Authentic leadership is a holistic concept that takes into account the whole person, including their emotions, spirituality, and sense of self. The notion of authentic leadership has recently become increasingly popular, since it promotes having a clear moral purpose and is driven by core values and beliefs. In this course you need to critically engage with the course literature to help construct your notion of being an authentic leader, since being authentic implies being fully engaged and present, and most importantly, being yourself. Realising one’s authenticity is essential in early childhood education, since leaders are constantly making decisions that are guided not only by one’s own personal values and beliefs, but also by professional codes of conduct and standards. To further complicate this process, such decisions must be made in consideration of the particular context, which may actually constrain or enable one’s claim to being authentic. Being an authentic leader in early childhood education implies having a strong commitment to high quality professional practices.