Barnard on conflicts of responsibility: Implications for today's perspectives on transformational and authentic leadership

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reacquaint researchers and practitioners with Barnard's contributions to understanding of the moral conditions that underlie the authenticity of organizational leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper identifies Barnard's insights on leadership and uses them as inputs to theorizing about authentic leadership.

Findings

As an outcome of theorizing, the paper identifies the conditions that are likely to lead to inauthentic, pseudo‐authentic or authentic leader behavior.

Research limitations/implications

Examining authentic leadership from a historical perspective can open promising avenues for future research.

Practical implications

Leadership development programs should incorporate concepts of responsibility and conflicts of responsibility in order to provide executives with the knowledge base required for ethical decision making.

Originality/value

By placing contemporary discussion of authentic leadership in its proper historical context, scholars can draw on a wealth of existing theory to advance the study of authentic leadership.

Citation

Novicevic, M.M., Davis, W., Dorn, F., Buckley, M.R. and Brown, J.A. (2005), "Barnard on conflicts of responsibility: Implications for today's perspectives on transformational and authentic leadership", Management Decision, Vol. 43 No. 10, pp. 1396-1409. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740510634930