ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a developing authentic leadership theory, from a sociological and philosophical perspective, using a case study methodology in the Chinese context. Authentic leadership theory still lacks sufficient understanding of how authenticity works in the leadership process and of the validity of existing Western theory in a non-Western context. Confucianism, as the dominant philosophy in China, still plays a pivotal role in Chinese thinking and behaviour; its value is widely evident in contemporary Chinese management. Chinese can achieve self-transcendence because Confucian thinking has the remarkable capacity to foster recognition and resolution of one's own problems as they emerge in new situations, facilitating self-correction through self-regulation. Beyond self-authenticity as emphasized in the Western authentic leadership literature, relational authenticity is an additional major concern in Chinese authentic leadership; real authenticity is achieved in a dynamic process when the two forms integrate. The natural holistic worldview held by Chinese leads them to see themselves as inseparably part of a group.
