Do We See Authentic Leadership the Same Way? A Multilevel Study of Leader–Follower Perceptions and Follower Commitment and Well-Being

Purpose: This study examines how follower-perceived authentic leadership relates to follower commitment and well-being, while investigating leader–follower perceptual alignment and the moderating role of relationship duration.

Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on multilevel survey data from 1357 followers nested within 240 leaders across eight Finnish organizations. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze both within- and between-level relationships, examine perceptual variation and associations with follower commitment and well-being, and investigate moderation effects.

Findings: No significant association was found between leader and follower ratings, indicating perceptual variation. At the within level, follower-perceived authentic leadership was positively associated with job involvement and work engagement, and negatively with turnover intentions and burnout; at the between level, it was associated with lower burnout. Leader–follower relationship duration did not moderate these associations but showed small direct effects: longer relationships were associated with lower follower-rated authenticity and job involvement.

Research limitations/implications: Follower recruitment may have introduced selection bias, and the brief scale may have constrained measurement precision. Authentic leadership operated through multilevel pathways, predicting positive individual outcomes and explaining leader-level differences in burnout. Future research should adopt person-centered and longitudinal approaches.

Practical implications: Leadership development should integrate feedback mechanisms that align leader and follower perceptions to sustain commitment and well-being, while adapting practices to sector-specific contexts. In addition, role rotation or relational renewal practices may help prevent stagnation in long-standing leader–follower relationships.

Originality/value: By integrating perceptual variation, relationship duration, and multilevel modeling, this study advances a follower-centric, context-sensitive understanding of authentic leadership and its differentiated effects across analytical levels.