Scott DeRue, Sue Ashford, & Natalie Cotton

S Ivy Leaguer Male “Green” Father Smart Boss Who am I? What makes me distinct? Role or Relational Identity Personal Identity Collective or Social Identity Personal identity (n): a set of dispositional traits or behavioral tendencies that are considered “core” to ourselves (Thoits & Virshup, 1997) Distinctive, not necessarily unique Social identity (n): aspects of (self) meaning derived from membership or association with the social collective Role identity (n): self-definition based on their role relationships with others in terms of generalized roles or particularized relationships

How do people come to include some attributes in their self concept and not others?  Some Obvious  Others less so… especially personal identity  Ambiguity due to:  Multiple attributes (e.g., caring versus “good citizen” or “green”)  Relationship among attributes and importance is socially constructed

S Ivy Leaguer Male “Green” Father Smart Boss Who am I? What makes me distinct? Leader

A LEADER – WHO ME?

Claiming for Self /to Others Granting by Others Self View of Current Self Other Schema of Leader Self Schema of Leader Leader Identity Development Social Interaction Process Self Comparison Process Other Comparison Process Self/other View of Current Self Claiming (v): 1) Moves and acts to display status as member 2) stating and owning a particular (social) identity Granting (v): efforts to acknowledge that another person is a legitimate organizational member (is seen as possessing a particular personal identity)

 Snow & Anderson (1987): the “range of activities that individuals engage in to create, present, and sustain personal identities that are congruent with and supportive of the self-concept.”  Sveningsson & Alvesson (2003) Identity work involves “people being engaged in forming, repairing maintaining, strengthening, or revising the constructions that are productive of a sense of coherence and distinctiveness.”

 Meaning and interpretation is constructed within interactions (Blumer 1969)  Identity and status emerge through the use of symbols and the posturing achieved through the "presentation of self" (Goffman 1959)  What scene is this?" Participants in an interaction must agree on who they are and what they are doing. Agreement = Goffman's concept of "working consensus"

Identity work is also about: 1. authentic expression of one’s identity (consequences to image be damned) 2. inward cognitive processes of identity creation and maintenance (coming to know who you are) Kreiner, Hollensbe & Sheep, 2006

 Bartel and Dutton on claiming membership when it is ambiguous: declaring, questioning, revealing, equipping  Snow & Anderson on claiming a more positive identity when in a stigmatized group: distancing, embracement, fictive storytelling  Pratt, Rockman & Kauffman on identity customization: Patching, splinting, enriching

 Verbal - statements  Nonverbal – use of space, actions, artifacts

ClaimingGrantingClaimingGrantingClaiming

What difference does it make if one thinks of oneself as a leader?

Individual Level Increased self- esteem Increased willingness to seek leadership opportunities Increased granting of leader identity Individual Level Increased self- esteem Increased willingness to seek leadership opportunities Increased granting of leader identity Group Level Increased shared leadership Increased group potency Greater capacity for resilience and change Group Level Increased shared leadership Increased group potency Greater capacity for resilience and change Organization Level Increased Leadership talent (bench strength) Greater capacity for positive organizational change Organization Level Increased Leadership talent (bench strength) Greater capacity for positive organizational change Leader Identity Development

Claiming for Self /to Others Granting by Others Self/Other View of Current Self Other Schema of Leader Self Schema of Leader Leader Identity Development Social Interaction Process Self Comparison Process Other Comparison Process Factors Influencing Claiming: 1. Formal supervisory role 2. # claiming simultaneously 3. Opportunity for experimenting 4. Aspects of claimer Factors Influencing Granting: 1. Liking 2. Politics

Questions? Comments?