The “left side” of authentic leadership: contributions of climate and psychological capital

The purpose of this paper is to examine the individual and contextual antecedents of authentic leadership (AL) proposed in the authentic leadership development (ALD) theory.

Survey data were collected from 74 leaders from two Midwestern organizations. Surveys were used to collect AL, psychological capital (PsyCap), and psychological climate data. Hierarchical regression was used to analyze the data.

Results support PsyCap, and to a lesser extent psychological climate, as antecedents of AL. Organizations that desire to increase leader authenticity and realize its many favorable outcomes should emphasize the development of leaders’ PsyCap hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.

This was the first study to examine the antecedents of AL, which can be personal (PsyCap) or contextual (psychological climate).