An Investigation of Authentic Leadership's Individual and Group Influences on Follower Responses

In this study, we investigated and clarified aspects of the multilevel nature of authentic leadership (AL) and its effects on followers. Specifically, we hypothesized that AL would have distinct effects through both personalized AL, which is a leader's direct effect on a follower, and through generalized AL, which is a leader's indirect or group-based effect on a follower as a result of leadership effects among the follower's coworkers. These hypotheses were consistent with a complete review of the empirical literature on AL's effects and the results from a sample of leaders and followers working in a large multinational company. The data showed that the two paths of AL's influence had distinct relationships with follower responses. We discuss the implications of these results, particularly those concerning how to study the multilevel effects of AL.