Leadership must be understood as a group process rather than a leader-follower dyad

Evidence

There is a truth here which is so obvious that it is easy to overlook. Leadership is not simply a matter of leaders, or even of leaders and followers. Rather it has to do with the relationship between leaders and followers within a social group (Haslam, 2001; Sherif, 1962, p. 17; van Knippenberg & Hogg, 2003b). Indeed, whenever we talk of a leader, there is an implicit (but often absent) reference to an associated group: the nation, the political party, the corporation, the research group, and so on. — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 35

Categorization

• XREF: Connects directly to the reader’s framing concern: leaders embodying shared social identity; foundational premise for the whole social identity approach this paper reviews. — connects to: No stable traits distinguish leaders from followers or predict effectiveness — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 27; Leadership acts on followers through collective group norms, not just individual exchange — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 34; Leadership is cognitively framed as a group-level rather than relational process — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2356 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Leadership is cognitively framed as a group-level rather than relational process #corroborates (0.95) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2356
• Leadership requires shared identity but also active identity entrepreneurship by leaders. #qualifies (0.80) — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 124
• Leadership effects operate through individual perceptions rather than organizational-level membership #contradicts (0.78) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1858
• Effective inclusive leaders build consensus, coordination and shared structure. #exemplifies (0.77) — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 96
• Leadership rests on reciprocal imitation, each following because others follow #expands (0.76) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 738
• Leaders convert social identity into social reality by initiating group and societal structures #expands (0.75) — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 118
• Leader popularity stems from leader-follower congruence while greatness stems from leader traits #contradicts (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1361
• Leadership is impossible without a pre-existing or manufactured shared social identity #qualifies (0.74) — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 50
• Leaders are accepted only when embodying features shared with followers #qualifies (0.73) — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 153
• Leadership requires both shared identity and consensus on who best embodies the group view #qualifies (0.72) — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 67