident that it ‘supported the development of self-aware- ness and enhanced critical thinking’ (ladyshewsky & Varey, 2005, p.179).

thus evidence shows that coaching offers numerous benefits and may have the poten- tial to contribute to alD. However, given we are exploring leadership, a particular style of coaching is required.

Evidence-Based Leadership Coaching Coaching for leadership development is a specialism within the spectrum of evidence- based executive coaching. What makes eBlC unique is the focus on helping the coachee become a more effective leader (Douglas & Morley, 2000; Kilburg, 1996; peterson & Hicks, 1999; Witherspoon & White, 1997). it requires specialist knowl- edge, coaching experience, and the right credentials.

Specialist Knowledge: a leadership coach needs to understand leadership theory, models, management theory and best lead- ership practices (elliot, 2005; ely et al., 2010), as well as leadership assessment tools

such as the Multifactor leadership Ques- tionnaire (avolio & Bass, 1995) or the Creative leadership Questionnaire. they need to understand the organisation (elliot, 2005; ely et al., 2010) on a theoretical level, that is, understanding theory of organisa- tional behaviour, group dynamics and team theory, as well as on a practical level, i.e. culture, politics, competition and perform- ance of the company. the coach needs to understand the context the coachee is working in, not only to help better inform the coaching process but to help build the coaching relationship. in a study by Boyce et al. (2010), it was shown that the coach’s ability to understand the client’s business environment and issues was crucial in building a relationship and achieving the coaching goals.

Coaching Experience: a leadership coach requires a sophisticated level of coaching experience and understanding that allows them to deal with sensitive and at times somewhat ambiguous coaching situations. arguably developmental coaching at any level of management will be challenging in this way, but at higher levels of management issues may often be more complex and sensi- tive. also as leaders advance further up the corporate ladder the number of people they can openly share issues with contracts. in this way the leadership coach needs to have expe- rience in juggling the roles of coach, leader- ship expert and even confidant. the leadership coach also needs to be mindful of the organisation’s needs e.g talent manage- ment vs. performance management, as well as being able to handle the organisation’s readiness to support the coaching process and accept change. as elliot (2005) points out, sometimes leadership coaching needs to occur at multiple levels for it to be effective, a factor critical for alD. leadership coaches must, therefore, be able to coach at different levels of the organisation and with groups. this is required of any executive coach, but given the sensitive information a leadership coach may be exposed to it requires a high level of confidentiality and ethics.

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Credentials: Finally, given the nature of the coach/client relationship, the coach’s credentials and expertise need to match up to the coachee’s expectations. sue-Chan and latham (2004) showed that the lack of suffi- cient professional credibility negatively impacted the client’s performance and lowered their satisfaction with the coaching process. Conversely, it has been found that relevant job-related credibility supports the development of client-coach relationships and can positively impact the leadership coaching programs (Boyce et al., 2010, p.914). Business, management, leadership, and political expertise were also identified as important credibility considerations and particularly important to the establishment of trusting and effective coaching relation- ships (alvey & Barclay, 2007; Kampa-Kokesch & anderson, 2001). it is clear that a coach’s credentials and credibility are important requirements for leadership coaching.

therefore, what is proposed for alD is not simply executive coaching but eBlC. While evidence supports the case that eBlC can contribute to alD, theory also supports it, that is, self-Determination theory (sDt).

Self-Determination Theory sDt is a theory of motivation made up of four sub theories including Cognitive evalu- ation theory, organismic integration theory, Basic Needs theory, and Causality orientation theory. in essence what it provides is a spectrum of different types of motivation some of which are considered healthy and some of which are detrimental. these range from purely intrinsic autonomous motivation, that is, someone is motivated simply by the joy of doing a task; extrinsic motivation, that is, because they have to; to amotivation, that is, no motiva- tion. this is essentially organismic integra- tion theory (oit).

