Pascal Molenberghs, Leaders only inspire when we feel part of their group, The Conversation, 17 July 2015
When people talk about successful leaders they often focus on the personal and physical characteristics of those individuals. Great leaders are tall, good communicators, friendly, decisive, good looking, or have charisma.
However, according to the social identity theory of leadership, the focus should not be on the leaders themselves but on their followers. Successful leaders are only successful if they are perceived like this through the eyes of their followers. If nobody follows the leader, then there is no leadership.
According to this theory, effective leaders are those who can envision a group-oriented vision of the future that their followers can identify with. This is often achieved by (1) prioritising the role of followers as key elements of future collective success, (2) making personal sacrifices for the group, and (3) engaging in the rhetorical use of “we” and “us” to encourage followers to see themselves as implicated in the leader’s vision.
Examples of this are the inspirational slogans used in Barack Obama’s successful 2008 presidential campaign: “Change we can believe in” and “Yes we can”. These were intended to create an inspiring group-oriented vision of the future that American voters could identify with.
Non-effective leaders on the other hand, are characterised by self-interest, such that the leader focuses on his or her authority and personal role in achieving success. These types of leaders typically appear to be more self-aggrandising, aggressive, and arrogant, and are more inclined to use self-referencing that includes singular pronouns such as “I” and “me”.
In support of this theory, a recent study that analysed the Australian election speeches of prime ministerial candidates of the last 43 elections since 1901, found that political leaders who used the words “we” or “us” (rather than “I” or “me”) more than their opponent, won the election 80% of the time.