Abstract
Ph.D.
Governments, corporations and churches have been rocked by the exposure of the
unethical practices of their leaders over the past decade. As early as last year,
Steinhoff (a South African led company) was engulfed in a leadership scandal which
saw billions of shareholder value lost, whilst a formal investigation into the alleged
state capture of the South African government was also initiated. Churches are not
exempt from scandals, with many of their leaders being caught up in controversy
with some leaders of mega-churches becoming victims of their own achievements.
Numerous business leaders, scholars and social scientists proposition ‘authentic
leadership’ as the answer to the current decline in moral leadership.
While authentic leadership has been positioned as the answer for today’s leadership
challenges, there is a considerable lack of literature relating to authentic leadership
within the church. An initial review of leadership revealed that leadership literature
is rife on the importance of authenticity and the value of authentic leadership for
society and organisations alike, yet there is an apparent lack of literature and
empirical research offering insight into how leaders, whether in corporations or the
church, establish their authenticity with their followers. In addition, very little is known
about the perception that followers have about the authenticity of their leaders, nor
the evaluations they make regarding the authenticity of their leaders. It is not
conducive to the outcomes of leadership if leaders believe they are indeed being
authentic, while their followers do not perceive them as such. It is not sufficient to
instruct leaders to be authentic. The ultimate aim should be to provide them with an
aid that could guide their interaction with their followers in terms of establishing their
authenticity with those they lead.
The aim of the study was to investigate how an authentic leadership enactment is
created within South-African mega-churches.
On account of the overall aim of the study, the following research questions were
formulated:
• How do authentic leaders within a mega-church manage their authenticity?...