Leadership Talk by Aldijana Bunjak

Abstract

Although authentic leadership has gained wide attention, it remains conceptually elusive, offering both benefits and drawbacks. At the heart of this ambiguity lies the tension between authenticity, understood as an internal process of self, and leadership, understood as an external process of influence. We advance a theoretical framework that bridges these domains through self-regulation. Specifically, we argue that authenticity emerges from managing multiple identities, with regulation shaped by the activation of a leader’s self-identity. Drawing on ironic processes theory, we propose that leaders should emphasize their active self rather than attempt to suppress identities that appear misaligned. This perspective positions authenticity as a dynamic, context-sensitive process that unfolds at individual, relational, and collective levels. By reframing authenticity in this way, our model addresses key limitations of the authentic leadership approach, offers practical guidance for cultivating leader authenticity, and outlines promising directions for future research.

About the speaker

Dr. Aldijana Bunjak is an Associate Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at the University of Stavanger Business School, Norway. She earned her PhD in Management and Organizations from the University of Ljubljana under the supervision of Professor Matej Černe and later held a postdoctoral fellowship and lecturing position at the University of St. Gallen. She has also collaborated with distinguished scholars, including Heike Bruch (University of St. Gallen) and Robert G. Lord (Durham University), among others.

Read more about Dr. Aldijana Bunjak below.

What is Leadership Talks?

Leadership Talks is a series of seminars about topics related to leadership, change and sustainability, project management and organizational psychology, hosted by the Department of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at BI Norwegian Business School.