Leadership and Behavioral Decision Making

Class #7: Social Identity & Followership

Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (WOS)

Antwerpen – November 7, 2023
Your feedback on the class so far (N=4)
What you like / would like to continue: What you did not like / would like to change:
• Good structure (2) • More practical examples
• Lots of examples (2) • Break is not necessary
• Great class (2) • Example of exam question
• Engaging/Motivating • Recap at the end to know what is important
• Notes under the slides
• Academic papers
• Clear information
• Great communication
• Perfect amount of break
• Interactive

2 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Leadership styles
Rate these two individuals on the full range leadership styles – justify your answer:

Paperchase Dead poets

Transactional High- because due to the student not Not visble
doing the assignment, the professor
made him stand in front of the class to
discuss it

Instrumental High/Medium - There is a High

macro and micro side to it
Low/medium - if anything related to
Transformational intellectual stimulation
High - intellectually stimulates the
students, he has optimism for what
poetry can do

3 Charismatic Low - Need© toProf.have

Nicolas a vision(2023)High - - was inspiring, doesFaculty
Bastardoz
sort of a of Economics and Business
symbolic behavior when he tells them to
Content for the day
1. Social identity theory of leadership
a) Group prototypicality
b) Group identification
c) Managerial implications?

2. Followership
a) Perspectives on followership: Role-based vs. Process approaches
b) Why should we follow?
c) Bad followership

3. Toolbox & Conclusion

4 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

A social identity theory of leadership

Context
Leader group- Perceptions of
serving behavior leader fairness

Leader group Trust in the Leadership

prototypicality leader effectiveness

Followers’ group
identification

van Knippenberg (2017, p. 310)

5 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Followers’ group identification (moderator)
When followers identify with a group (i.e., they are bound together by a common “we”), they are
more likely to:
• be influenced by a leader’s proposals (McGarty et al., 1994)
• support a leader (Graf et al., 2012; Ullrich, Christ, & van Dick, 2009)
• perceive a leader as charismatic (Steffens, Haslam, & Reicher, 2014; van Dijke & De Cremer, 2010)

Effective leadership thus also derive from a leader’s ability to build followers' identification
with the collective and to change followers' understanding of this collective identity
(Haslam, Platow & Reicher, 2011; Shamir, Arthur & House, 1993)

6 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Group prototypicality (as an independent variable)

When the social identity is salient, prototypical group members will have disproportionate
influence:
• Evidence suggests that for both formal leadership positions and emergent leaders, leader
effectiveness is tied to their in-group prototypicality (e.g., Duck & Fielding, 1999; 2003, Van Knippenberg & Hogg,
2003; van Knippenberg & van Knippenberg, 2005)

• Being group prototypical does not mean being an average group member; rather, it entails
embodying ‘the best version of us’ (Haslam & Reicher, 2016; van Knippenberg, 2011)
• Group prototypicality is a function of how “we” relate to “them.” As the nature of "them"
changes, so does the in-group prototype and the qualities that describe a person as a leader.

7 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Managerial implications
Individually (2 minutes): Reflect on the managerial implications of the social identity theory of
leadership (based on today’s discussions but also the pre-class materials).

In groups (5 minutes): Discuss these managerial implications.

Identify at least 3 behaviors or strategies you/anyone could engage in to emerge and/or be
effective as a leader.

Collectively (3 minutes): Let’s gather these managerial implications

8 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Some managerial implications
To be effective, leaders should
…be seen as "one of us“: Leaders' primary goal should not be to differentiate themselves from
those they seek to lead, but rather to emphasize their commonalities.
…be seen as "to do it for us”: Leaders’ actions should advance the interests of the group.
…"craft a sense of us“: Leaders should actively shape the understanding of “who we are” as a
group.
…"make us matter“: Leaders should help the group realize their goals and create a world where
the group’s values are lived out.

Haslam, Reicher & Platow (2011)

9 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

When did we talk about or discuss followers?
When we talked about…

• Traits – Individual differences leading to leader and follower (by extension) emergence.

• Behaviors/Styles – Followers have needs (e.g., for competence, autonomy, belongingness)

and leaders need to adapt their behaviors to these needs (e.g., transformational behaviors)

• Context & Culture – Followers hold cognitive classifications (ILTs) of what an (in)effective
leader is. These ILTs change across contexts and cultures.

• Charisma – Charisma signals that need to resonate with followers’ values (e.g., sentiments of
the collective).

• Social identity – Followers within groups have a prototype of who is (or what resembles) a
good leader.

