Authentic Leadership and Talent Development: Fulfilling Individual Potential in Sociocultural Context

Abstract

The Problem. Although leadership researchers have alluded to a connection between talent and leadership, the relationship has not been explored. The Solution. Leadership entails influence through inspiration. A key assumption of this article is that people inspire others when they themselves are inspired by what they do and, further, that such inspiration stems from authentic talent development. Authentic talent development is a process whereby individuals discover what they are good at and love to do, and use their talents to express their values. This article incorporates insights from the leadership authenticity and talent development literatures to present a framework of authentic leadership and talent development in sociocultural context. The framework illuminates how social identity ascription processes can thwart the course of an individual's talent development efforts. It also shows how individuals can overcome these pressures by cultivating positive psychological capital (PsyCap), thereby pursuing personally resonant talent trajectories. The Stakeholders. This article is relevant to Human Resource Development (HRD) researchers and scholar-practitioners, and those that design and deliver leadership development programs. It is also relevant to students of leadership in academic and corporate settings.

Contesting “Authenticity” in Authentic Leadership through a Mad Studies Lens

“…This is somewhat disconcerting considering that both HRD and AL take up humanistic approaches (inner growth through interaction of self, context, and experience) (Chalofsky, 2014) to equity and diversity and critique issues of identity, access, and inclusion (or a lack thereof) (Lee, 2017). Yet, within the HRD community some have decried AL as homogenizing the leadership rank and file of organizations with Male, White, (Debebe, 2017) able-bodied and sane leaders (Procknow et al, 2017) and discounting “diverse ways of being authentic” (Storberg-Walker & Gardiner, 2017, p. 350). People with differently situated identities have been dislodged from the realm of acceptability (or possibility) of practicing AL.…”

Strategic Management and Retention of Talent: Challenges in the Portuguese Army

“…It is even more important because retaining talent can lead to cost savings (Craig 2015), which in the public domain is even more pressing, in a case such as that of Portugal, which has gone through various budgetary and financial contingencies. It should also be said that, in the specific case of military forces, authentic leadership and the development of talents are closely linked (Debebe 2017), as well as the creation of value (Ghana and Haque 2017), despite the tensions therein (Garrad 2018). Unfortunately, if it is true that traditional managers do not always master what is an adequate human resources management (Ferreira et al 2015), in fact, in the military environment, it occurs that, too often, there are also many vulnerabilities in human resource management.…”

Authentic Talent Development in Women Leaders Who Opted Out: Discovering Authenticity, Balance, and Challenge through the Kaleidoscope Career Model

“…Social ascription processes (Debebe 2017;Reskin 2012) differentially shape the internal and external conditions that influence the sorting of individuals into roles and occupations, leading to systemic racism and sexism that is perpetuated through endemic norms and behaviors. By reinforcing hierarchies based on race, gender, and other social identity groups, social ascription processes sustain power relations.…”

“…Forty-two percent of women surveyed said that fulfilling work that was flexible was key to their future ambitions. As noted by Debebe (2017), social ascription processes create conditions for eroding self-efficacy by denying learners opportunities for learning and mastery of skills. While there may be stereotypical perceptions that women are less ambitious than men, in reality, women may either be more ambitious than perceived or beaten down by discriminatory social structures; such social ascription processes may be pervasive and life long, causing women to abandon their ambition.…”

“…Clark and Reed (2007), reporting for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, discovered that when women exit their place of work, this was often due to being dissatisfied as a result of working in a culture that focused on typical male traditions and culture. Social structures and persistent social ascriptions lead to systemic discrimination that creates conditions to erode self-efficacy by denying employees opportunities for mastery of skills (Debebe 2017). Taken together, these are subtle forms of systemic discrimination that leads to women's lack of advancement to the top of their firms, and their decision to opt out.…”