Authentic Leadership, Authentic Followership, Basic Need Satisfaction, and Work Role Performance

TLDR

Authentic leadership is defined by leaders acting as their true selves, and understanding followers who do the same is crucial for explaining how authentic leadership promotes self‑determined work motivation and performance. The study investigates how authentic followership mediates and moderates the effect of authentic leadership on follower in‑role and extrarole performance via basic need satisfaction. Using self‑determination theory, the authors surveyed 30 leaders and 252 followers in 25 Belgian service companies to test a cross‑level model linking authentic leadership, authentic followership, and basic need satisfaction to follower work role performance. The study found that authentic leadership and authentic followership both positively predict follower basic need satisfaction, that authentic leadership amplifies the followership–need satisfaction link, and that need satisfaction mediates the combined effect of leadership and followership on follower work role performance.

Abstract

Authentic leadership occurs when individuals enact their true selves in their role as a leader. This article examines the role of authentic followership in the previously established relationship between authentic leadership and follower in-role and extrarole performance behaviors. Consideration of followers who enact their true selves is important to understand how authentic leadership fosters follower self-determined work motivation and thus work role performance. Using self-determination theory (SDT) as a guiding framework, the authors propose that authentic leadership, authentic followership, and their interplay are positively related to the satisfaction of followers’ basic needs, which, in turn, are positively related to follower work role performance. The authors conducted a survey study of 30 leaders and 252 followers in 25 Belgian service companies. The results provide evidence of positive relationship for both authentic leadership and authentic followership with follower basic need satisfaction in a cross-level model where authentic leadership was aggregated to the group level of analysis. Cross-level interaction results indicated that authentic leadership strengthened the relationship between authentic followership and follower basic need satisfaction. Follower basic need satisfaction was shown to mediate the relationship of authentic leadership and authentic followership with follower work role performance. A test of mediated moderation further demonstrated that basic need satisfaction mediates the interaction of authentic leadership and authentic followership on follower work role performance. The implications for leadership research and practice are explored.