The effects of embedding social identities on perceived leadership outcomes and the intentional mobilization of group members

Evans, AL; Slater, MJ; Edwards, M

Abstract

According to Identity Leadership, effective leaders make the group matter by embedding social identities in material reality. Across two studies, we explored the potential importance of embedding social identities on group members' perceptions of leader trust, influence, conflict and intentional mobilization. In Study 1, 74 competitive varsity athletes read a vignette describing a coach who was either embedding or not embedding social identities. Participants presented with a coach who was embedding social identities reported significantly greater leader trust, leader influence and intentional mobilization, and significantly lower leader conflict. In Study 2, four football teams each comprising six athletes were assigned to one of two quasi-experimental conditions where a coach either: (1) spent two weeks embedding social identities before spending two weeks not embedding them; or (2) spent two weeks not embedding social identities before spending two weeks embedding them. When a leader stopped embedding social identities after embedding them for two weeks, group members' trust in their leader significantly reduced. When a leader started embedding social identities after not embedding them for two weeks, group members' perceptions of leader trust, leader influence and intentional mobilization significantly increased. Taken together, findings provide preliminary evidence that embedding social identities is beneficial for leader outcomes and intentional mobilization compared to a non-embedding leadership approach.

Citation

Evans, A., Slater, M., & Edwards, M. (2021). The effects of embedding social identities on perceived leadership outcomes and the intentional mobilization of group members. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 53, 101879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101879

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 18, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jan 12, 2021
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 22, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 12, 2022
• Journal: Psychology of Sport and Exercise
• Print ISSN: 1469-0292
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 53
• Pages: 101879
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101879
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101879
• Related Public URLs: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/product/cws_home/620792/description