Research Assignment Paper (Required activity, 10 points possible) There are different characteristics that separate successful leaders from leaders who are unsuccessful. Jump ahead to Chapter 10 of

Authentic Leadership: Leading with Transparency and Hope Lily Pond

The University of Texas Permian Basin

Authentic Leadership: Leading with Transparency and Hope

Irene Rosenfeld is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mondelēz International, Inc, formerly known as Kraft Foods. She went to Cornell University and earned a Ph. D. in Marketing and Statistics (Irene Rosenfeld Life, 2010). She is a leader in the industry. In fact, “Fortune ranks her No. 2 on its “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” list” (Rosenfeld, 2015, p. 1). She began her 30-year journey in the food and beverage industry at General Foods after working at Dancer advertising. Rosenfeld started in the marketing department and several management promotions gave her the opportunity to work at various parts of the company. She is known for interpreting consumer demand leading to significant profitable growth (Irene Rosenfeld Life, 2010). She quickly earned a reputation for vision, creating company growth, and for connecting with her employees. When Rosenfeld was a leader of the Canadian division, she was credited with assimilating Nabisco into the Kraft brand. She briefly left Kraft for two years to become the CEO for Frito Lay. After that, she was hired to be the CEO of Kraft. Since Rosenfeld has occupied this leadership position, Kraft has increased its profitability significantly by adding new brands, new products, and injecting workplace enthusiasm through the reorganization of the company (Irene Rosenfeld, 2014). Rosenfeld leads by example, she provides context through first-hand experience, she has a rapport with the employees, and prides herself in transparency (“Irene Rosenfeld”, 2014). In an interview with Fortune, Rosenfeld stated “The key to managing any kind of change is to communicate honestly, frequently and consistently. In times like these, the news isn’t always rosy, but I’ve learned over and over again that silence is far more frightening than bad news” (Rosenfeld, 2015, p. 1).

According to Truxillo et al. (2016), an authentic leader is true to one’s self. It is the leader who communicates a vision or direction and then embodies that concept.

These leaders model the behavior that they project and that, in turn, creates a followership that embodies their vision. Leroy et al. (2015) examined the effects of authentic leadership regarding employee performance. Followership, as defined by Leroy et al., is the empowerment of employees to be impactful and take ownership under the guidance of an authentic leader. To test the predictability of followership, Leroy et al., used the Self Determination Theory (SDT) as the foundation for their study. SDT can be defined in three categories, organismic, dialectical, and positive premises. First, organismic is defined as humanity’s tendency to evolve their sense of being by collecting new experiences. For an employee to feel connected to the whole of the company, they strive to immerse themselves with their unit. However, if the collective is too far apart from what they consider themselves to be, the employee will be unable to fully integrate (Leroy et al., 2015). Therefore, it is important that they have the trust that a high-quality leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship inspires (Truxillo et al., 2016). Second, the dialectical category is the orchestration of the give and take of the employee’s relationship with their boss. Third, positive premises describe the importance for an employee to utilize their strengths. The strength-based characteristics enable them to be the most effective at work (Leroy et al., 2015). When these three SDT categories are working in concert, they serve to support the employee’s basic need satisfaction.

Leroy et al. (2015) tested authentic leadership using a 5-point Likert scale called the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ). They tested followership using an adapted form of the Authenticity Inventory, another 5-point Likert scale. Basic need satisfaction was determined using a self-report questionnaire with a 7-point Likert scale. Finally, work performance was measured using a nine question survey on a 5-point Likert scale to show competency at work.

Leroy et al. (2015) found a positive correlation on every characteristic between an authentic leader and an authentic followership. The strength of an authentic leader lies in their ability to be transparent and not let ego define their actions (Leroy et al., 2015). Leroy et al. concluded that workers become more socially oriented towards the group when the leader allows them the freedom to share ideas, and asserted that the relationship between a leader and their employees is an exchange, where each party intertwines their ideas in the layers of their organization’s foundation. A company is not solely defined by the products that it promotes. Rather, it is the people within it that give it character. When everyone makes their own contribution, it gives them personal buy-in and it satisfies the basic needs of the self. An authentic leader primes employee motivation through their transparency and honest commitment to the job. Their efforts provide an environment for employees to “engage in the proficient, adaptive, and proactive behaviors that are critical to effective performance” (Leroy et al., 2015, p. 1694).

References

Irene Rosenfeld Life. (2010). Browse Biography. http://www.browsebiography.com/bio-irene_rosenfeld.html

Irene Rosenfeld. (2014). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Irene-Rosenfeld

Leroy, H., Anseel, F., Gardner, W. L., & Sels, L. (2015). Authentic leadership, authentic followership, basic need satisfaction, and work role performance: A cross-level study. Journal of Management, 41, 1677-1697. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312457822

Truxillo, D. M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2016). Psychology and work: Perspectives on industrial and organizational psychology. New York: Routledge, Taylor, & Francis Group.

Rosenfeld (2015). Mondelez CEO says this is why managers need to be more transparent with employees. http://fortune.com/2015/09/16/mondelez-transparency- with-

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