10 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

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Can there be leaders without followers?
“Leaders neither exist, nor act in a vacuum without followers”
Kelley (2008, p. 5)

“Once deference is gone, so is leadership (if leadership involves actively influencing others, then
followership involves allowing oneself to be influenced)”
Uhl-Bien & Pillai (2007, p. 196)

“If there are no following behaviors, there is no leadership. In fact, it is probably easier to
recognize leadership in followership behaviors than it is in leadership behaviors, since
individuals attempting to be leaders are only legitimized in the responses and reception of those
willing to follow them”
Uhl-Bien, Riggio, Lowe & Carsten (2014, p. 95)

11 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Leaders need followers (& the other way around too)

12 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Perspectives on followership
Followership has been studied through two perspectives (Bastardoz & Adriaensen, in press):
• A position-based approach: Followers are individuals who have a position of low authority
such as subordinates, employees, or direct reports (Uhl-Bien & Carsten, 2018). Conversely, leaders
are merely individuals who hold formal positions of power such as managers or executives.
This approach is ultra-dominant in the study of followership (Bastardoz & Adriaensen, in press).
• A process approach: Followers are individuals who grant another individual a leader identity
(De Rue & Ashford, 2010) or when an individual target is influenced by an agent (Bastardoz & Day, 2022).
Who leads and who follows change quickly based on situational requirements.

13 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

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“Never follow”

“’Never Follow’ tapped into a fear rooted deep in the American psyche. It reflected our aversion to
being, or to be seen as being, one among many in a meek and mindless herd”
Kellerman (2008, p. 3)

14 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

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Why follow?
Given that leaders get greater rewards in terms of power, status, wealth, or reproductive benefits
(Buss, 2005; Von Rueden & Van Vugt, 2015):

• Why would anyone follow?

• Why would anyone give away their autonomy to defer to a leader?

15 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

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Why follow?
• Humans are a social species and have an innate need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). We
survived and thrived living in groups with social exclusion implying death (Tooby & Cosmides, 1992).
• Being a follower can lead to better outcomes than being alone, for instance, through
bargaining part of the surplus outcome with the leader and other followers.
• Leading may be risky (e.g., a leader may be dragged into a conflict).
• Following is the best option for someone with a willingness to lead but without any ability or
resources to lead – “make the best out of a bad hand” (Dawkins, 1976).
• Following may be temporary; it may allow observation and learning from leaders before
claiming such a role later
• There can be no leaders without followers; if too many people compete for leadership, it
makes the “following” strategy more attractive

Bastardoz & Van Vugt (2019)

16 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

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Good & Bad Followers
Individually (2 minutes):
• Reflect on good following behaviors. What behaviors represent good followership for you?
• Reflect on bad following behaviors. What behaviors represent bad followership for you?

In groups of 2-3 (4-5 minutes):

• Share your individual reflection and discuss with others the behaviors you identified.
• In your group, agree on 3 good following behaviors and 3 bad following behaviors.

In plenum (3-4 minutes): Let’s discuss

17 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

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Bad followership

Definition: “An individual who does not coordinate well with the leader or other followers” (Bastardoz
& Van Vugt, 2019, p. 90).

Self-serving behaviors (vs. coordination-enabling behaviors) lead to bad followership: (a) free-
riding; (b) cheating; (c) competing for the leader role.

Bad followership also occurs when followers do not act against bad leaders:
• Not reporting or opposing a deficient or unethical leader.
• Not replacing an exploitative leader if the opportunity arises.

18 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Toolbox – Knowledge creation (Class 7)

1. Rather than portray how different they are from followers,

individuals willing to lead should emphasize their in-group
prototypicality and try to encourage followers’ group
identification.
2. Leader’s actions should be seen as favoring the in-group.
Effective leaders actively shape the group identity and
ultimately improve their group’s fate.
3. It is fine and desirable that we are not all or always
leading. Without following behaviors, groups,
organizations, and societies could not function.

19 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business

Further academic readings
1. Bastardoz, N., & Adriaensen, S. (In press). What does it mean to follow? A critique of the
followership literature and a conceptual model of the emergence of downward
following. Frontiers in Psychology.
2. Bastardoz, N., & Van Vugt, M. (2019). The nature of followership: Evolutionary analysis
and review. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 81-95.
3. Hogg, M. A. (2001). A social identity theory of leadership. Personality and social
psychology review, 5(3), 184-200.
4. Reicher, S. D., Haslam, S. A., & Platow, M. J. (2018). Shared social identity in leadership.
Current opinion in psychology, 23, 129-133.

20 © Prof. Nicolas Bastardoz (2023) Faculty of Economics and Business