South African managers in public service: On being authentic
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Authors
Barnard, Antoni
Nirvana, Simbhoo
Issue Date
2014
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Authenticity, authentic leadership, identity work, psychological well-being, interpretative phenomenology,
Alternative Title
Abstract
South African managers in public service consistently face challenges related to managing a well-adjusted and productive diverse workforce. Following the notion that leadership authenticity fosters positive psychological employee capacity, the aim of this study was to explore the meaning essence of authenticity as lived in the work life experiences of senior managers in public service. Five senior managers in public service were purposefully selected based on their articulated challenges with being authentic at work, whilst attending a diversity sensitivity workshop. From a hermeneutic phenomenological perspective, in-depth interviews were used, and an interpretative phenomenological analysis yielded two predominant themes offering a description of what it means to be authentic. Authenticity is experienced as an affective state that results
from a continuous self-appraisal of the extent to which expression of self is congruent with a subjective and socially constructed expectation of self in relation to others. Authenticity seems to develop through a continuous process of internal and external adaptation, and it leads to ultimately building a differentiated yet integrated identity of self. A reciprocal
dynamic between feeling authentic and self-confidence alludes to the potential importance of authenticity dynamics in identity work.
Description
Citation
Barnard, A., & Simbhoo, N. (2014). South African managers in public service: on being authentic. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 9, Art. # 20630, 13 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v9.20630
Publisher
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
1748-2623