Unlocking the mask: A look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors

Authors

Bruce Avolio, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
William L. Gardner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Fred Walumbwa, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Fred Luthans, University of Nebraska–LincolnFollow
Douglas R. May, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Date of this Version

2004

Citation

Published in The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 15, iss. 6 (December 2004), pp. 801–823.

doi 10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.09.003

Comments

Copyright © 2004 Elsevier Inc. Used by permission.

Abstract

The conceptual and empirical links between authentic leadership and follower attitudes, behaviors, and performance outcomes have not been fully developed. Although we have a number of articles developing the theory of authentic leadership and testing propositions that will appear in a forthcoming special issue of The Leadership Quarterly (Vol. 16, Issue 3, 2005), the focus of this article is to provide some of the initial foundation work for the broader theoretical framework of how authentic leaders influence follower attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Here, we draw from positive organizational behavior, trust, hope, emotion, identification, and identity theories to describe the processes by which authentic leaders exert their influence on followers’ attitudes and behaviors. Research propositions based on the proposed theoretical model and implications for future theory building and research are presented.