Biography
Biography: Venise Bryan
Abstract
This session discusses a theory that has at its core “the self”, namely, authentic leadership. Authentic leadership draws upon positive psychological capacities and ethical climates to bring about greater self- awareness and self-development through balanced processing of information and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with followers (Rego, Sousa, Marques, & Cunha, 2012). An authentic leader is described as optimistic, confident, hopeful, strong, ethical, futuristic, goal oriented, aware of core beliefs and values, and are loyal to them exhibiting them in all interactions possible and at every level of the organization (Algera, & Lips-Wiersma, 2012). Leadership in caring professions have been guided by several theories that focus on the behaviour and attributes of the leader, but the person (self) has been ignored. Authentic leadership addresses this great deficiency and promotes self-awareness and self-development. Nursing like many professions of care is relational focus, as such, practicing authentic leadership assists in knowing oneself, and the leader is mindful of others as they help them to know their self and personally develop. Applying authentic leadership in nursing improves nurses’ wellbeing, job satisfaction, and learning. Authentic leadership has far reaching implications for recruitment, retention and effective organizational financial performance