Beyond the Skin: Authentic Leadership and African American Women Leaders

• In Event: Why They Do What They Do? Influences on Bureaucratic Leadership and Management

Abstract

Using a qualitative multiple case study approach, this paper uses the authentic leadership framework (Luthans & Avolio, 2003) to examine how African American women in senior administrator roles, particularly in the president’s cabinet, at a member institution of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) in Alabama describe their experiences of developing an authentic leadership style. Historically, the number of African American women in senior leadership roles lag drastically compared to their Caucasian male and female as well as African American male counterparts (Benjamin, 1997; Davis, 2016; Parker, 1996; Sandberg, 2013). Because of this, research shows that African American women have been underrepresented in the leadership literature (Almquist, 1987; Carter & Peters, 2016; Davis, 2016; Davis & Maldonado, 2015) as well as in senior leadership and management positions (Counts 2012; Duggar, 2001; Pace, 2017; Pace, 2018). Following previous studies and recommendations for future research (Davis, 2016; Milner, 2006; Pace, 2017; Robinson, 2017; Wiggs-Harris, 2011), the following research question guides this work: How do African American women senior administrators describe their experiences of developing a leadership style? The results of this study revealed six common themes that are related to the authentic leadership style development of African American women.

Author

• Olivia Cook, Auburn University