Authenticity in Leadership as Self-Regulation: Managing Multiple Identities

Abstract

Although authentic leadership has gained wide attention, it remains conceptually elusive, offering both benefits and drawbacks. At the heart of this ambiguity lies the tension between authenticity, understood as an internal process of self, and leadership, understood as an external process of influence. We advance a theoretical framework that bridges these domains through self-regulation. Specifically, we argue that authenticity emerges from managing multiple identities, with regulation shaped by the activation of a leader’s self-identity. Drawing on ironic processes theory, we propose that leaders should emphasize their active self rather than attempt to suppress identities that appear misaligned. This perspective positions authenticity as a dynamic, context-sensitive process that unfolds at individual, relational, and collective levels. By reframing authenticity in this way, our model addresses key limitations of the authentic leadership approach, offers practical guidance for cultivating leader authenticity, and outlines promising directions for future research.