Authentic Leadership and the Common Good: A Model of Purposeful and Value-Based Leadership

Abstract

This chapter explores how authentic leadership, when grounded in the common good and guided by common good values, can offer a sustainable, human-centered response to the demands of contemporary working life. As work intensifies under global uncertainty and crises, organizations must rethink leadership beyond performance metrics toward purpose, ethics, and well-being. We propose an integrated model in which purpose forms the ethical core of leadership surrounded by common good values and enacted through behavioral dimensions of authentic leadership. Rather than viewing authenticity as an individual trait, we frame it as a relational, value-based process supporting individual, organizational, and societal well-being and flourishing. The model emphasizes that purposeful leadership aligns inner values with shared societal aims, enabling leaders to foster ethical workplaces, strengthen employees’ psychological resources, and contribute to the broader social good. In doing so, authentic leadership becomes a relational resource and a systemic force for sustainable transformation.