Authentic Leadership Development in the Classroom: A Narrative Approach

Abstract

This paper examines how a classroom designed process of constructing narratives about oneself, a group, and others helps students develop an authentic leadership voice. We begin by describing the theoretical framework behind our paper, which includes an overview of the notion of authenticity and the linkage between narrative and authentic leadership. Next, we provide an account of a transformative class called Leadership and Storytelling. Following this is a response to the question that inspired our paper: What was it about the course that made it such a meaningful leadership experience for students? The authors offer three key ingredients to the nature of this powerful classroom experience: space, authorship, and taking students to the edge of knowing. We conclude with an exploration of how others can incorporate narrative into their own work to become better leadership educators.

Between Person and Person: Dialogical Pedagogy in Authentic Leadership Development

“…McCormack, Illman, Culling, Ryan, and O'Neill (2002) suggested using a value clarification exercise and a visioning exercise in order to develop professional narratives. The work of Albert and Vadla (2009) is especially notable in this regard because it presents a coherent course plan. Based on their personal experience, the authors suggested giving written assignments to leadership students, aimed at evoking their emotional responses.…”

Life Narratives as a Pedagogy for Cultivating Critical Self‐Reflection

“…For students to truly believe that the space is brave enough for their voices, the staff model vulnerability, describe their positionality, and exercise critical self‐reflection through their narratives. Adapting Albert and Vadla's () story assignments, staff members share their Who I Am and Who We Are stories with a focus on identifying stock and counter‐narratives in their lives. As educators, we have articulated nervousness and uncertainty in the creation and sharing of our narratives in front of our students.…”

“…Our experiences in and outside of traditional classroom learning environments demonstrate that it can take a while for students to understand that their narratives are worthy of examination. To assist in breaking through these normative assumptions, we emphasize the differentiation between storytelling and narrative which are often conflated both in the leadership literature and educational practice (Albert & Vadla, 2009). Boje (2001) clarified that "story is an account of incidents or events, but narrative comes after and adds 'plot' and 'coherence' to the story line" (Boje, 2001, p. 10).…”

A Falling of the Veils: Turning Points and Momentous Turning Points in Leadership and the Creation of CSR

“…We analyse in particular the role of turning points (TP) in responsible leadership development, positing the TP acted as a mechanism in the development of leadership in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Furthermore, whilst TPs have been researched in developmental psychology (e.g., Gotlib and Wheaton 1997;McAdams et al 2001;Pillemer 2001) and to a limited extent in the leadership literature (e.g., Albert and Vadla 2009;Bennis and Thomas 2002;Janson 2008;Ligon et al 2008;Shamir and Eilam 2005), we further contribute to our understanding of this phenomenon by distinguishing the momentous turning point (MTP) in CSR leadership.…”