Although the literature review on leadership has been diversified from past to present, it still manages to maintain its freshness as it was on the first day. The essence of leadership is not only to achieve the goals of an organization, community or company but also to direct and carry the goals of humanity to success. This basic definition of leadership has not only been enriched by the "Modern Leadership Theories" that have emerged in the light of science in the recent past, but also provides us with a new perspective and allows us to get to know the human-based leadership that is at the core of leadership more closely. In this context, the role of leadership in our age is not limited to directing and achieving success, but also appears as an element that allows individuals to get to know themselves and realize their potential (Erkutlu, 2020:14). As can be seen, leadership focuses on understanding the emotional and cognitive processes of individuals by basing its roots on human psychology. At this point, "Authentic Leadership", which has been able to purify itself from classical leadership theories, comes into play.

The concept of authentic leadership was first discussed in the article titled “Authentic Leadership: A Positive Developmental Approach” published by Bruce Avolio and Fred Luthans in 2003. This article defines the basic principles of authentic leadership and emphasizes the importance of leaders to lead by remaining true to their own values. While authenticity is defined as the individual expressing his/her unique self freely in line with his/her internal values ​​and beliefs without being affected by external pressures (Kernis, 2003), authentic leadership can be defined as the leadership behavior that tries to guide individuals towards the dimensions of self-awareness, internal moral perspective, balanced processing and relational transparency (Walumbwa et al., 2008). As a result, authentic leaders act based on their own internal values ​​and beliefs rather than external pressures in their decisions and actions. These leaders exhibit consistency by preserving their identities and moral standards and inspire their followers. In this way, they contribute to both their own development and the discovery of their followers’ potential.