Authentic Leadership: The Role of Self-Awareness in Promoting Coaching Effectiveness

Abstract

Authentic leadership encompasses four dimensions crucial for the success of leadership: self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing and internalised moral perspective. In the context of Business Coaching, authentic leadership is a crucial factor in the coach-client relationship in which the leader demonstrates to others a genuine and honest desire to understand their leadership in order to serve others more effectively. The current study investigated the relationship between leadership style and coaching effectiveness among 96 business coaches from the Professional Business Coaches Alliance (PBCA). Study results indicate authentic leadership and its constitutive factor self-awareness were significantly related to coaching effectiveness. Coaching organisations, franchises and alliances, may benefit from this research if they wish to leverage higher levels of authentic leadership and self-awareness when developing selection, assessment, training and measurement systems.

Challenges for the Theory and Practice of Business Coaching

“…The following is a summary of the benefits often claimed for coaching offered as an extensive list that includes outcomes relevant to the coachee and to the employing organization. For the coachee, benefits are said to include the following: improving/establishing a work life balance (Gegner, 1997), improving psychological and social competencies, improving/advancing career development (Wales, 2003), improving self-awareness and assertiveness (Bozer, Sarros, & Santora, 2014; Gatling, Castelli, & Matthew, 2013; Wales, 2003), increasing confidence (Wales, 2003), developing relationships/networks/interpersonal skills (Wales, 2003), adapting to change more effectively, helping to set and achieve goals (Smither, London, Flautt, Vargas, & Kucine, 2003), role clarity (Kim, Egan, Kim, & Kim, 2013; Sonesh et al, 2015), and changing behaviors (Grant, 2005a; Wasylyshyn, 2003). For employers, benefits for the organization include increased productivity (Olivero, Denise Bane, & Kopelman, 1997), acting as a support mechanism for other training programs (Wales, 2003), improvements to communication (Graham, Wedman, & Garvin-Kester, 1993), and effectiveness of organizations or teams (Hagen & Garvrilova Aguilar, 2012).…”

Authentic Leadership and Service Innovative Behavior: Mediating Role of Proactive Personality

“…AL is employed as a fundamental structure in the present study. Albeit the likenesses between the four AL dimensions, psychological research literature typically examined them as separate constructs in the works by Gatling et al (2013) and Petan (2016). Consequently, in line with Kernis (2003), conceptualization of authenticity and latest empirical evidence given by Walumbwa et al (2008), AL was regarded as a higher order construct represented with four dimensions in the present study.…”

Reflecting leadership effectiveness via food-hygiene practices

“…They discussed leadership quality-related performance as an effective management indicator. To Gatling, Castelli, & Cole (2013), this positive relationship improves a subordinate's personal goal setting. To Den Hartog and Koopman (2011), LE affects followers' behaviors, including perceptions and empowerment, while Shipper and Davy (2002) found LE related to specific individual capabilities.…”