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Leadership: social identity and guiding from within.

Article Excerpt
WHEN A LEADER ASSUMES the responsibility of leading a new unit, group, or organization, there is always a question of "How will I fit?" People in the organization will have serious concerns about how well the new leader will understand their organization. Some leaders will position themselves as leading from outside the group. They ascribe to the adage that "familiarity breeds contempt" and purposely will not get enmeshed in the social structure of the group or organization. Others become a part of the group and purposely try to decrease the social and hierarchical distance between themselves and the people they lead. Is there a right answer? Or does the answer depend on the groups being led?

Social Identity and Leadership

Historically, leadership was thought of as a command and control/hierarchical function where the leader was set apart from the group by inheritance (Kings and Queens), or raw power as the result of winning a military or insider takeover. Leaders were assumed to be something different than the minions because of their birth, intelligence, access to power, etc. However, historically the greatest threat to a leader's tenure was an uprising led by a leader from within who galvanized the group around a higher purpose, shared vision, or quest for equality and recognition against the leader. Leaders who set themselves apart from the group could easily become fair game. In war, autocratic lieutenants would find themselves shot in the back by disgruntled and abused troops who didn't buy into the separation of leaders from the group. And leaders who set themselves apart in castles were often attacked by people wanting more from the leadership.

Recently we have witnessed...

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