oit asserts that intrinsically motivated autonomous behaviour is the healthiest form of motivation. in contrast extrinsically moti- vated behaviour is not necessarily healthy. However, oit proposes that there is a

spectrum of extrinsically motivated behaviour and within that spectrum the degree to which behaviour is autonomous varies. these include integrated regulation (‘feels aligned to my values’), identified regulation (‘i can see it would be good for me to do’), introjected regulation (doing it to avoid shame or blame), and external regu- lation (‘i have to do it’).

sDt argues that children have a natural tendency to do things aligned to their own values, that is, intrinsically motivated auto- nomous behaviour (Chandler & Connell, 1987; ryan, 1995), but as they grow they are swayed by outside forces including family, schools and society. in the case of leaders, demands are made of them from employers, employees, shareholders, society and govern- ments. environments that use the ‘carrot and stick’ approach to motivating compound this. over time, given these pres- sures it is possible for leaders to compromise their behaviour and gravitate towards more extrinsically motivated, less autonomous behaviour and, therefore, begin to discon- nect with their authentic self. sDt offers a way of realigning behaviour with values.

What sDt argues is that autonomous behaviour (whether intrinsic or extrinsic) can be encouraged through a set of condi- tions. Cognitive evaluation theory (Cet), another sub theory within sDt, proposes that if autonomy, competence and related- ness are nurtured then people will tend to align their behaviour with their true values, beliefs and interest. this is supported by numerous findings including a study by Brown and ryan (2004a), who found that giving people choice and recognising their feelings and point of view enhances intrinsic motivation. such alignment is at the very heart of alD.

the challenge is that in reality most leaders may rarely find themselves in situa- tions that encourage autonomy, competence and relatedness. in fact they are usually negotiating environments that are motivated by threats, deadlines, external evaluations, financial rewards and imposed goals, all of

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which are said to decrease intrinsic motiva- tion (Deci & ryan, 2000). it is suggested, however, that eBlC interrupts this world, and provides the three conditions for enhancing intrinsic motivation. How is this achieved?

Relatedness: Firstly, and possibly most importantly, is the coaching relationship. When a coach and coachee work together, a particular alliance is formed. at its founda- tion is trust and integrity. Without trust a coaching engagement cannot proceed. Building on this is a sense of partnership and collaboration. the coach is not the expert telling the coachee what to do. instead through a series of questions and active listening the coach elicits awareness and understanding in the coachee. the coach becomes an ally supporting the coachee through change, providing understanding and encouragement. thus over time, a rela- tionship forms that feels safe and secure, liberating the leader to focus on what really matters to her.

Autonomy: Coaching supports autonomy. an underlying principle of coaching is the notion of the coachee as the expert in their lives thus coaches ‘ask they don’t tell’. they encourage the coachee to own the journey, set the agenda and drive the process. Furthermore, through various tools like the GroW model, coaching empowers a coachee to choose actions that are right for them. in the GroW model a goal is set, current realities are explored, options are brainstormed and then the coachee is supported in making a choice and taking action.

Competence: Coaching encourages self- efficacy. using positive psychology and a solution-focused approach, coaching builds on a coachee’s competence. positive psycho- logy has been injected into the domain of psychology with the intention of helping people flourish. Within this area a strength- based approach has been developed. in research by seligman et al. (2005), it was found that using signature strengths in a new way increased happiness and decreased

depressive symptoms for six months. such knowledge can be integrated into coaching sessions to nurture confidence. Coaching also embraces a solution-focused approach. the coach helps the coachee build confi- dence in addressing a current situation by drawing on skills the coachee successfully used in a challenging situation in their past. thus an evidence-based approach to coaching works to build a coachee’s sense of confidence and capacity to negotiate the future.

Coaches also have a vital role to play in helping authentic leaders choose the goals they pursue. self-Concordant Goals are goals that are aligned with ones core needs, values and interests. it is argued that over time as leaders lose touch with what is really impor- tant to them, they may find themselves pursing goals that are no longer ‘authentic’. self-concordance provides unique motiva- tional resources. sheldon and elliot (1999) found self-concordant goals are correlated with positive well-being, sustained effort, enhanced likelihood that goals will be attained, and more satisfaction as goals are attained. a coach can help remind an exec- utive what their enduring values are, distin- guish between one’s own values and others, and select goals that really matter to them thereby supporting alD.

thus coaching encourages autonomy, relatedness and competence and can help a leader align to more authentic goals and thereby enhance self-regulation. it also contributes to self-awareness by reminding people of their values, identity and motiva- tors. as mentioned previously, it is proposed that mindfulness can also contribute to alD.

