Our goals are to preview the themes of the class, discuss our theoretical framework and describe the course assignments and syllabus.

Corporate scandals, corruption in politics, and false claims of people in leadership roles seem to abound in the news. We can name more shameful failures to lead well than inspirational and exemplary ones. For the past decade or so, leadership scholars have articulated, studied and debated a model of authentic leadership based on the subfield of positive psychology—the study of human flourishing. We will discuss the components of authentic leadership theory and the context that makes it so challenging.

We will explore the role of personality in leading others, how personality is constructed and developed, and examine two major psychological constructs for personality. What do personality assessments reveal about us that could help us live more integrated lives? What is the role (and danger) of self-monitoring and charisma for building trust? Is self-monitoring the same as impression management and are there danger in it?

In this session we will deal with the question, “Does personality really capture who we are deep down?” We will use an ancient system called the Enneagram (Any-a-gram) with its 9 types to discuss personality as a defense mechanism, going beneath the “surface” to core motivational and patterns of thought that drive our behaviors and habits. Students will take the Enneagram assessment to identify their dominant type and explore the ways in which it has shown up in his or her experience and could impact the way in which they build trust with others. We will use this information, in part, through the lens of Dan McAdams research on “narrative identity” to understand our motivations and desires embedded in stories we embrace.

We will explore the second domain of authentic leadership called “balanced processing” in the literature, but we will think of it as the art of staying curious and checking your bias. Good leaders recognize their limitations and thus approach dilemmas in a more open way. We will use the Enneagram results to Through case studies and interactive activities we will explore the practice of authenticity and the role bias plays in making decisions in teams.

Authentic leaders are those that become more human to those within their sphere of influence and beyond. But for honest conversations to truly take place, leaders must reduce the interpersonal risk of disclosing personal views and information. How does one create the conditions in which people are more honest and transparent? How should followers pursue authenticity in relation to leaders?

The fourth component of authentic leadership is the practice of behaving in concert with one’s deepest values. This also requires humility and more sophisticated levels or moral and cognitive reasoning. We will discuss the inherent morality of a leader’s stories through Kohlberg’s model of moral development and Carol Gilligan’s ethic of care. We will discuss examples as counter points to the dangers and ethics revealed in the Stanford Prison Experiment.

Now that we have become familiar with the theory of authentic leadership, we need to build on its chief criticisms by going back to fuller notions of the self as applied to leadership. One of these is Carl Jung’s theory of individuation and the concept of the shadow self. This psychological grounding in what it means to be a ‘whole person’ provides a solid complementary footing to the concept of authenticity.

One of the main criticisms of authentic leadership theory is that it does not account for power differences. Power affects the way leaders and followers collaborate. The corrupting influence of power is the typical explanation for the moral failings of any high ranking official. Yet how and why does power corrupt? Are there conditions of leadership that are more conducive ethical failure? Price helps us reconsider the story of King David’s famous failure with Bathsheba in terms of the content and scope of morality in leadership. Taylor uses his vast experience as an actor to look at authenticity in terms of raising and lowering ones status to be an effective leader.

We will discuss and critique Goleman and others’ work on emotional intelligence as a key competency for leaders. We will reflect on the role that the human vulnerabilities of shame and fear play in leadership. Have we confused vulnerability with weakness? We will compile our findings about failure in the interviews conducted with mentors/role models. In leadership, failure is inevitable. What does psychology offer in terms of guidance on how to recover from failure? We will discuss the conditions under which a greater service of others results from perspective-taking and empathy during adversity. We will explore the components of self-compassion and apply research-based principles of personal growth.

Research has shown that the key to personal growth and well-being in not self-criticism as many assume, but in the practice of self-compassion. Why is that? We will discuss the components of self-compassion, how it works, how it is developed and its relationship to the pressures of leading others. We will take an assessment and apply evidence-based exercises that have been shown to increase self-compassion.

Self-leadership is based on motivation theory and social cognitive theory. We will explore the differences between self-leadership and self-management and use practical strategies for growth and development in this area.