Either way, passion is a choice which has to do with integrity of the heart. The authentic administrator is one who is genuine, one who is whoever he or she is all the time. In other words, to be authentic, one must be able to be able to invoke the same set of values and beliefs at work as they do at home or in their community. When administrators are authentic, they are free to be all that they were meant to be. They admit to their shortcomings, recognize their strengths, and live as fully integrated persons.
Authenticity is a choice for personal integrity.
The credible administrator has a reputation which has developed as a direct result of the trust others have in his or her willingness and ability to follow through. To be credible, administrators must do what they say they will do. For the manager, this might mean holding the budget to the bottom line, or following through with discipline measures for a staff person s continuing disregard for procedural expectations. For the leader, this could mean supporting risk-takers through the occasional failure, or making good on assurances of equitable involvement of faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders in determining new program directions. Whereas authenticity is grounded in personal integrity, credibility is a choice to be made for interpersonal integrity.