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Abstract:

This article develops a conceptual framework of authentic functioning as ‘being true to yourself’ in organizations. In a first step, the concept of authenticity is defined from a lay-, philosophical- and psychological perspective. Here we acknowledge that authenticity can be assessed from the self (I am authentic), the other (you are authentic) as well as an ideal, collective point of view (he/she behaves authentic). These complementary perspectives relate authenticity to concepts as sincerity, spirituality and identity. In a second step, the antecedents of authenticity are identified within relevant theoretical - and empirical research. Differing perceptions of authenticity are driven by a dynamic process of self-awareness and -regulation. We denote this process as authentic functioning and conceptualize it as a cycle of feeling, thinking and behaving authentically. In a third step, we apply authenticity to an organizational context. We propose that different perceptions of authenticity are related to respectively motivated individuals (self), trusted colleagues (other) and identified employees (ideal). Furthermore we propose that the process of authentic functioning drives respectively personal empathy (feeling), integrity (thinking) and creativity (doing). As a practical advice toward managing authenticity in organizations, we differentiate a pro-passive approach (facilitating perceived authenticity) and a pro-active approach (stimulating authentic functioning). The success of these approaches is dependent on respectively the hedonistic nature organizational values and the instability of the organizational context. This article develops a conceptual framework of authentic functioning ‘as being true to yourself’ in the organisation. We claim that in being true to (feeling, thinking and acting in accordance with) different selves (actual, ought and ideal selves), authentic functioning in the organization constructs a coherent identity that is personally motivated, adapted to its social environment and identified with a higher purpose. Furthermore, authentic functioning drives processes of intrapersonal creativity, interpersonal empathy and contextualized integrity. Practical limitations for managing authenticity are a function of the stability and content of respectively the organizational context and values.