Barnard on conflicts of responsibility : Implications for today's perspectives on transformational and authentic leadership

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reacquaint researchers and practitioners with Barnard's contributions to understanding of the moral conditions that underlie the authenticity of organizational leadership. Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies Barnard's insights on leadership and uses them as inputs to theorizing about authentic leadership. Findings – As an outcome of theorizing, the paper identifies the conditions that are likely to lead to inauthentic, pseudo‐authentic or authentic leader behavior. Research limitations/implications – Examining authentic leadership from a historical perspective can open promising avenues for future research. Practical implications – Leadership development programs should incorporate concepts of responsibility and conflicts of responsibility in order to provide executives with the knowledge base required for ethical decision making. Originality/value – By placing contemporary discussion of authentic leadership in its proper historical context, scholars can draw on a wealth of existing theory to advance the study of authentic leadership.