Transforming challenges into opportunities: Exploring the influence of authentic leadership dimensions on employee resilience within Norwegian innovative firms

Abstract

In today’s constantly changing and unpredictable business environment, organizations and employees are required to show resilient behaviors. While there is emerging research on leadership styles and employee resilience, there remains a notable gap in understanding the impact of authentic leadership. Specifically, there is a need to explore how individual components of an authentic leader can enhance the resilience of their employees. A mixed method approach with respondents across different industries working towards building innovation was conducted to investigate our research question. Our study reveals that highly resilient employees exhibit minimal variation in desired leadership behaviors, and identified nine clusters of leaders’ behaviors that highlight the profound impact of authentic leadership on employee resilience. We offer a framework for understanding the specific behaviors through which different dimensions of authentic leadership influence resilience, shedding light on the underexplored impact of each dimension. Additionally, it reveals the dynamic synergies among authentic leadership dimensions and highlights the enabling role of self-awareness and internalized moral perspective. Our study contributes and complements to the research on authentic leadership and employee resilience. Furthermore, the study provides practical implications for leaders in innovative organizations, guiding them in promoting employee resilience through specific behaviors. It also enhances employees' understanding of their experiences with leaders, aiding them in navigating relationships and assessing the impact of leaders' behaviors on their own resilience.