Introduction
The research was carried out to establish the results of a three-year training program which is founded on the learning principles. The effectiveness of the program is being evaluated in promoting authentic Leadership (AL) the participants’ mindfulness. The reason for carrying out the evaluation is due to arguments between various authors who reasoned out that the adoption of authentic leader method is attributed by coherence between the actions undertaken and espoused values and clear intentions. The characteristics are required to attain sustainable business performance (Baron, 2016). Throughout the world, there is a call for genuine leadership which will guide restoration of hope, confidence, and optimism which will help change the catastrophic events and promote resiliency. New self-awareness will be promoted in regards to all people in the organizations.
Hypothesis and Research Question
The research question which the author submitted was if authentic leadership could be developed. There was a presentation of three hypotheses which will help understand the study. The initial hypothesis was the participation in programs established for leadership development on the basis of the principle of action learning which is positively correlated with authentic leadership development. Participation involves being dedicated to all the activities and dedication of the body, mind, and soul. It is promoted by being aware and unbiased in all processes. The second hypothesis is the participation in the developmental program which is founded on principles of action learning in association with greater mindfulness. The last hypothesis is the mindfulness which is positively associated with authentic leadership.
Type of Study
The research design was founded on data which was carried over a period of three years from a selected sample of managers who had joined in a training program which was offered by the consulting firm by a Canadian management. The program took three years and 15 training days and managers were from both private and public organizations.
The participants were an average of 20 managers who were from the public and private organizations. The participants were divided into three years, and there were three cohorts who are first, second and the third year’s participants and they were taken at a retreat location where the program was taken. The total participants were 143 who filled self-evaluation questionnaires.
The instruments which were used for this research were interventions which included assumptions, values, visions and deep intentions. Action logics were also applied which explains the rules of the game, espoused theories and frames of reference. Operational strategies were the other method which involved technical, strategies and behavior skills. Perceptions were the last instruments used to get feedback from the research sample (Anderson and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2013).
Data was collected using two approaches which are semi-structured interviews and questioners. The semi-structured interviews were carried out on 24 participants and lasted for about 50-100 minutes. It helped collect narrative data which helped document the development of authentic leadership skills.
Data analysis was carried out using ANOVA, interviews content analysis and paired t-tests. The analysis helped determine hypotheses significance between the cohorts and comparison groups.
Findings
Conclusions
Limitations
There was limited access to the leadership development programs which hinders following all the cohorts throughout the programs, thus adoption of a cross-sequence design. The sample size of the research was so large that it led to being surveyed for six times which caused some confusion due to the differences in periods. Another limitation is that there are few training programs which target development of authentic leadership.
Summary
This article is important to my research since it has achieved all the requirements of a good quantities research source as explained by Anderson. It explains the purpose of carrying out the research and all the methods involved, analysis of the data found and the results. It helps establish the research purpose. Various methods of data analysis have been applied in this case and they are all reliable. They help understand the hypotheses which were established at the beginning of the research (In Saunders and In Tosey, 2015). In addition, the research has tried to use more than one method which has helped understand the comparison of different programs which all lead to promotion of leadership.
References
Anderson, V., & Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2013). Research methods in human resource management. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
There are the different methods which are used in research in human resource management. They guide how the study will be carried out according to Anderson.
Baron, L. ( 2016). Authentic leadership and mindfulness development through action learning. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 296 - 311.
For authentic leadership to be successful, mindful development has to be part of it. Mindful development is about considering all other situations which guide a leader.
In Saunders, M. N. K., & In Tosey, P. (2015). Handbook of research methods in human resource development.
Unlike other topics, there are certain research methods which are used in human resource management. The reason being is that the research is being carried out on people.
Pyrczak, F., & Bruce, R. R. (2014). Evaluating research in academic journals: A practical guide to realistic evaluation.
According to Pyrczak, it is necessary to evaluate the sources that will be used in the research as they have to offer realistic data which can be used in human resource research.
