Authenticity is a leadership characteristic of exceptional leaders. It is an essential requirement for future leaders, especially in an era when the motives and behaviours of many leaders are questionable. Authentic leaders are genuine and utter words that can be trusted (Smith, 2014.). Followers have voiced a need for leaders who can be trusted and show consistency in their actions. The study focused on the investigation of authentic leadership and the influence that authentic leadership has on the engagement levels of employees. A theoretical study of leadership, with the focus on authentic leadership and employee engagement was conducted to achieve the objectives of the study. The research included a literature study, which highlighted the characteristics and behaviours of authentic leadership. Both a theoretical and practitioner view of authentic leadership is included in the theoretical study. Semi-structured interviews were held with two prominent leadership practitioners, one from the University of the Free State and the other from the University of Stellenbosch, to obtain their views on the nature of authentic leadership and examples of South African leaders who they considered authentic leaders. The insights gained from the literature review and the interviews, were incorporated into a survey questionnaire developed for use in the empirical study which was conducted at Continental Tyre SA. An electronic questionnaire was administered to managers and their direct subordinates in the manufacturing and marketing/sales divisions. The questionnaire probed the respondents’ perceptions regarding the level of authenticity displayed by leaders in the organisation, and specifically the extent to which leaders demonstrated the characteristics and behaviours associated with authentic leadership. The Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), as validated by Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing and Peterson (2008, p. 64), was used as a basis for the development of the survey questionnaire, with adjustments made to include the practitioner’s perspective as postulated by George (2003, p. 12). The section in the questionnaire on engagement focused on engagement as a psychological state, behavioural engagement and the manager’s role in nurturing engagement. Both managers and employees were requested to provide their view of the manager’s characteristics and behaviours, the managers rated themselves, and both groups rated the engagement levels of employees. A correlation was made between the responses received from the manager and employees. The results of the empirical study revealed that both managers and employees agreed mostly that managers in the organisation displayed the characteristics and behaviours of authentic leadership and employees were engaged. It did however, emerge that the managers were reluctant to share personal information about themselves and that employees believed that managers did not seek feedback on their own behaviour. In terms of employee engagement, the results suggested that the managers believed that employees felt supported, accepted and were committed to the Continental Tyre SA brand; but indicated a lack of knowledge of their roles in the organisation and a lack of passion and energy. Further findings revealed that the managers in the marketing/sales division considered their employees more engaged than the managers in the manufacturing division considered their employees to be. Other findings also revealed that self-awareness in leaders is an important predictor of employee engagement. Self-awareness in a leader is an important feature in facilitating social processes in the leader’s relationship with their followers. Transparent leaders create a psychologically secure environment, enabling employees to be confident and to feel encouraged to express themselves freely. The study concluded with several recommendations. Leaders should be more transparent in their interaction with others by sharing personal stories about themselves. Opportunities should be provided through 360° feedback for employees to give feedback to managers regarding their behaviour. The GIVE (Goals, Interests, Values and Emotions) Model should be used in management development initiatives to facilitate the development of self-awareness and self-knowledge. An appreciative inquiry, which focuses on positive affirmation, should be an approach used in organisations to foster the development of genuine relationships and is an implication of authentic leadership, thus encouraging employee engagement.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:28170 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Dube, Yonela Oko Likona |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MTech |
| Format | xv, 201 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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