TY - JOUR
T1 - Leader and follower attachment styles
T2 - Implications for authentic leader-follower relationships
AU - Hinojosa, Amanda S.
AU - Davis McCauley, Kelly
AU - Randolph-Seng, Brandon
AU - Gardner, William L.
PY - 2014/6
Y1 - 2014/6
N2 - Authentic leadership theory posits that the authenticity of leaders and followers is influenced by their personal histories. Attachment theory states that individuals have internal working models that are influenced by both early developmental experiences and relationships later in life. These models guide how people interact with close others and tend toward three styles of attachment: secure, insecure-ambivalent, and insecure-avoidant. We argue that securely attached persons are most likely to exhibit authentic leadership/followership. We review empirical work which suggests that secure attachment is positively related to each of the four components of authentic leadership/followership (self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and internalized moral perspective). We then develop an attachment-based typology for variations in authentic leader-follower relationships, with emphasis on relationships that include an insecurely attached party. Finally, we draw from the attachment and authentic leadership literatures to suggest interventions to foster the development of authentic leadership/followership, thereby enhancing authentic leader-follower relationships.
AB - Authentic leadership theory posits that the authenticity of leaders and followers is influenced by their personal histories. Attachment theory states that individuals have internal working models that are influenced by both early developmental experiences and relationships later in life. These models guide how people interact with close others and tend toward three styles of attachment: secure, insecure-ambivalent, and insecure-avoidant. We argue that securely attached persons are most likely to exhibit authentic leadership/followership. We review empirical work which suggests that secure attachment is positively related to each of the four components of authentic leadership/followership (self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and internalized moral perspective). We then develop an attachment-based typology for variations in authentic leader-follower relationships, with emphasis on relationships that include an insecurely attached party. Finally, we draw from the attachment and authentic leadership literatures to suggest interventions to foster the development of authentic leadership/followership, thereby enhancing authentic leader-follower relationships.
KW - Attachment theory
KW - Authentic leadership
KW - Followership
KW - Leader-follower relations
KW - Leadership development
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84900986741&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.12.002
DO - 10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.12.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84900986741
SN - 1048-9843
VL - 25
SP - 595
EP - 610
JO - Leadership Quarterly
JF - Leadership Quarterly
IS - 3
ER -