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Introduction.
Leadership skills are being recognized as the key ingredient in management. A good manager is
by definition a leader, and being a leader is something we have to learn, principally from
In this paper I’m going to briefly summarize an article about the New Psychology of Leadership
that was published in Scientific American Mind Magazine, then I’ll discuss the contingency
theory in leadership and illustrate with some examples on its relevancy to my current leadership
role, and last but not least, I will make a reflection on what I learned from this article that will
make me expand my leadership style, then explain how to implement the new skills.
The New Psychology of Leadership 3
Traditionally, a successful leader was considered to possess charisma, intelligence, and other
personality traits that would allow him to lead with authority and projection of their character.
A modern theory such as contingency theory, however, suggests that – rather than assuming
absolute authority – a successful leader must position himself among the group rather than above
it. Desirable leadership traits, therefore, depend on the very group being led. A successful leader
thus works to shape the identity of the group while concurrently projecting the very traits that
Up until the end of Ward war two, Max Weber introduced the notion of “charismatic
Leadership”. Following this period, many began to favor the “contingency models” which
suggested that context and situation determine what type of leader will be successful based on
his particular strengths. In the 1970s, popular opinion tended to shift back and forth between
these two styles. More recent theory chooses to focus more on the synergetic relationship
In the 1970s, Henri Tajfel and John C. Turner think up “social identity” they argued that strong
social identity allows group members to reach consensus, coordinate actions, and strive for
shared goals. Within this context, a leader is most effective when he can convince followers to
not only see themselves as a group but to see their leader as the ultimate embodiment of the
groups shared values and goals. Notably, he BBC prison experiment argues that Social identity
makes leadership possible, and effective leadership facilitates the development of social identity.
The New Psychology of Leadership 4
On the other hand, Monarchs such as Louis XVI of France or even more recently some
presidents in the Arab spring uprisings such as Moammar Kadafi of Libya who ignored this
The BBC Prison experiment argue that Social identity makes leadership possible, and effective
A study in 2000 by Turner and Haslam, debates that, those who can best represent the identity of
a group both within it and compared to external groups will be the most successful leaders. The
most desirable traits, appearance, actions will be those which best fit with the groups perceived
culture and can be further reinforced if they appear to be different of those personified by rival
leaders. Likewise, fitting in and fairness are just as important; acting superior, not listening, or
the existence of a large income gap between a leader and his followers can strongly undermine
Although what constitutes fairness can vary, fairness in leaders is generally held in high regard.
Leaders who make personal sacrifices for the good of the group and favor those who strengthen
group ideals are favored as well as those who resolve disputes among group members in such a
way that reinforces group norms or even favor in-group members at the expense of out-group
members.
The most effective leaders are able to continually shape a group social identity by introducing
policies that push their personal agenda and vision in such a way that coincides with what their
followers already believe. The use of symbols and rituals can help in these endeavors by
reinforcing group culture, strengthening social bonds and making the culture itself appear and
feel real and concrete. Effective leaders thus use shared identity as a foundation for their actions.
The New Psychology of Leadership 5
In summary, whether one subscribes to the top-down, authoritarian style of leadership, or the
new psychology of a more democratic approach to shared identity and goals, influential and
creative leadership has the creation of a shared social identity at its core.
My leadership Role
In my current role as a distribution manager at the Calgary Airport Hertz center, I’m responsible
and accountable for the overall management of a key business location, the financial and daily
lead in a spirit of the highest standards of business ethics and professionalism linked to delivery
improvement. I’m leading a team of about, 80 drivers, and 25 vehicle service attendants VSAs.
I’m successful in my position because I’m able to lead, grow and maintain a cohesive and high
performing team, who shares the simple vision of delivering clean safe cars in a timely manner.
My leadership style lean more toward Fiedler’s “Contingency Model”. I’m a task-oriented
leader, my drivers, and car cleaners have clear specific tasks, and they get along and work in
perfect harmony together, all I do is give direction when needed and solving disputes according
to principles that coincide with our vision of where the company needs to go. Although I do
understand that people value the ability to influence their work. I also believe that employees
come to work motivated and interested in their jobs, they want to learn new things, be
empowered, and have a common interest to achieve personal and organizational goals.
Teams are usually formed around a shared culture and leader usually comes to reinforce that
culture and lead their followers to a better future, while conceiving and empowering that same
culture. According to Roger Schwarz (2013), all teams have a team culture that affects how
The New Psychology of Leadership 6
members deal with quality, timeliness, or other aspects of the team’s tasks. Team culture
includes core values and assumption so that changing a team’s mindset is changing its culture.
