Preview

Authority and Social Identity: New Concepts of Leadership

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
379 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Authority and Social Identity: New Concepts of Leadership
In “The new psychology of leadership” (2007), the authors offer a new perspective about leadership, based not only on authority but on sharing a social identity with the people.

The new concept of leadership is the ability to attain success by having followers wanting to do it instead of enforcing or rewarding them. To accomplish their goals, leaders must be situated among their group, be part of it. When goals are shared by common circumstances, they matter to the group as a whole, thus leaders that are able to represent the group better, have more influence over them.

It should be a primary responsibility for the leader to understand values and opinions of the group in order to communicate effectively about what the group stands for and how their values should be reflected in their actions.

Leader’s behavior and character affinity to the group defines how much control and inspiration can be imparted. However, any trait that separates the leader will hinder the chance for effective leadership.

Other factors that influence leadership effectiveness are:•Show fairness when making decisions and resolving disputes, although fairness may depend on the perception of the group being led, therefore it is important to consider what it’s fair for the group.

•Leadership must shape and define norms conforming the group’s identity, which is based on shared beliefs and values.

•Group’s social identity must be aligned with reality, since there is no chance of success for unrealistic goals that will eventually disappoint the group. Leaders need to be in touch with reality, and when required, align the group’s identity with his own.

Based on the authors’ psychological analysis, leaders and followers must have the same identity that will be used to outline future actions. Many times in history, leaders lost their position because their actions depicted a different identity from their group, and in some cases, only their individual identity.

Development and nurturing

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The study of leadership has been a debated topic for centuries. The leader influences others, has followers, and leaders will come to the forefront during a crisis. “Leaders are people with a clear idea of what they want, why they want it and are able to think and act creatively in non-routine situations” (infed.org, 2012).…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The word “leadership” means, literally, to “go in advance”.1 But what exactly is leadership and what makes someone a leader? Are you born with leadership ability or is it something you acquire and obtain during your life experiences? These questions have been posed many times before and have generated many different answers to them. Over time, various models have emerged to explain the leadership “phenomenon” during that period. The basic theories can be grouped into three distinct areas; trait, behavioral, and situational or contingency.…

    • 17190 Words
    • 69 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When looking at leadership from a trait approach, several solid characteristics exist. One of those characteristics is personality. Personality is important especially in the work place and can set the tone of the environment. For example, if a manager/leader has a positive attitude and approach to employees during a situation then the outcome will be positive. When employees are happy and working in positive atmosphere achievements and goals are accomplished. An additional strength of the trait approach is that the approach provides a deep understanding of what makes an individual successful as a leader. This will help future theorists because he or she will have a list of traits that predict leadership.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Individuals are conditioned to merge the role of a leader to a title. Often times, an individual’s understanding of leadership is based upon the title they are given. Consequently, leadership is merely reduced to obtaining a specific title. Mark Sanborn attempts to dissect the meaning of a leader from merely a title one possesses. Sanborn proposes that even if a person does not hold a title, that individual can still be a leader.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Leadership is defined as one’s ability to influence others. However, when done well that influence enlists 4 major ingredients:…

    • 3022 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Find THE LEADER ON YOU

    • 2048 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Leadership can be considered in terms of power capacity and opportunity to give to others, the desire to get involved and take action to achieve a collective goal or achieve a common goal. This power derives an estimated authority, trust or reference mentor who cannot be decreed. Leadership is no way from a status, function or any degree of responsibility. It owes its existence to the recognition of others.…

    • 2048 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Let’s begin by defining leadership; leadership is the influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes. (Draft, 2011, p.5) Leadership is a people activity and is different from administrative paper work or planning activities. Leadership happens with people, it is not something done to people. (Draft, 2011, p.6)…

    • 1896 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leadership

    • 2407 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Leadership is persuasion, not domination; persons who can require others to do their bidding because of their power are not leaders. Leadership only occurs when others willingly adopt, for a period of time, the goals of a group as their own. Thus, leadership concerns building cohesive and goal-oriented teams; there is a causal and definitional link between leadership and team performance.…

    • 2407 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Leadership

    • 2952 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs a group in a way that makes it better. Leaders carry out this process by applying their skills and knowledge to affect the thoughts, feelings or behaviours of other individuals in the group.…

    • 2952 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leadership can be defined as process in which an individual influences a group of people to accomplish a common goal. The goal is achieved by cohesive behavior and mutual cooperation. A leader directs his or her followers to reach a specific goal and infuses sense of positivity in them (Meenakshi, n.d.).…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Personal Leadership Portrait

    • 2613 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Leadership as a concept or notion lends itself easily to myriad definitions. Manning and Curtis (2012) describes leadership as the social influence that results from the capacity to initiate ideas and deeds that others can follow. A leader often stands in front of others and they follow in his footsteps. According to Hopen (2010), “leadership is the capacity to guide or direct others” (p.4). To Fulwiler (2005), leadership is the ability to make people do what they normally would not do or go to places they normally would not go. Leadership can also be defined as the…

    • 2613 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Upon receiving the role of a leader, it is essential for the leader to realize the responsibility that accompanies the honor. In some situations, a leader is responsible for each of his or her group members, and must ensure that the evolution and activity of the group is exceptional. Doing this in itself often requires a fair amount of effort, considering there are sometimes group members that simply do…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Classical approaches undertake just one directional relation between leaders and followers where leaders have particular trait that differentiate them from those who follow…

    • 2378 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Leadership Skills

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A leader ought to be aware of the needs and characteristics of each human in the group…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Leading for Change

    • 2892 Words
    • 12 Pages

    To begin with a word, called 'leadership', a lot of ideas have been drawn out from philosophers or leaders; such as, "Ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization (House et al 2004 p 184)" or " The behavior of an individual.. Directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal(Hemphill & Coons 1957 p7)". However, leadership from what I understand after doing some research is a word that describe how much a leader understand his/her team and be able to attract the team to keep their eyes on their tasks. He sets direction, builds an inspiring vision, and creates something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to go to "win" as a team. Leadership is dynamic, vibrant, and inspiring.…

    • 2892 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays