Practical Implications of Credible and Authentic Leadership in Organizations

Abstract

Credibility and authenticity have gained much interest in today’s world which is full of many challenges, opportunities as well as chaos. This study was conducted in two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Mwanza, Tanzania to understand authentic and credible leadership, it’s impact in organizations as well as explore contextual factors that influence it. A qualitative study was conducted where thematic analysis was used to analyze the findings. The findings revealed the subjective nature of authentic leadership. Authenticity was found to be difficult to measure because it was hidden within the person. It was also revealed that employees who perceived their leaders to have credibility and authenticity tend to have a high level of organizational commitment, motivation and trust. Also, it was found out that culture, societal demands, as well as life experiences were contextual factors which influenced authenticity and credibility of leaders. The study was not without limitations. Snowball sampling was applied and hence elements of the population did not have an equal chance of being in the sample. Another limitation is the fact that interviews were conducted through telephone and hence some important gestures and expressions were not captured in the responses. The author invites other scholars to conduct similar studies using representative samples, face to face interviews and other methods such as quantitative or mixed methods to obtain comparable findings.