Citation (IEEE): B. M. Bass and P. Steidlmeier, “Ethics, Character, and Authentic Transformational Leadership Behavior,” The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 181–217, 1999. doi: 10.1016/S1048-9843(99)00016-8.
What it argues
Responds to critics who see transformational leadership as manipulative. The authors distinguish authentic from pseudo-transformational leadership. Authentic leadership rests on the leader’s moral character, ethical values in the vision, and a moral process of influence that respects followers’ autonomy. Pseudo-transformational leaders use the same behaviors for self-serving ends. They examine each component of transformational leadership for its authentic and inauthentic forms.