Mindfulness the construct of mindfulness is multifaceted and complex, but put simply it can be defined as ‘the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present’ (Brown & ryan, 2003, p.822). langer (1989) refers to mindlessness versus mindfulness where one is ‘thinking about a situation actively’ and, therefore, engaging the mind.

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there are different schools of thought as to how to cultivate mindfulness, for example, the Mindfulness Based stress reduction perspective (Kabat-Zinn, 1982) or a more cognitive perspective by langer. there is a substantial body of evidence to confirm its contribution to human flourishing.

there are numerous empirically vali- dated benefits of mindfulness both in clinical and non-clinical settings. it has been associated with lower levels of emotional disturbance, high levels of subjective well- being, and higher levels of eudemonic well- being (Brown & ryan, 2003; Carlson & Brown, 2005), greater awareness, under- standing and acceptance of emotions (Baer, smith & allen, 2004; Brown & ryan, 2003), it promotes regulation of behaviour that optimises well-being and human flourishing (Brown & ryan, 2003, 2004a; Deci & ryan, 1980; ryan, 2005), and is associated with more self-congruence (Brown & ryan, 2003; thrash & elliot, 2002) and less defensive reactions when under threat (Brown, ryan & Creswell, 2007). there are also studies, which highlight how mindfulness can enhance relationships and social inter- actions (Brown, ryan & Creswell, 2007). thus with the benefits that mindfulness imparts, it has a part to play in alD.

Mindfulness training is grounded in an evidence-based approach so fits with the eBlC philosophy. it offers a rich source of validated tools that can be integrated into a coaching session and used by the coachee beyond coaching. arguably mindfulness can facilitate the development of al in a number of ways including enhancing rela- tionships and compassion, contributing to the follower/leader relationship and more importantly enhance self-awareness and self- regulation.

Self-Awareness: Mindfulness interrupts the usual stream of internal chatter and provides the space to simply witness thoughts, emotions and body sensations. in observing what one is experiencing internally, with openness and non-judgment, an authentic leader is given the opportunity to simply be

with herself and, therefore, see herself more clearly. as repeating thoughts, emotions, and sensations emerge, the authentic leader gains further insight into how they operate and experience life. it provides the opportu- nity to experience oneself as an ‘ever changing system of concepts, images, sensa- tions and beliefs’ (shapiro et al., 2006, p.379) and not a rigid fixed label or cate- gory, that is, an executive. thus mindfulness offers a window into the self, which can help to enrich self-awareness.

shapiro et al. (2006) assert that as mind- fulness nurtures an ability to be more engaged in the moment, a person may be more receptive to information that they may usually not consider. thus mindfulness encourages a more ‘empirical stance towards reality’ (Brown et al., 2007, p.214) which one could say nurtures unbiased processing of information, a key quality of al. Mindful- ness also generates an openness to both posi- tive and negative information about the self, contributing to greater understanding of the self.

Self-Regulation: Mindfulness provides an awareness that encourages more flexibility when responding to a situation and less of an automatic response (Bishop et al., 2004; ryan & Deci, 2004). automatic or controlled processing, that is, mindlessness prevents one from considering options that are more aligned to ones needs and values (ryan, Kuhl & Deci, 1997). Wenk-sormaz (2005) found participants in a mindfulness induc- tion study showed less automised responding on tasks. as ‘automised responding’ is minimised, a moment arises where an indi- vidual has the space to choose. this moment of choice gives the person the opportunity to consciously align behaviour with inner values and needs. as Brown and ryan (2004a) state, mindfulness provides ‘a window of opportunity to choose the form, direction, and other specifics of action, that is, to act in an autonomous manner’ (p.116). Furthermore, it provides the opportunity for choices to be made that maximise the satisfaction of needs and

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desires within the boundaries of a situation (Deci & ryan, 1980).

