Nature-based training program fosters authentic leadership

Boy van Droffelaar*, M.H. Jacobs

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Authentic leadership is frequently promoted as a leadership style that responds to the contemporary challenges that leaders face. The current experimental study (n = 66) tested intrapersonal change toward authentic leadership after participation in a nature-based training program that included a stay in remote wilderness without any facilities. Authentic leadership was measured before, immediately after, and 1 year after the training program. All components of authentic leadership increased, namely self-awareness, internalized moral behavior, balanced processing, and relational transparency, with medium to large effect sizes (d ≈ .7). Changes in general personality traits were of a lower
magnitude, suggesting that change was specific to authentic leadership, rather than extending into general psychological characteristics. The findings emonstrate that a nature-based training program can increase authentic leadership. Immersion in wilderness is possibly conducive to change in
leadership style, and could be considered as a strategy for fostering leadership change.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7-18
JournalJournal of Leadership Studies
Volume12
Issue number3
Early online date1 Oct 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

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