(P. 5) as a leader I’m doing a good job in creating a team oriented environment, cross training
employees, and providing necessary resources. All this actions strengthen the team culture. With
this in mind, I find it difficult sometimes to implement some radical changes, I feel at times that
I’m overprotective when it comes to affecting my team culture. To give an illustration, last year,
we had to change some work processes and reassigned certain tasks in a way to save time and
operate more efficiently. Consequently, the car cleaners have to start filling out some additional
forms concerning vehicles inspection and tire tread measurements. This process added an
additional 3 minute per vehicle. Although I did couple focus group meetings to discuss in more
details and find out ways to recoup the 3 minutes, I still got a lot of resistance from some team
members. This created a division in the team which results in In-group members who did accept
the change and moved forward with it and out-group members who resisted the change. Due to
the moderately favorable situation that has been created, I switched my leadership style to
relationship oriented, and I remained fair to those out-group members. As the time goes by, I
started noticing some improvement in the team moral. This was a good experience that helped
me improve my leadership style and it was also a good eye opener on some of the challenges I
The logistics and operations in a fast paced environment will make it very hard sometimes to
listen to each employee needs, yet I keep my team informed regarding the details of our
department at any turbulent time with responsibilities shifting regarding different aspects of our
jobs. Even though sometimes I feel I have very little time to absorb and then communicate the
The New Psychology of Leadership 7
changes that take place in our daily operations and that affect all of us, I still convey these details
I just learned from reading this article that there are some different strategies to shape my
leadership style in a way to push my Ideas and vision without affecting the team culture.
According to Bernard Bass (2007) “leaders are most effective when they can induce followers to
see themselves as group members and to see the group’s interest as their own interest” I totally
agree with this statement, as a leader I should take more time to get to know my employees
interests and values, and the special needs of each one of them. This can be done through
individual and group meetings. In most of the group meetings that occurs once a month, I mostly
talk about operational plans, what was accomplished and how we can improve in our process. I
believe I’ll have to start some focus group meetings just to talk in a relaxed and open way about
anything that’s on my employees minds, whether it’s related to work or not. In doing this my
employees will be able to share their ideas and raise up their concerns, which will make them
feel valuable and included in decision making. As a leader, I believe in the importance of
teamwork and an effective leader is one who can rally his team towards a shared culture and a
common goal. In order to implement change or to drive your team towards a common goal, you
have sometimes to simplify things and be prototypical of the group. Let’s take for instance Hertz
Global Holdings vision. It states that Hertz Will be the global leader in mobility and equipment
solutions. Personally, I don’t believe a 65 years old part time driver or a 25 years old car wash
employee will buying into this. As a leader I simplified this corporate vision to my team in words
they will understand, therefore, at a distribution center level our shared vision, is to deliver
clean safe cars to our locations in a timely manner, and this still include a specific goal that line
The New Psychology of Leadership 8
up with the organization vision. I consider getting comprehensive participation in goal setting
can help employees understand how their work contributes to the organization’s success.
In an article about Personality and Social Psychology Review, Michael A. Hogg (2001) argue
that “Leadership is about how some individuals or cliques have disproportionate power and
influence to set agenda, define identity, and mobilize people to achieve collective goals”. This
goes along with Henri Tajfel and John C. Turner “social identity” concept. In my current role, I
need to apply this same concept to lead my followers. I remember when I first started in my
position I was a little bit hesitant to emerge with the culture, hence they perceived me as the new
guy who was there to reinforce company policies and boss them around.
I consider that by celebrating their victories and being there in the trenches with them during
their defeats I will be able to be seen as part of their group And by modeling appropriate
responses in such times I can help shape group identity moving forward. Also by using shared
symbolism we are able to bring about more group cohesion. Recently we switched to safety vests
with our logo (Hertz) on them for all employees, while before everyone had different vests, some
even brought their own. Since we made the change people have been getting along more and
working in a more cooperative manner objectively speaking. Therefore, appearance does matter.
And as a manager, I need to make sure that I wear my safety vest just the same as all the other
Now that I’m expanding my knowledge about true leadership, I feel ready to change myself for
the best so I can be one of the gang. I’ll start dressing up in jean pants, sweaters, and Safety vest,
eat with drivers and car wash employees in the same lunch room instead of going to the
Administrative lunch room. And when it gets busy I’ll roll up my sleeves to give them the help
Conclusion
Traditional models see leadership as a form of system in which leader agency is achieved at the
expense of follower agency and vice versa. Against this view, the discussed article argues that
leadership is a vehicle for social identity in which leaders and followers are partners. I find that
top-down authoritative styles do not work very well. Having tried it myself, I have noticed that
getting compliance is not an issue but most of the times the employees end up resenting you for
it and talking behind your back or losing trust on you as a leader. They are also least likely to
work when you are not around smacking them with the rod. Therefore, the social identity model
in which followers and leaders are interdependent is the best way to lead an organization with a
References
- Reicher, S. D., Haslam, S. A., & Platow, M. J. (2007). The New Phycology of
Leadership. Scientific American Mind, 18(4), 22-29
- Roger Schwarz (2013). Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams How You and Your Team Get
Unstuck to Get Results.
- Michael A. Hogg (2001, Vol. 5, No. 3, 184–200). Personality and social Psychology
review. Retrieved from
http://home.ubalt.edu/tmitch/642/E%20articles/judge%20bono%20erez%20locke%20Core%20self%20
eval%20and%20job%20sat%202005_files/hogg%20social%20id%20theory%20ldrship%20JPSP.pdf.