Impact of Age, Gender, Faith, Tenure and Seniority on the Authenticity of Organizational Leaders

Abstract

Authentic leadership consists of four components tested and validated by Walumbwa and Associates, including self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and an internalized moral perspective. Using the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire developed by Walumbwa and Associates, this study sought to determine the impact of age, gender, faith, tenure, and seniority on the authenticity of organizational members. The study was undertaken in a nonprofit organization and included lower, middle-level, and senior organizational leaders, 57 participants out of the 62 questionnaires sent out, with a 91.9% response rate. The study found that the demographics tested have no statistically significant influence on authentic leadership. However, self-awareness was the highest component of authentic leadership amongst the organizational members involved in the study. Although the differences were not significa nt, higher authentic leadership tended to be associated with older employees, males, middle tenure groups, and lower organizational levels. There were limitations due to inadequate sample size and possible scale multidimensionality. Overall, the findings indicate high self-awareness and provide insights on the relationships between AL and demographics.