Leadership Identity Theory

Leadership in A Psychological Perspective

Table of Contents

1. What is Identity? 2. Types of Positive Work Identity

(Dutton et al., 2010)

Leadership: a Psychological Perspective

2
1
.
What is Identity?
An Introduction to the definition and the assumption of identity

3
 Identity
“... the meanings that individuals attach to
themselves ...”
(Gecas, 1982 in Dutton et al., 2010)
4
 The Starting Assumptions
The meanings that individual attribute to themselves can be represented as:
◉ … self-schemas that capture features or attributes that individuals associate with
themselves (Marcus, 1977).

School A great An example of a self-schema of a

cook
Committee mother. Within the self-schema there
Mother are multiple features or attributes
A caring that individuals associate with
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person themselves.
◉ … a narrative form or a story that individuals tell about ‘who’ they are in interaction with
others and over time. Example:
“In October 2012, on my way home from school, a masked gunman boarded my school bus and asked, “Who is Malala?”
He shot me on the left side of my head. … It was then I knew I had a choice: I could live a quiet life or I could make the
most of this new life I had been given. I determined to continue my fight until every girl could go to school. With my
father, who has always been my ally and inspiration, …” (malala.org, 2021)
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 The Starting Assumptions
◉ People’s identity are multifaceted and dynamic

School A great Multifaceted.

cook
Committee It means that each people
2019 Mother identity contains more than
A caring one facet or attribute that are
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person associated with themselves.

A ‘doctor’ during A great Dynamic.

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the pandemic It means that the attributes
2021 Mother within people’s identity can
A caring change over time.
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person

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Claiming Identity as Leader Ethnic Identity

Leader
Identity National
Identity

Professional
Religion
Identity

Identity as a leader is part of other identities that a person has

  The evaluation itself consists of
 Leader identity is a form of social
two components: private
identity that can be evaluated either
regard and public regard
positively or negatively (Ashmore,
(Ashmore, Deaux, &
Deaux, & McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004).
McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004).

Leader
Identity
Private Public
Regard Regard
Positiv Negativ Positiv Negativ
e e e e
2.
Types of Positive
Work Identity
Dutton et al. (2010)

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 4 types of Positive Work Identity
Virtue
Perspective
When individuals construct
an identity that contains
master virtues and/or
character strengths.
Developmental
Perspective
When individuals identity
progress toward a more ‘ideal’
self or develop a possible selves
that fit with their internal and
external standards.
Evaluative
Perspective
When individuals regard
their identity as favorable.
Structural
Perspective
When individuals strike a
balance between their personal
and social identity or perceived
their multiple identities as
compatible with one another.
 Virtue Perspective Dutton et al. (2010)

◉ Main Assumption
○ “A work-related identity becomes more positive when it is imbued with virtuous
attributes.” (Dutton et al., 2010, p. 269)
◉ Examples of virtuous attributes or universal virtue or character strengths:
○ Courage,
○ Compassion,
○ Integrity.
◉ Concrete examples
○ As a college students, Mela shows herself as a person of integrity by always employing
Good Research Practice and avoiding plagiarism when writing her thesis. Mela’s act
demonstrated that she hold integrity as a value. Therefore, Mela’s identity is an example of
a positive identity according to virtue perspective.
 Evaluative Perspective Dutton et al. (2010)

◉ Main Assumption
○ An identity is positive when its content are regarded favorably by the person
him/herself or by others.
◉ Individuals can regard their identities in different context as...
○ An individual at work (personal identity)
○ A member of work relationship (relational identity)
○ A member of work-based social identity (social identity)
◉ Concrete example
○ A worker who regard their work identity as someone who has influence and
impact on the company or his team performance
○ A person who favorably regard their identity as someone who likes to
collaborate
 Developmental Perspective Dutton et al. (2010)

◉ Different from the virtue and evaluative perspective, this perspective focuses on how individuals
identity changes over time.
◉ This perspective is based on the assumption that identity is dynamic and adaptive.
Progressive Identity Development Adaptive Identity Development

● Positive identity progress toward a more ● Positive identity emerges by

‘ideal’ or developed self through stages
over time.
● Example of Career Stages (Hall, 2002):
○ Establishment → individuals struggle to define a
clearer identity between his/herself with their
environment
○ Advancement → manage to define a clear identity
and focuses on career advancement
○ Maintenance → reaching the highest level of
career advancement
systematically changing the contents of
the identity to achieve a more appropriate
fit or consistency with individuals’ internal
and external standards.
● Often individuals are triggered adaptively
change their identity due to a perceived
discontent or discrepancy between their
actual and ideal self.
 Structural Perspective Dutton et al. (2010)

◉ This perspective focuses on how individuals organized their identity.

◉ This perspective is based on the assumption that identity is multifaceted.
○ Artinya, di dalam suatu identitas bisa terdapat lebih dari satu atribut yang berbeda-beda.
○ Atribut yang berbeda ini bisa saling melengkapi atau malah menciptakan konflik.

Balanced Identity Structure Complementary Identity Structure

● Identity conflict emerges from individuals
need to become unique (personal identity) and
at the same time belong in their social group
(social or collective identity).
● Individuals identity become more positive by
balancing collective and personal identity.
● Identity conflict emerges from competing
demands and values that are associated with
various facets of identity.
● Individuals identity become more positive as
multiple identities are integrated or perceived
as complementary.
 Structural Perspective
Balanced Identity Structure
● Concrete examples (Shepherd & Haynie,
2009)
○ An entrepreneur needs to be ‘distinct’ or
‘unique’ in order to beat their competition.
This tendency often results in a number of
entrepreneurs to feel loneliness.
In order to balanced out this personal
identity as a distinct person, an
entrepreneur might join a sports club in
his/her neighborhood to accommodate
his/her need to be a part of a collective
group.
Dutton et al. (2010)
Complementary Identity Structure
● Concrete examples (Greenhaus & Powell,
2006)
○ Identity as a worker complement identity as
a mother when the mother see that by
being a worker, she becomes a role model
for her children.
○
Becoming a mother taught her to be more
patient when interacting and be more
trusting in her subordinates to develop
themselves.
○ A factory employee who adapted some of
his work activities as a way to interact with
his teenage son. (e.g., tinkering with the
computer together)
Thank You!
References
● DeRue, D. S. & Ashford, S. J. (2010). Who will lead and who will follow? A social process of leadership identity construction in
organizations. The Academy of Management Review. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/29765008

● Dutton, J. E., Roberts, L. M., & Bednar, J. (2010). Pathways for positive identity construction at work: Four types of positive
identity and the building of social resources. Academy of Management Review.

● Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When work and family are allies: A theory of work-family enrichment. Academy of
Management Review, 31(1), 72–92.

● Riyadi, N., Asakarunia, D. A., Wijaya, F., & Riantoputra, C.D. (2019). The construction of positive leader identity: Acquiring a
leadership position and being accepted by others. Leading for High Performance in Asia. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6074-
9_4

● Shepherd, D., & Haynie, J. M. (2009). Birds of a feather don’t always flock together: Identity management in entrepreneurship.
Journal of Business Venturing, 24, 316–337.

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