Authenticity under Emotional Strain in Social Services Leadership

Abstract This study examines how leaders in the social services sector understand and enact authentic leadership while working with teams exposed to emotional strain. The research explores how authenticity is interpreted, how it is calibrated in everyday leadership practice and how it relates to trust and psychological safety. A qualitative interpretivist design with a phenomenological orientation was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten social services leaders and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings show that authenticity is enacted as a relational and ethically grounded practice involving emotional regulation and boundary-work rather than unrestricted openness. Trust emerges when authenticity is calibrated and emotionally contained. The study contributes to understanding authentic leadership as a context-sensitive and emotionally disciplined practice in high-strain work environments.