We love talking about authentic leadership but the idea that it's just about being yourself is dangerously simplistic, particularly for women, the latest research has found. ​

Authenticity is not something you are but something you do, and it's a very different process for men and women leaders, according to Helena Liu, Leanne Cutcher and UNSW Business School's senior deputy dean Professor David Grant​ in Doing Authenticity: The Gendered Construction of Authentic Leadership.​

The team's analysis of the media portrayal of two high-profile bank CEOs – Mike Smith at ANZ and Gail Kelly at Westpac – during the global financial crisis (GFC) reveals that authenticity is very much about conforming to gender norms.​

Until recently, authentic leadership theories have tended to be either gender neutral or, where gender has been considered, it is argued that women as 'outsiders' are less likely to be accepted by their followers as authentic leaders. 

But this study found that being seen as authentic was really about performing authentically in line with the gender norms seen as appropriate for the context.

For Smith, being seen as authentic was all about alpha male stereotypes – being independent, strong, active and decisive – whereas Kelly needed to conform to female norms and be seen as nurturing, caring and outgoing, no matter what her job required.

Using the period of the GFC allowed the researchers to compare media coverage of each leader during the same period and under the same conditions.

"When there's coverage and reporting of something like the GFC you assume it would be neutral and you are reporting on a reality," Liu says.

"But analysing these two leaders and going to the same point in time, we found they had very different contexts. For Mike Smith the GFC [was] a disaster that needed someone strong to rescue us, but for Gail Kelly it was about uncertainty and needed someone with a more gentle touch to manage."

For co-author Grant, it became clear there was a gender issue in examining authenticity for both leaders. The research answered some key questions about how the precepts of female leadership were constructed.

"Kelly's case demonstrated you just can't win whatever the situation," Grant says.

For Smith, being seen as authentic was all about alpha male stereotypes – being independent, strong, active and decisive – whereas Kelly needed to conform to female norms and be seen as nurturing, caring and outgoing, no matter what her job required. - See more at: https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/pages/a-tale-of-two-bosses-why-str...

For Smith, being seen as authentic was all about alpha male stereotypes – being independent, strong, active and decisive – whereas Kelly needed to conform to female norms and be seen as nurturing, caring and outgoing, no matter what her job required.

The gender element wasn't even part of the original plan for the research, says Liu, a lecturer in organisation studies at Swinburne Business School:

"I was fascinated by the cult of personality and charismatic leaders. When I started my PhD, you couldn't look anywhere without seeing authentic leadership mentioned so I wanted to explore this. It struck me as an oxymoron – how do we be true to ourselves in restrictive organisational norms?"

Detailed analysis of how media coverage portrayed Kelly and Smith convinced Liu there was another set of hurdles for being seen as authentic, even though the effect of gender on leadership is often downplayed.

"I think there's pressure for organisations to present leadership as meritocratic, that regardless of your gender you can make it as a leader, but it became undeniable that gender plays a major part in how leaders are received," Liu says.

- See more at: https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/pages/a-tale-of-two-bosses-why-str...

For Smith, being seen as authentic was all about alpha male stereotypes – being independent, strong, active and decisive – whereas Kelly needed to conform to female norms and be seen as nurturing, caring and outgoing, no matter what her job required.

The gender element wasn't even part of the original plan for the research, says Liu, a lecturer in organisation studies at Swinburne Business School:

"I was fascinated by the cult of personality and charismatic leaders. When I started my PhD, you couldn't look anywhere without seeing authentic leadership mentioned so I wanted to explore this. It struck me as an oxymoron – how do we be true to ourselves in restrictive organisational norms?"

Detailed analysis of how media coverage portrayed Kelly and Smith convinced Liu there was another set of hurdles for being seen as authentic, even though the effect of gender on leadership is often downplayed.

"I think there's pressure for organisations to present leadership as meritocratic, that regardless of your gender you can make it as a leader, but it became undeniable that gender plays a major part in how leaders are received," Liu says.

 

Rapid and dramatic response​

Until recently, authentic leadership theories have tended to be either gender neutral or, where gender has been considered, it is argued that women as 'outsiders' are less likely to be accepted by their followers as authentic leaders. 

But this study found that being seen as authentic was really about performing authenticity in line with the gender norms seen as appropriate for the context.

 

'Gail Kelly’s case demonstrated you just can’t win whatever the situation'  ​   

– david grant

 

Using the period of the GFC allowed the researchers to compare media coverage of each leader during the same period and under the same conditions.

"When there's coverage and reporting of something like the GFC you assume it would be neutral and you are reporting on a reality," Liu says.

"But analysing these two leaders and going to the same point in time, we found they had very different contexts. For Mike Smith the GFC [was] a disaster that needed someone strong to rescue us, but for Gail Kelly it was about uncertainty and needed someone with a more gentle touch to manage."

For co-author Grant, a professor and senior deputy dean at UNSW Business School, it became clear there was a gender issue in examining authenticity for both leaders. The research answered some key questions about how the precepts of female leadership were constructed.

"Kelly's case demonstrated you just can't win whatever the situation," Grant says.

- See more at: https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/pages/a-tale-of-two-bosses-why-str...

The team's analysis of the media portrayal of two high-profile bank CEOs – Mike Smith at ANZ and Gail Kelly at Westpac – during the global financial crisis (GFC) reveals that authenticity is very much about conforming to gender norms.​

For Smith, being seen as authentic was all about alpha male stereotypes – being independent, strong, active and decisive – whereas Kelly needed to conform to female norms and be seen as nurturing, caring and outgoing, no matter what her job required.

The gender element wasn't even part of the original plan for the research, says Liu, a lecturer in organisation studies at Swinburne Business School:

"I was fascinated by the cult of personality and charismatic leaders. When I started my PhD, you couldn't look anywhere without seeing authentic leadership mentioned so I wanted to explore this. It struck me as an oxymoron – how do we be true to ourselves in restrictive organisational norms?"

Detailed analysis of how media coverage portrayed Kelly and Smith convinced Liu there was another set of hurdles for being seen as authentic, even though the effect of gender on leadership is often downplayed.

"I think there's pressure for organisations to present leadership as meritocratic, that regardless of your gender you can make it as a leader, but it became undeniable that gender plays a major part in how leaders are received," Liu says.

 

- See more at: https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/pages/a-tale-of-two-bosses-why-str...

The team's analysis of the media portrayal of two high-profile bank CEOs – Mike Smith at ANZ and Gail Kelly at Westpac – during the global financial crisis (GFC) reveals that authenticity is very much about conforming to gender norms.​

For Smith, being seen as authentic was all about alpha male stereotypes – being independent, strong, active and decisive – whereas Kelly needed to conform to female norms and be seen as nurturing, caring and outgoing, no matter what her job required.

The gender element wasn't even part of the original plan for the research, says Liu, a lecturer in organisation studies at Swinburne Business School:

"I was fascinated by the cult of personality and charismatic leaders. When I started my PhD, you couldn't look anywhere without seeing authentic leadership mentioned so I wanted to explore this. It struck me as an oxymoron – how do we be true to ourselves in restrictive organisational norms?"

Detailed analysis of how media coverage portrayed Kelly and Smith convinced Liu there was another set of hurdles for being seen as authentic, even though the effect of gender on leadership is often downplayed.

"I think there's pressure for organisations to present leadership as meritocratic, that regardless of your gender you can make it as a leader, but it became undeniable that gender plays a major part in how leaders are received," Liu says.

 

- See more at: https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/pages/a-tale-of-two-bosses-why-str...

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