Investigating the Influence of Authentic Leadership on Organizational Virtuousness (Case Study: General Directorate of Roads and Urban Development, Kerman Province)

INTRODUCTIONRecent scandals have prompted a growing interest in corporate ethics and social responsibility. Concomitant with this interest, increased attention has also been paid to the issue of virtuousness in organizations. Organizational virtuousness refers to the context of organization where habits, aspirations, and desirable actions such as sportsmanship, honesty, forgiveness, and trust are supported and developed both at the individual and group levels, and attempts are made to spread these aspirations and actions constantly among members of the organizations. Scholars argue that studying positive behaviors such as organizational virtuousness and especially role of leadership in the development of such behaviors is neglected. With regard to the existing research gap, this study aims to investigate the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational virtuousness.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKScholars have found that parents and teachers are able to facilitate positive behavior in their children and students. This indicates that the most likely antecedents to positive behaviors in the workplace may include those leadership styles that facilitate excellence and optimize individuals’ productivity. Within a psychologically safe climate supported by an authentic leader, members feel accepted and respected, and thus feel freer to improvise in dealing with customers’ complaints. The literature review and previous studies support the existence of a probable relationship between authentic leadership and organizational virtuousness. On the one hand, the role of other forms of leadership in promoting organizational virtuousness is confirmed, and on the other hand, it is known that authentic leadership affect many of organizational outcomes. With this approach, it is hypothesized that there is a significant positive relationship between authentic leadership and organizational virtuousness. In this study, authentic leadership consists of four dimensions, namely, self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, and balanced processing. Organizational virtuousness consists of five dimensions, namely, optimism, trust, forgiveness, compassion, and integrity.
METHODOLOGYWith regard to the purpose of the study, this research is practical, and with regard to its method, its correlational - descriptive. The statistical sample included 270 subjects working at General Directorate of Roads and Urban Development, Kerman province. Based on Krejcie and Morgan's table, 160 questionnaires were distributed using simple random sampling. 118 questionnaires were filled out correctly and completely. The data gathering instruments were two standardized questionnaires; the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire consisting of 16 items and four dimensions (i.e., self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, & balanced processing), and the Organizational Virtuousness Questionnaire consisting of 16 indicators and five dimensions (i.e., optimism, trust, forgiveness, compassion, & integrity) were utilized in this study. Content validity of questionnaires were checked and confirmed by experts, and their reliability were evaluated using Cronbach alpha coefficient. Cronbach alpha for Authentic Leadership Questionnaire and the Organizational Virtuousness Questionnaire were .92 and .90, respectively. Finally, data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis ( Enter).
RESULTS & DISCUSSIONThe results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between authentic leadership and its dimensions, and organizational virtuousness. Among the dimensions of authentic leadership, balanced processing, self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, and relational transparency had the highest correlation with organizational virtuousness. Results also showed that the dimensions of authentic leadership were significant predictors of organizational virtuousness. In order to discuss the results gained on the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational virtuousness, we can reflect on meaning of authenticity and its implications. Authenticity means that being committed to the values and beliefs is not a hypocritical process, but it is an internalized one. In fact, authentic leadership holds values to be true not because these values are socially or politically appropriate, but because the experince has shown that they are true. Reflecting on these statements indicates that an inherent feature of authenticity is adhere to the absolute and sublime human values and this is aristotle's definition of virtue that says "in itself is valuable". Hence, we can say that authentic leadership is the embodiment of organizational virtuousness and therefore it is rational that the results show a significant relationship between authentic leadership and organizational virtuousness.
CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONSAccording to the results, it is necessary to invest on the development of leader authenticity. Supporting the development of authenticity in leader - follower relationship is essential to increasing work engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational virtuousness. Indeed, one of the key roles of an authentic leader is the ability to increase his/her follower's self-confidence. Therefore, it is very important that managers increase confidence and subsequent improvement of their organizational virtuousness by displaying behaviors such as balanced processing, honesty, integrity, and respect for employees.