Mindfulness encourages one to be more objective in order to do what is required in a situation. (Kernis & Goldman, 2006; Niemiec, ryan & Brown, 2006; ryan & Brown, 2003). ryan and Brown (2003) agree with this stating that a ‘person acting in an integrated mindful way seeks not self-esteem, but rather, right action, all things consid- ered’ (p.75). thus from an authentic leaders perspective, the opportunity arises for more intentional, proactive and purposeful action that is aligned to their authentic self. thus mindfulness creates the opportunity for leaders to cultivate a more self-determined motivation and in turn authentic way of leading.

The challenges there are numerous challenges in the theory presented here. to start with al needs to move from a theory to a concept that can be vigorously tested. in a meta study by yammarino et al. in 2008, 23 theoretical articles on al and only four empirical arti- cles were identified. as they highlight, more empirical research is required to test the effects of alD on the individual, follower, team and organisation; to measure its effects against other leadership constructs and in various organisational conditions. Further- more, while alD is a long-term exercise it would be useful to have a tool to apply with a coaching and mindfulness intervention to measure whether a change has occurred. tools that have been developed include the al Questionnaire (Walumbwa et al., 2008), the authenticity scale (Wood, et al., 2008) and the peer authenticity scale (amended by susing, Green & Grant, 2011). While these are useful one must accept their defi- nition of al. thus one is reminded of the need to come to universal agreement on what al is.

there are also limitations to eBlC applied to alD. Finding the right coach may be challenging. Coaching, and for that matter mindfulness, cannot force a person

to have positive moral values. it is also possible that some people may not want to be coached. Finally while coaching and mindfulness may create the opportunity for alD it will not occur overnight, a long-term perspective is required.

A final point it must be mentioned, that in asserting various ideas in this paper, it is not proposed that organisations should remove all finan- cial incentives. these are key drivers in many organisations. the point is that if organisa- tions want to find ways of reaching financial targets in a sustainable positive way they need to look after their people, financial rewards are not enough. in studies it has been shown that financial rewards alone are detrimental to one’s psychological health (Grouzet et al., 2005; ryan et al., 1999), one’s level of satisfaction with pay and bene- fits (tang, Kim & shin-Hsiung tang, 2000) and that people driven by money are more willing to engage in negative organisational behaviour (stone, Bryant & Wier, 2006; tang & Chiu, 2003). What is being suggested is a shift to a style of leadership that does not just rely on motivating with external rewards but encourages motivation that is also more self- determined.

Conclusion Given the current global economic climate, organisations are under enormous pressures to increase return on investment. people at all levels of organisations are being asked to do more with less. under such pressures it is easy for leaders and managers to fall back to carrot and stick ways of motivating people. What is proposed in this paper is an alterna- tive approach to leadership, that provides the opportunity for individuals to flourish while achieving improved individual performance. it is argued that the central pillars of alD are self-awareness and self- regulation and that eBlC and mindfulness create conditions to enhance these qualities. this is demonstrated through the use of sDt, which proposes if individuals are given

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the opportunity to feel autonomy, related- ness and self-efficacy they will move to more self determined behaviour. it is argued that eBlC creates these conditions and encour- ages the choice of more self-concordant goals. Mindfulness is also proposed as a way of contributing to alD as it compliments eBlC, is grounded in an evidence-based approach, and can contribute to enhancing self-awareness and self-regulation. What is also proposed is an organisation wide commitment, with the intention of culti-

vating a more authentic organisation whose values are reflected in employees and customers daily experience. there are chal- lenges in adopting such an approach but what is possible is the prospect of organisa- tional as well as individual flourishing.

Correspondence Laura Kinsler 22a Findhorn place, edinburgh, eH9 2Jp, uK. email: [email protected]

Laura Kinsler

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