Leaders lead by representing a consensus that shared identity makes possible.

Evidence

These contrasting examples demonstrate the way in which the ability to lead depends upon the ability to represent a group consensus which in turn is a product of shared identity (Haslam, Turner, Oakes, McGarty, & Reynolds, 1998). Where there is no group and no consensus every other voice represents a threat to one’s own. But where there is a group and there is a consensus then one voice can speak for all. Thus leaders and followers are bound together in a double sense. First, their relationship is dependent upon the existence of a shared social identity. Second, their relationship is dependent upon an agreement as to what constitutes the consensual group position and who best occupies that position. — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 67

Categorization

• XREF: Feeds directly the reading purpose: leadership as describing shared identity so its framing is heard as description, not assertion. — connects to: Without shared identity, group members cannot trust one another enough to delegate.; Leadership structure tracks the strength of shared social identity over time. — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 56; Leaders lack direct power; followership grants them agency. — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 103 (+11 more)

Related

• Leadership requires both shared identity and consensus on who best embodies the group view (similarity 0.92)
• Without shared identity, group members cannot trust one another enough to delegate. (similarity 0.88)
• Leadership requires shared identity but also active identity entrepreneurship by leaders. (similarity 0.88)
• Leadership must be understood as a group process rather than a leader-follower dyad (similarity 0.87)
• Leadership structure tracks the strength of shared social identity over time. (similarity 0.85)
• Effective inclusive leaders build consensus, coordination and shared structure. (similarity 0.85)
• Leadership is cognitively framed as a group-level rather than relational process (similarity 0.85)
• Leaders politicize groups by embodying the shared identity that makes their frames normative (similarity 0.85)
• Leaders lack direct power; followership grants them agency. (similarity 0.84)
• Leadership acts on followers through collective group norms, not just individual exchange (similarity 0.84)
• Leadership is impossible without a pre-existing or manufactured shared social identity (similarity 0.84)
• Leadership rests on reciprocal imitation, each following because others follow (similarity 0.84)
• Leadership theory wrestles with celebrating influence without endorsing tyranny. (similarity 0.83)
• Leaders are accepted only when embodying features shared with followers (similarity 0.83)
• Leaders convert social identity into social reality by initiating group and societal structures (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Leaders politicize groups by embodying the shared identity that makes their frames normative #expands (0.90) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4439
• Effective inclusive leaders build consensus, coordination and shared structure. #corroborates (0.85) — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 96
• Elites legitimate their power by invoking a consensus they themselves pre-structure #qualifies (0.80) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 875
• People act together because shared identity lets each expect others will join #corroborates (0.80) — John Drury and Rupert Brown and Roberto González and Daniel Miranda, Emergent social identity and observing…, 130
• Consensus is shaped and structured by unequal power rather than freely formed #qualifies (0.80) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 919
• Coordinated collective action requires others’ co-action, not just identification #expands (0.80) — John Drury and Rupert Brown and Roberto González and Daniel Miranda, Emergent social identity and observing…, 113
• Leadership rests on reciprocal imitation, each following because others follow #expands (0.75) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 738
• Representation requires organic cohesion, not merely formal delegation from masses to leaders #corroborates (0.75)
• Shared identity underpins commoner formation and collective action. #corroborates (0.75) — Jessica Carrick-Hagenbarth, Institutional Bricolage and Commoning…, 133