Authentic Leadership Theory and Practical Applications in Nuclear Medicine

Abstract

CE credit: For CE credit, you can access the test for this article, as well as additional JNMT CE tests, online at https://www.snmmilearningcenter.org. Complete the test online no later than September 2022. Your online test will be scored immediately. You may make 3 attempts to pass the test and must answer 80% of the questions correctly to receive 1.0 CEH (Continuing Education Hour) credit. SNMMI members will have their CEH credit added to their VOICE transcript automatically; nonmembers will be able to print out a CE certificate upon successfully completing the test. The online test is free to SNMMI members; nonmembers must pay $15.00 by credit card when logging onto the website to take the test. As the field of nuclear medicine continues to evolve, a need for new leaders will emerge and leadership development will become critical. "Authentic leadership" is an emerging leadership style rooted in humanism that can be used in conjunction with other leadership styles. Authentic leadership has positive implications for health-care settings, including improved patient care, job satisfaction, motivation, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. This article reviews the philosophic foundations of authentic leadership theory and key characteristics of an authentic leader in the context of nuclear medicine.

Authentic Leadership Questionnaire applied to Brazilian nurses: evidence of validity

“…This is justified by the direct relationship between their theoretical concepts, since showing the true self to others (relational transparency) is an essential characteristic of those who behave according to their personal values (moral perspective). In addition, it is known that people tend to perceive and evaluate transparency based on their own structures, values, emotions and cognitive limitations (21) , and that relational transparency requires genuineness and transparency of leaders to gain the trust of their followers (22) , propagate their thoughts and seek harmony in the group (9) .…”

Leadership for reducing medical errors via organizational culture: a literature review

“…Authentic leadership includes the key characteristics of “underlying positive psychology and moral reasoning combined with critical life events” (Johnson, 2019). Authentic leadership places weight on transparency with a purpose.…”

A confirmatory factor analytic study of an authentic leadership measure in Nigeria

“…Authentic leadership is a challenge that most organisations are faced with. It is generally defined as a leader's ability to display high levels of self-awareness, relational transparency, internalised moral perspective and balanced processing (Johnson, 2019;Kotzé & Nel, 2019;Luthans & Avolio, 2003). Self-awareness alludes to the leader's awareness of his or her own strengths and weaknesses; relational transparency indicates a leader's open expression of his or her thoughts and feelings while being guided by his or her internalised moral perspective in the form of values and self-regulation in decision-making.…”

“…Authentic leaders advance factual lives, and their followers are motivated to do the same. Authentic leaders actively pass to their followers, a desire for fulfilment, a drive for success and psychological capacities needed for high-level performance and commitment (Johnson, 2019;Kotzé & Nel, 2019). Citing Gardner and Schermerhorn, Avolio et al (2004) noted that the duty of an authentic leader is to cultivate optimism in followers.…”

“…It has even been argued that conceptually, authentic leadership intersects with some other forms of positive leadership behaviours . However, in spite of the dissenting opinions that persist, most scholars have noted and accepted authentic leadership and its four dimensions as a distinct, separate leadership construct (Gardner, Cogliser, Davis, & Dickens, 2011;Johnson, 2019;Klenke, 2007;Kotzé & Nel, 2019;Yammarino, Dionne, Schriesheim, & Dansereau, 2008), with some researchers engaged in refining its theoretical models (Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May, & Walumbwa, 2005;Ilies, Morgeson, & Nahrgang, 2005), some in redeveloping its measures of assessment (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007;Neider & Schriesheim, 2011;Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, & Peterson, 2008) and others preoccupied with testing for antecedents, consequences, mediators and moderators (Alok, 2014;Gardner et al, 2011). Furthermore, Avolio and Gardner (2005) stated that authentic leadership behaviours form the basis and act as a solid foundation on which sincere transformational leadership behaviours can be constructed.…”