Like most leadership coaches, I begin each client session with a check-in, inquiring how things have been since our last meeting. It's a way to clear the mind and allow us to begin focusing on our coaching work. Recently, a client told me about her boss. She was remarking that although work has been incredibly stressful and uncertain lately, he has been a source of calm in the storm. She said his confident, open demeanor has allowed her to worry less and think more strategically about how she can better serve her team and, frankly, help her company thrive during this difficult time.
She has spoken about her boss before, describing his authentic leadership style. However, what she unknowingly recounted that day was how his approach fosters resilience and the desire for her to behave like a good organizational citizen.
Authentic leaders encourage organizational citizenship behavior.
Organizational citizenship behavior has been studied since the late 1970s, most notably by Dennis Organ, who in 1988 published the book Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Good Soldier Syndrome. This book furthered the understanding of OCB theory for both researchers and business people.
According to the American Psychological Association's Dictionary of Psychology, OCB is defined as "an action taken by an employee to benefit the organization that is not formally required by the job or that exceeds the formal requirements." In other words, it describes employee behavior that goes beyond standard performance expectations and contributes to the betterment of the organization. An example of this might be when an employee volunteers for a committee or suggests improvements outside of their normal scope of work. Employees acting as good organizational citizens contribute to a positive company culture, the effects of which can be tied directly to positive financial performance.
Leaders influence OCB by creating the type of environment that encourages collaboration and loyalty. In turn, this environment also improves job satisfaction. The paper "Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Recent Trends and Developments" best describes the link between job satisfaction and OCB: "For decades, the accepted view in organizational psychology was that job satisfaction and job performance were unrelated. However, recent years have found increasing evidence that satisfaction, while not strongly related to task productivity by individuals, is more closely related to a different kind of contribution, which is referred to as organizational citizenship behavior."
Authentic leaders also create organizational resilience.
Beyond encouraging OCB, authentic leadership also contributes to organizational resilience. Organizational resilience refers to the agility needed to not only quickly respond to market changes, but to thrive during difficult times by identifying opportunities when faced with potential threats. When an organization is resilient, its employees feel empowered, secure and even optimistic about the future.
Cultivating resilience also reduces employee stress. BetterUp Labs found that employee resilience is associated with decreased stress and that people with low resilience are four times more likely to experience burnout. "This is likely because people who are better able to bounce back from stress and adversity apply those skills to the workplace as well," writes Shonna Waters, a senior behavioral scientist at BetterUp. "Rather than giving up due to the inevitable setbacks they encounter in the course of their work, they're able to carry on and focus on the big picture."
Authentic leaders create resilient organizations by establishing an atmosphere of psychological safety that inspires innovation. Companies that embrace risk can capitalize on opportunities in a way that those that are risk-averse cannot. Employees who feel psychologically safe think more creatively, embrace ambiguity and ultimately take chances — all traits of resiliency.
Authentic leaders think of the greater good.
According to a University of Nebraska-Lincoln paper "Unlocking the mask: A look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors," "We conceive of authentic leaders as persons who have achieved high levels of authenticity in that they know who they are, what they believe and value, and they act upon those values and beliefs while transparently interacting with others.”
Thus, authentic leaders lead with their values by translating those ideals into actions. They are compassionate and empathetic, often described as "leading with their heart." When tough decisions are to be made, they consider the greater good whenever possible. They are honest and exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence. Most importantly, they embrace vulnerability and are willing to admit they do not have all the answers. Especially in difficult times, an authentic leader's style fosters OCB and resiliency by empowering employees to move beyond their individual role to support the organization as a whole. It allows leaders to be, as my client described, a source of calm in the storm.
