Authenticity

Abstract

The field of authenticity in project management is in its very beginning at this point (ref), with only a few empirical studies specific to project management. The field, however, builds on Authentic Leadership Theory which, although also a new field, has a solid empirical foundation. We will therefore, begin by understanding the basic principles of Authentic Leadership Theory and then relate it to Project Management.

Why Authenticity in Project Management is important

Authenticity may seem as a trivial topic in Project Management since it doesn’t directly have anything to do with the four perspectives, Purpose, People, Complexity, Uncertainty. And yet, all four perspectives will benefit greatly with an authentic project manager with high ethical standards and openness towards others. Authentic PM’s will inspire their team members to perform better with more satisfaction and improve the overall organization. Authenticity is, however, not limited to Project Management. One can not learn to just be an authentic project manager, you must start by being an authentic person in everything you do. Being an authentic person comes first and then the benefits of authenticity will shine through all aspects of your life from project management to fatherhood. This article is not meant as a 3 step tutorial to being authentic, because you cannot become authentic by intellectual understanding only. You have to face yourself and who you think you are and challenge that through introspection. That said, the article will help a true understanding of the topic in regards to project management both theoretically, empirically and point to practical ways of getting more authentic as a person and as a project manager.

What is authenticity?

Many philosophers and sociologists have attempted to define authenticity since it was first brought up in ancient Greece. The Greeks wrote: “to thine own self be true” (ref xx), which is a quite precise definition of authenticity - to be true to your own self. We will not go into all the facets and philosophical views of authenticity - which wouldn’t bring us closer to our authentic self - and go with the two main aspects which defines authenticity that the literature generally agrees on:

Knowing one’s true self; owning one’s personal experiences, be they thoughts, emotions, needs, wants, preferences, or beliefs. Acting in accord with one’s true self; expressing oneself in ways that are consistent with one’s understanding of self.

As Eriksson points out, people are neither completely authentic nor completely inauthentic, it should be seen more as a spectrum of more or less authenticity.

Four components of authenticity

As it was proposed by Kernis authenticity can be divided into four components. Each component has its own costs and benefits which will be described below.

Awareness

The awareness of self refers to possessing, and being motivated to increase, one’s knowledge and trust in one’s motives, feelings, desires. It includes, for example, understanding one’s likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, goals and aspirations, dispositional characteristics, and emotional states.

Balanced Processing

This component refers to being objective about all what is observed; one’s positive and negative aspects, emotions, experiences and information. Balanced processing involves not denying, distorting or exaggerating information to fit your personal needs. It can be understood by looking at how people with low or fragile high self-esteem select and interpret information. Such persons find it hard to acknowledge personal shortcomings, such as certain skills or personality traits that they don’t like. They will typically develop strong ego defense mechanisms to distort information about their shortcomings. Individuals with balanced processing will not have strong self-serving biases to gain personal success, and will not have strong defense mechanisms.

Behaviour

Authentic behaviour means “acting in accord with one’s values, preferences, and needs as opposed to acting merely to please others or to attain rewards or avoid punishments through acting falsely... Authenticity is not reflected in a compulsion to be one’s true self, but rather in the free and natural expression of core feelings, motives and inclinations.”(Kernis). This can be seen as the behavioural output of Awareness and Balanced Processing.

Of course, there will be instances where it will not be appropriate to act on behalf of your core needs and values, because it may not fit the immediate environment. Therefore one must act against the true self, which will lead to a temporally internal conflict. However, unbiased processing and awareness can still be present in such an instance, which would allow one to reflect and learn from the situation. In contrast, if awareness and unbiased processing was not present at that instance, then may not be recognized as an act against one’s values and that would lead to blind obedience.

Relational transparency

A person with high relation orientation will strive for truthfulness and openness in his/her close relationships. It’s about self-disclosure, wanting others to see the “real” you, and the development of mutual intimacy and trust. At the core, it’s about being genuine rather than fake in one’s relationships.

Authentic Leadership Theory

Authentic Leadership Theory is a new area of research firmly established in 2003 (Avolio, Gardner) that draws insights from positive psychology and full-range leadership (FRL)/transformational leadership theory. It is based on empirical evidence and seems to be the most complete leadership theory, because authenticity is the root of it.

Characteristics of authentic leaders

First of all, an authentic leader must achieve authenticity (as defined above) through self-awareness, self-acceptance, and authentic actions and relationships (Gardner). Authentic leaders has been defined as “those who are deeply aware of how they think and behave and are perceived by others as being aware of their own and others’ values/moral perspectives, knowledge, and strengths; aware of the context in which they operate; and who are confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, and of high moral character” (Avolio, Luthans, and Walumbwa 2004, p. 4).

Authentic leaders posit the following four distinct characteristics, proposed by Shamir and Eilam (2005):

- Rather than faking their leadership, authentic leaders are true to themselves (rather than conforming to the expectations of others). - Authentic leaders are motivated by personal convictions, rather than to attain status, honors, or other personal benefits. - Authentic leaders are originals, not copies; that is, they lead from their own personal point of view. - The actions of authentic leaders are based on their personal values and convictions.

How Authentic Leadership impact those around them

Authentic leadership goes beyond the authenticity of the leader as a person to the relationship and development of the team he/she is leading. The relationships are called “authentic followership” and are characterized by: - Transparency, openness, trust - Guidance towards worthy objectives - Emphasis on follower development

Relation to other leadership theories

To understand where it comes from we will look at how it relates and differentiates to another leadership theory, Transformational leadership. A transformational leadership is also considered as charismatic leadership as it has considerable emotional appeal and possesses the ability to inspire (Ergeneli et al., 2007). Transformational leadership behaviors are associated with four categories: Idealized influence: when a leader performs as a role model and shares common visions, encourages and provides a strong sense of purpose. Inspirational motivation: a leader expresses the importance of desired objectives of the organization and motivates. Intellectual stimulation: when a leader challenges the normal ideas of followers. Individualized consideration: when a leader spends more time teaching and coaching for better performance.

A transformational leader may have a vision they communicate influentially, but that vision may not be always true, or the leaders may be imposing their own needs or pleasures (Ilies et al., 2005). This is where authenticity becomes relevant because an authentic leader will not be ego-driven, and has high morality. Another distinction is that authentic leaders may or may not be charismatic but they will always foster positive development of those around them.

Authentic Project Management

Argue for why auhtentic leadership theory can apply in large regard to PM and an empirical study that didn't find correlation between authentic PM's and project success. Will also describe how it can benefit the whole organization, and culture being increasing the awareness in the organization.

How to increase authenticity

Will cover mindfulness as good practice as well as describing how trigger event can cause more authentic behaviour.

Limitations

It's a new field of study so it is not clear how the impact of authenticity effects projects. If project success is the only parameter you are interested in, then improving one's authenticity may be a lot of work for a small change. However, the change towards authentic behaviour will impact every aspect of one's life to the better.