Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to test the incremental validity of authentic leadership above and
beyond existing leadership styles. Prior leadership research has focused primarily on
transformational leadership. Recently, many researchers have observed that there are leaders who
are effective and who do not conform to this style. Authentic leadership theory was advanced as
an approach that may explain additional variance in leadership effectiveness. Participants
included upper-year Cadets from the United States Military Academy (USMA) who served in
leadership positions over lower-ranking Cadets. Cadet leadership styles were matched with
personal attribute and performance scores to test a nomological network model of authentic
leadership. Findings indicated some support for the notion that authentic leadership adds
incremental validity over existing leadership styles, including transformational leadership. This
study advances our understanding of authentic leadership theory and leadership effectiveness in
challenging environments. Recommendations for future research in this area are provided.
