Authentic Leadership

Challenges in the Relationship between a Mother and Son

As an administrative assistant in Ohio, I've been aware of the mounting social, economic, and ethical difficulties confronting society, particularly the region in which I work (Wong & Laschinger, 2013). I met a mother two years ago who complained that her son spent too much time with friends rather than focusing on his homework. In truth, the boy's performance had declined because he was reported to be missing most days because they went trekking with his pals. One of the difficulties I had was selecting whether to instruct the youngster what to do or to force the boy back into school. However, I realized that making the boy return school would result into another problem in which the relationship between the child and the mother would be broken. Thus, I allowed both the mother and the son to meet and talk about the issue so that the boy would spend more time at school, but have the permission to bring over his friends to the mother's house (Rego et al., 2014). Hence, the relationship between the two would be strengthened while being productive in a way that the boy would engage with the friends under supervision. Notably, I empowered the mother through inspiration, which contributed to the two building a stronger bond that would develop trust.

Focus on Transparency and Integrity

As a professional administrative assistant, I focus on the development of transparency and integrity that resolves ethical challenges the society face. Moreover, in the execution of duties, I foster the engagement and mobilization of the workforce under my leadership so that performance is improved (Leroy et al., 2015). Transparency ensures that the team I work with gets to understand my strong moral sense, which will contribute to the building of trust amongst the members. As an authentic leader, I inspire the others to engage in decision-making through providing their input in most of the matter to be handled (Hirst et al., 2016). For instance, as an administrative assistant, I work with the general public at most of the time, I have to force the people in social work for greater good (Luthans et al., 2006). Furthermore, to inspire follower commitment, I demonstrate honesty and sharing moments of failures and success so that the followers can perceive me as genuine (Wang & Hsieh, 2013).

Opportunities for Leadership Development

After taking the Language Leadership Course, I have established opportunities that can change my leadership style so that I can be more effective in the administration of my duties at the job (Wang et al. 2014). One of the ways that I can change my leadership style is through uniting people. Creating unity through the formation of strong relationships will contribute to collaboration and effective communication of a shared vision and ensures continuity of the leadership culture (Cianci et al., 2014). Furthermore, when the decisions I make result in disasters, accountability and taking responsibility will contribute to the creation of an authentic leader. The progress is made when the followers realize that the leader is in a position to recognize and accept the errors that arise in the course of leadership. Moreover, emotional intelligence and behavioral flexibility that I have gained through the course will allow me to encompass two-way communication, which will enhance my personal and professional development. Therefore, continuous development and learning through collaborative engagement will allow for active planning and foster active development for both the leader and followers (Wang et al. 2014).

References

Cianci, A.M., et al. (2014). The effects of authentic leadership on followers’ ethical decision-making in the face of temptation: An experimental study. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 581-594. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984313001549

Hirst, G., et al. (2016). A multi-level investigation of authentic leadership as an antecedent of helping behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(3), 485-499. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-015-2580-x

Leroy, H., et al. (2015). Authentic leadership, authentic followership, basic need satisfaction, and work role performance: A cross-level study. Journal of Management, 41(6), 1677-1697. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0149206312457822

Luthans, F., Norman, S., & Hughes, L. (2006). Authentic leadership. In R. Burke, & C. Cooper, Inspiring leaders, London: Rutledge, Taylor & Francis, 84-104.

Rego, A., et al. (2014). Hope and positive affect mediating the authentic leadership and creativity relationship. Journal of Business Research, 67(2), 200-210. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296312002913

Wang, D.S., & Hsieh, C.C. (2013). The effect of authentic leadership on employee trust and employee engagement. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 41(4), 613-624. Retrieved from https://www.sbp-journal.com/index.php/sbp/article/view/2933

Wang, H., et al. (2014). Impact of authentic leadership on performance: Role of followers’ positive psychological capital and relational processes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(1), 5-21. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/job.1850/abstract

Wong, C.A., & Laschinger, H.K. (2013). Authentic leadership, performance, and job satisfaction: the mediating role of empowerment. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 69(4), 947-959. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22764828