One way to understand authentic leadership s to contrast it with what be think of who "plays a role," or puts on different acts with different audiences to manage their impressions, that is being inauthentic. For example, two detectives playing the roles of "good cop" and cop" when interviewing a suspect are being inauthentic (you may believe that it makes sense for them to do so, inauthentic nonetheless). A boss who exaggerates his anger at an employee's mistake to "teach a lesson" is being inauthentic. A leader who denies that her feelings were affected by critical feedback from her direct reports is being inauthentic.